This is the most important part of this manual and without a good and clear understanding of how to facilitate this programme, there won’t be success or referrals from mentees.
Logistics
The following are among the logistics needed to run the Brood and Grow Mentorship Programme:
1. Choose a theme from the life skills document provided to you.
2. Choose a meeting platform of your choice, e.g Zoom, Google Meets or face-to-face.
3. RSVP WhatsApp number (mandatory), for young people to RSVP for your monthly online sessions.
4. A team to work with, who are going to provide support.
5. A monthly poster to advertise the programme, which you will receive from Make a Mark Africa Youth Development.
6. Register (mandatory and template will be provided by Make a Mark Africa Youth Development)
7. Organize guest contributors (optional) who are going to speak to your mentees about the chosen life skill theme.
8. Advertise the programme through multiple efforts such as creating a Facebook event, media interviews or through social media platforms.
During the Programme
Below is a list of what needs to be done to ensure the success of the programme:
1. You need to remind your mentees a day before the programme and ensure that as a leader you keep to time on the agreed meeting platform.
2. Remember to open with prayer.
3. As the facilitator, ensure that everyone is ready to contribute and participate.
4. Introduce yourself and the programme, the theme, and the guest contributors if you have invited any.
5. Ask the attendees to introduce themselves (You can use an interesting way for them to introduce themselves). This will allow you to get to know them.
6. Break the theme into sub-topics and give them time to discuss the sub-topic or sub-theme you have given them.
7. Give them time to discuss and share their opinions.
8. Give the guest speakers a chance to share and they shouldn’t take more than 20 minutes. Give your mentees a chance to ask questions.
9. Remember to take a register.
10. Close with prayer and remember to take a group picture.
After the Programme
After successfully hosting the first meeting of the programme, you will feel fulfilled and excited. This is how your mentees should feel as well and you need to do the following to keep them wanting to come back to the programme:
1. Create a WhatsApp if you haven’t created one.
2. Keep the group engaged by discussing one topic per week. You need to choose a day and time for your discussion, but you can always post important and inspiring information on the group.
3. Keep checking on your mentees and report weekly to your supervisor.
4. Prepare for the next Brood and Grow Mentorship Programme.
5. Submit a monthly report using the template provided.
How to Recruit and Maintain your Membership?
You are probably wondering where on earth are you going to get people who would be part of this programme! When we started the programme, we had the same feeling until we changed our thinking. The programme is not about numbers, and we are not interested in having many people. Remember, you need to keep in touch with these people throughout the year and it will be unreasonable of us to expect that you will mentor hundreds of young people.
How to Recruit
We believe you are not going to run short of people to join this programme because you are interested in youth development and have people who look up to you and respect you. Use the following ways and platforms to invite people into the programme:
1. Social media
2. Face to face
3. Church
4. Events
5. Television, Radio, and Newspaper interviews
6. Referrals
How to maintain your Membership?
The most important part, as indicated above, is to ensure that your membership is maintained. We are interested in seeing the same faces coming back for the next session and bringing friends. If you want to see the result of the mentorship on young people, you need to be consistent and maintain the need for them to be part of this programme. The following ways are going to help you maintain your membership:
1. Make the programme about them, for them and driven by them. In other words, make them feel part of this programme.
2. Provide mentorship and coaching to them.
3. People like to participate and be part of something of value to them. Therefore, ensure that you create a reason for them to not leave your WhatsApp group and for them to come back to the next session.
4. Learn to genuinely love your mentees.
5. Give support and always be available to them.
6. Keep in touch with them.
7. Know them very well, celebrate their success, sympathize with them, and push them in the right direction in life.
8. Provide them with useful information- such as opportunities that they can benefit from. Remember, these are your people, know their needs and point them in the right direction.
Rules and Obligations
Every house has its own rules and regulations. The rules are not meant to annoy nor chase anyone away, but are meant to keep the family running smoothly. The following, are a summary of rules and obligations of the Brood and Grow Mentorship Programme and they are supposed to be adhered to by you as a Coordinator(/mentor) first:
1. Respect for the programme.
2. Communication is key and you are expected to communicate with us via emails, calls and WhatsApp.
3. Meetings are compulsory.
4. Report writing is compulsory.
5. You cannot accept funding, including any other form of donation, for or on behalf of the Brood and Grow Mentorship Programme without notifying Make a Mark Africa Youth Development.
6. You cannot run nor offer meetings under the programme once you are no longer in partnership with Make a Mark Africa Youth Development.