Presenting a new feature — stories from deeply enduring mentoring relationships. We’ll try to capture the inflection points, the bumps along the way, and most importantly the deep hope that mentorship reflects.

This case was put together by Ritu Agrawal and Rohan Singh, our Program Managers in Pune.

Background

India is home to around 44 million destitute children and over 12 million orphans and abandoned children. Their only refuge are shelter homes set up by the state or private donors. Even under institutional care, these children are exposed to varying degrees of neglect, risk of malnutrition and discrimination. Their needs are exponentially larger than just materialistic requirements. They need the same opportunities that any other child with adequate social support would get.

Saudagar was one such young boy, living in a shelter home on the outskirts of Pune. He was in 9th standard when we enrolled him as a mentee, in the first year of our mentorship program in Pune. He had lost his father some years ago; his mother earned a small income working in a farm. The family was dependent on Saudagar’s uncle for financial support.

Mentor Nikhil Lokhande joined our program through our partnership with his employer — Amdocs. Nikhil was our youngest mentor, having been in the workforce for only a year at that time. We found his journey inspiring though — his parents had been farmers and the route to becoming an Engineer had not been easy.

Their Mentorship

Saudagar and Nikhil built a deep friendship quickly. Nikhil was very regular with his mentoring sessions, making it to the shelter home almost every week. He shared his own life experiences to connect with Saudagar. Looking at Saudagar’s situation, Nikhil felt that the skills of resilience and adaptability were going to be critical for this young boy.

A Speed Bump

At the end of their first year of mentorship, Saudagar went home for the summer holidays. The pair stayed in touch over phone. Nikhil learned that Saudagar’s uncle was relucatant to let him return to the shelter home for grade 10. He wanted him to work in his sugar-cane juice shop and support the family. On the calls, Saudagar expressed to Nikhil his wish to continue studying. Nikhil travelled all the way to Loni, approximately 170 Kms from Pune to meet Saudagar’s uncle. Nikhil listened to the Uncle’s concerns, but also spoke to him about Saudagar’s potential. He explained that Saudagar would have far better career options if he completed his education, which would eventually be more beneficial for the family. Nikhil followed up regularly over the summer, and was able to convince Saudagar’s Uncle to send Saudagar back to shelter home to complete his education.

10th standard and beyond

Adolescents also face the challenge of coping with changes in their body, identity, and relationships with friends. With Saudagar’s final year exams approaching, Nikhil observed that Saudagar was finding it a little hard to concentrate. With a little probing, Saudagar revealed that he liked a girl and was finding it hard to focus! Using Mentor Together’s curriculum of case-studies and role-plays on similar topics, Nikhil helped him refocus on the immediate goal. Saudagar was able to articulate his long term goal of supporting his mother, by getting admission into a good college and getting a good job.

When children develop the ability to take initiative, solve problems creatively, and interact with each other with empathy, it helps them overcome adversity and build resilience to succeed in an unpredictable future.

Saudagar scored 55% in 10th class, and qualified for junior college in the Maharashtra state system. Nikhil worked with the Mentor Together team to help Saudagar receive sponsorship for his college studies.Today Saudagar is studying in junior college and parallelly supporting his family by doing a part time job.

A great man once rightly said that “There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children”.

India is a growing nation and opportunities are bountiful. Every child should have an opportunity to be a part of it. Let’s Mentor, together!