The Mentors program is currently operating in 17 regions of the country. Thanks to the program, 330 teenagers have their own personal mentors—older friends. During the reporting period from December 2020 to July 2021, thanks to your support, the Dara Charitable Foundation and TOOBA received 517 applications from mentor candidates and conducted five "Mentor School" training sessions for over 100 people. As a result, at least nine teenagers from an orphanage in Almaty found their own mentor and remain friends to this day, building trusting relationships. Mentors regularly meet with their younger friends every weekend: they walk together in parks, go to the movies, introduce the children to cooking skills, how to get from point A to point B, and much more, which helps orphanage graduates more easily reintegrate into society after leaving the orphanage. Our psychologists held eight mentor clubs, inviting expert speakers, discussing various topics (e.g., emotional burnout, learning difficulties, etc.), and sharing experiences. At these meetings, mentors gain additional skills, knowledge, and tools to help them communicate with teenagers.
Psychologists also meet monthly with children and mentors to provide psychological support. Without this support, mentors can experience burnout and be left alone with difficulties communicating with their children. To avoid crisis situations and the breakdown of mentor-teenager pairs, psychologists regularly conduct consultations with both mentors and children.
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