The Rotary Club of Wyndham Harbour has launched a youth mentoring program for people aged between 18 and 25 years old.
The WYN Mentoring initiative, which has been funded through a Wyndham council Community Strengthening grant, aims to promote emotional wellbeing, improve social skills and increase self-esteem in young people, plus support them in education, training and employment.
Rotary member Mohammed Isah, who is head of the mentoring program, said he suggested the idea to other club members who have helped to champion it, including former Wyndham mayor Adele Hegedich.
Mr Isah, a social worker, migrated from Nigeria to Australia around 20 years ago, with his family.
In 2008, he received Wyndham council’s Young Achiever of the Year award, for his work in helping disadvantaged youth.
Mr Isah said he was passionate about social justice and playing a role in delivering programs that make an impact upon community needs.
Mr Isah said that people who had made a significant impression on him, when he was younger, had inspired him to come up with the idea for the WYN Mentoring program.
“Wyndham is very diverse and many young people have the experience of migrating to Australia,” he said.
Mr Isah said that in planning the mentoring program, he had spoken to youths in Wyndham, such as refugee, asylum seekers and first-generation migrants, to find out what kinds of things they would like assistance with.
“The thing I have enjoyed is that I have found young people often know the answer to some of the challenges they are experiencing, and often they can form part of the solution,” he said.
“With the proper support mechanisms in place, young people can achieve their passion.”
Mr Isah said the Rotary Club has recruited mentors for the program and would put out an expression of interest for young people interested in becoming mentees.
He said the club hoped some of the young people could go on to become mentors themselves.
Mr Isah said the mentoring sessions could potentially take place in person or online, using formats such as Zoom, Facebook FaceTime or Instagram
See rotaryclubofwyndhamharbour.org.au/ or facebook.com/RCofWH/ for details, or email secretary@rotaryclubofwyndhamharbour.org.au.
