In a poignant scene in the 2008 animated flick, Kung Fu Panda, an aged mentor and his mentee debate the illusion of possibilities in our seemingly pre-determined world. Folding dirt over a freshly sown seed, the mentor points to its unlimited potential, provided someone is "willing to guide it, to nurture it. To believe in it." It sets up a perfect analogy for the power of mentorship, often watched by actual mentors with their mentees to facilitate bonding, as part of the curriculum of Mentor Me India (MMI).

This one-on-one youth mentoring program is one of many such that have cropped up in the last few years, dedicated to imparting low-income children with life skills. These include oft-overlooked skills like self-awareness, career maturity, social etiquette, respect and critical thinking.

Modelled on the internationally proven mentoring organization, Big Brothers Big Sisters, MMI was established in 2013, followed by others like The Lighthouse Project (TLP) and The Green Batti Project (GBP) over the next year. "The density and increasing popularity of mentoring organizations is indeed heartening, helping to push this niche field forward," says Arundhuti Gupta, who started India's first mentoring program, Mentor Together (MT) in 2010. "Everybody is focusing on different pieces of the puzzle, working with different age groups, geographies and lessons."...........Read more

Source web page: The Times of India