The following story is loosely based on an existing mentee/mentor relationship in the Centre for Multicultural Youth Issues’ (CMYI) Multicultural Youth Mentoring Program which is funded by the Victorian Office for Youth.

Edwarde is a 56 year old French Canadian volunteer mentor. He migrated to Australia ten years ago from Montreal with his Australian born wife and their four children. He struggled with cultural and linguistic differences and limited job opportunities when he first arrived and is keen to support a young person's journey of resettlement and to assist them fulfill their personal goals.

Edwarde has been matched with a 20 year old, John, who arrived in Australia from Sudan in October 2005 with his brother and uncle. John’s parents and seven other siblings stayed in Sudan. John is keen to gain work and learn from Edwarde's experiences working and studying in the community services sector. He would also like to develop his hobby; creating hip hop music.

Edwarde and John have been meeting together fortnightly since September 2006. Together they have attended music and cultural festivals, soccer matches, shared Sudanese meals and explored Footscray, John's local neighbourhood. They are planning on attending an AFL football match, which will be the first time for John, organised by AFL Multicultural Match visits.

John has shown interest in exploring art with CMYI sports/recreation team to do his own arts project with support from this mentor.  They are currently meeting at internet cafes to work on revising John's resume to assist his applications for part time jobs and exploring opportunities for him to get involved in activities at WYPIN and pursue his music through contacts at Multicultural Arts Victoria.

John has enjoyed the company of an older male outside his immediate family who can help him access parts of Melbourne otherwise unknown to him. Edwarde has enjoyed learning more about Sudan and has developed a strong appreciation for John's courage and strength to leave the conflict of Sudan and resettle in Australia with limited supports.

Edwarde stated that ”the most enjoyable aspect of the mentoring program has been learning more about the migrant/refugee resettlement process in Australia and to be exposed to a new culture. We have progressed with our relationship with respect and trust and l really appreciate that John calls me before he leaves as it shows respect towards our commitment. For me spending time with John is like adding a new window in my house that I see from a different angle."

John says “it has been great to get to know Edwarde and learn about his culture and journey of resettlement in Australia. Because he is also new to Australia, I feel able to talk to him about the struggles and good times in building a new life here.”

The West campus of Traralgon College celebrated the end of their first mentoring program - facilitated by Lyn Simmons and supported by Student Welfare Coordinator (SWC) Fiona O’Donnell - by enjoying a game of Ten Pin Bowling. Loud and encouraging support was given to all whether there was a ‘strike’ or a ‘gutter ball’. Everyone was then rewarded with an ‘all you can eat’ lunch at Pizza Hut. There was lots of fun and laughter and, once again, it was a privilege seeing students and mentors having gained so much from their mentoring relationship. It was very evident by the responses, smiling faces, enthusiasm and increased confidence of the students, just how much of a difference the program had made to them.

The East campus of Traralgon College has begun their eighth program (it began in 2004) with new Locality Convenor Tracey Maguire with support from SWC Gail Tripp. The program commenced with various energetic, hilarious and informative “getting to know” activities for the selected young people and mentors. The matching process has been made and everyone is excited about starting. So much so that students are really disappointed that they have to attend the School Sports instead of attending a mentoring session. They don’t want to have to wait until after the school holidays for the next session!

It was also great to have an overseas visitor at the ‘getting to know you’ session. Lynette from Big Brothers Big Sisters in Kansas was visiting as on a Rotary Exchange. She was very impressed with the mentoring model at the East and West campuses at Traralgon College and it was enlightening for all of us to share our experiences. We are looking forward to ongoing contact.

It’s been a wonderful start to the year. Thanks to everyone involved for making such a wonderful contribution to supporting our young people in the way that they deserve.

They both laugh about their remarkably different tastes in music! And that seems to be where the differences end as Noor (13) and her Big Sister Anne have developed a close friendship spending regular time together.

It is difficult to imagine what life would have been like for Noor and her family as they arrived in Australia in 1995 from Iraq.  Noor faced considerable transitional issues as she and her family settled into their new life in suburban Melbourne, such a contrast to life in their homeland.

Life took another turn when Noor’s mother died of cancer in 2001 leaving the care of the five children to her father.

Since they were matched 18 months ago, Anne has seen Noor’s personality grow. Anne has noticed how Noor forms her own opinions and has a developed a wide range of interests. Noor and Anne spend time with each other on a weekly basis.

“We like doing activities like cooking, shopping and going to the movies but the important thing is that we spend one-to-one time together”, says Anne.

Mentoring has been an important support not just for Noor but also for two of her other siblings who are matched to mentors in the program.

BBBS Coordinator Amanda Berra says that youth mentoring is about creating friendships and providing links to young people and the wider community. “Noor and her family have been quite isolated but mentoring provides opportunities for each young person to have one-to-one support, to learn new skills and have fun”, she said.