A previous youth mentorship training held by K1 Britannia Foundation.
PHILIPSBURG--K1 Britannia Foundation will be hosting a mentors training workshop for persons 21 years and older on Tuesday, February 25.
This training is aimed at persons who are “interested in becoming a mentor and being a positive role model to a youth,” said the foundation. The training is a 12-hour course given in six sessions and will be led by psychologist Aisheline Maduro.
According to the foundation, Maduro has “extensive experience and knowledge working with youth under protective custody in St. Maarten and has facilitated all of our mentor trainings since 2015.”
“As this training only takes place once a year and is mandatory for all those who would like to become mentors or foster parents, K1 urges those from the community who are interested in helping foster children … to get in contact with K1 this week to sign up in order to have the opportunity to participate in this training,” said K1 Britannia Foundation in a press release on Monday.
The training will cover the St. Maarten foster care system, self-image and self-worth, social development, types of abuse, communication, effecting behavioural change, life in foster care, and cognitive exercises that “seek to teach the essentials of becoming a mentor,” according to the press release.
“Through personalised knowledge of individual experiences, participants begin to understand the commitment necessary to become involved in foster care and mentoring, and how they are interrelated in the foster care system,” said the foundation.
After completing the course, participants will be certified to mentor or foster young persons who are under protective custody in St. Maarten. The matching process will then be completed based on the mentor’s personal strengths and the needs of the child or teenager, said the foundation.
K1 Britannia said its major focus is on social issues that affect the island’s youth, specifically “foster children and teenagers who are one of the most vulnerable and fragile groups on the island.”
The youth mentorship programme was created after discussions with the Court of Guardianship and the Foundation Judicial Institute St. Maarten SJIB Family Guardianship Unit, said the foundation.
“It was realised that the main thing that foster children and teenagers need in order to heal from abusive and other emotionally damaging experiences is to receive one-on-one time, love and attention that is so fundamental to their development,” said K1 Britannia Foundation Programme Manager Yasmine Essed.
“Becoming a mentor is a very important decision and should not be taken lightly. We are looking for persons who can commit to a minimum of one year and two to four hours per week to a youth. However, this commitment is one of the most meaningful ways you can contribute to changing a young life,” said K1 Britannia Foundation Programme Manager Malaika Richards.
Persons older than 21 years who are interested in mentoring young persons are asked to sign up as volunteers via the website
https://k1britanniafoundation.org/get-involved/volunteering/.
For more information about the mentorship training, persons are asked to contact K1 Britannia Foundation’s Programme Managers via tel. 1-721-554-7383 or 1-721-553-4727. Persons can also visit the websites
www.k1britanniafoundation.org and
www.facebook.com/K1SXM or send an e-mail to
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