(We all can do our parts to help youths today. Please help to spread this word)
Youths have to go through several transitions in life and having a mentor in life is what they need. Mentoring relationships need not always be formal. They can be informal as well. But the most important aspect of any mentoring relationship should be that the mentor should be caring and empathetic towards the youth. I am blessed with the opportunity to work with youths over the last decade and have learnt so much from each of them. Truth is, it is not easy being young in Singapore (or in Asia). To deal with the expectations of society, the (perceived) lack of avenues for them to turn to for support and to be accepted into today’s social norms, has created a pretty unbalanced society for youths to be the best of themselves.
Proper mentoring can really help them identify their purpose and then choose to step back in their path to achieve what they want. While mentoring has a lot of benefits, from the work we do in Voices Of Asia, there are 4 ways which mentoring can really help youths today;
1) Mentoring can help improve academic performance (good news for parents!
It has been noticed that when youths are mentored properly, their academic performance improves. This is usually connected with the fact that when someone is suffering from anxiety or depression, they are not usually able to concentrate on their studies which results in bad grades. But with a proper youth support program, the troublesome people can get the resolution to their emotional stress and thus they can concentrate on the more important things in life. There are much less unexcused absences as well.
Often in Voices Of Asia, we found that the roadblock to striving for academic excellence is due to the emotional struggle and mismanagement of expectations. Pete, a 15-year-old youth we work with, saw a turning point in his life just by having an honest conversation about expectations with his parents, which he never felt that he needed before. His mentor (who chooses to remain anonymous) simply took some time to understand the root cause.
2) Increased self-esteem
Technology has made social acceptance and rejection so easy, and without proper guidance, youths today may feel rejected more often than youths 10 years ago. With such rejection, comes self-doubt;
Self-doubt is something that can plague people and kill their ability to excel in anything. People display a shyness in public and even show signs of imposter syndrome. But, to increase the self-esteem of that youth, he/she needs to be introduced to mentoring from someone who will not only trust him/her but also believe in his/her abilities.
3) Stronger relationships with loved ones
When youths suffer from anxiety and depression, they usually push people away. The wound becomes deeper especially when not attended to. So, when someone is going through such a situation, they need to speak their hearts out to someone who is trust-worthy.
A mentor is someone who can be there for you during these times. When you catch up with them regularly, you can build a positive attitude for yourself and this will also you in your professional life. Voices Of Asia recognizes that youths do not open up as much to their family members as much these days, and since they spend so much time on their mobiles, we decided to bring mentoring into their phones (stay tuned!). Proper mentoring is what every youths in Singapore needs to face the challenges of their life, and mentoring has to be done the way which is applicable to youths today.
4) Decreased drug and alcohol use
While it may seem unlikely in a modern city like Singapore, when youths are troubled, they usually tend to adopt practices like alcohol or drug use which help to calm their nerves. But this, at times, is not only illegal but also harmful for that person’s health. So, a youth who is going through a rough patch deserves to have someone to support them, who is a mentor. This will give them an opportunity to talk to a mentor who understands them, and thus, they may not feel lonely anymore. This will also show a marked decrease in drug and alcohol use. E.g. 18-year-old Nur Jannah in Singapore credited her mentor to help her turn her life into something better and help her overcome her addiction to drugs. Often, these youths just need a bigger brother or sister to be a listening ear.
A mentor is so much more, and can help youths today deal with life better. If you feel that you are called to walk life’s journey with someone else, do reach out to us at www.voicesofasia.org.
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Kelvin Kong, Founder & Mentor, Voices Of Asia & Senior Vice-President, Learning & Development, Lazada Group
