Youth mentoring is a very effective tool to be utilized in the development of young persons. The Caribbean Mentorship Institute has partnered with Caribbean Airlines Limited (Trinidad) to train students of the Jordan Hill Presbyterian Primary School (Trinidad). As part of its mentoring program, students, teachers and parents attended a three-day Bullying Prevention workshop, which was developed to sensitize young persons on the nature of bullying and effective bullying Intervention methods. The 3-day workshop focused on peer mentoring, bullying prevention and leadership skills.

The President of CMI, Felicia Browne, says that the private and public sectors must work together to curb the level of violence amongst our youths. Ms. Browne is convinced that parents, guardians, the private and public sector and those in charge of our youth, should play a greater role in the development of young persons by encouraging them to become good role models in their schools, homes and communities.

“We must play our part as positive mentors to foster greater changes in the attitudes of our youths,” Ms. Browne says. She emphasizes that our mentoring programs must take a holistic approach to provide our young minds with the guidance, leadership and supervision needed to shape a more prosperous and successful future. They must be guided to engage in more reflective interactions with their peers and community members, she says.

The leadership workshop in Trinidad focused primarily on bullying and intervention practices. Bullying, Ms. Browne says has become a problem of growing concern affecting young persons across the region. Ms. Browne points out that bullying occurs in various forms and can have devastating long term effects not only on the social and learning abilities of not only the individual exhibiting bullying traits, but also on the victim/s as well.

Mentoring is still one of the most effective solutions for youth development combined with good guidance from peers, family members and communities. The President is convinced that everyone can make a difference in the life of a young person.