Be the change you want to achieve!

METAdrasi as coordinator and the partners of the European project entitled PROUD (Promoting Supported Independent Living as an alternative care practice for unaccompanied minors) are pleased to announce the start of the application process for one hundred (100) mentors who will undertake the support and guidance of 100 unaccompanied minors throughout Greece.

Why become a mentor to an unaccompanied minor?

These selected to assume the role of the mentor, will help these minors to gain self-confidence, in order to effectively face all the challenges they will experience before or during their transition to autonomous adult life – such as housing, employment, education and financial management. Additionally, mentors will have the opportunity to pass on to the unaccompanied young people the necessary knowledge and skills that will enable them to effectively manage all the issues of an adult’s daily life.

Who can apply to become a mentor?

Anyone who:

• is above 25 years old, regardless of his/ her educational and professional background
• has got life experience and knowledge he/she would like to share
• speaks English and/or French
• has experience in similar activities and interventions

Mentors participation is voluntary.

The mentoring process

The mentoring action of the PROUD project is of crucial importance for the effective support of unaccompanied minors living in child protection structures in Greece. The mentors who will be chosen will be given the unique opportunity to shape the lives and the future of one hundred (100) unaccompanied minors, transmitting knowledge and skills that will facilitate their smooth transition to adulthood and their integration in the Greek society as equal members.

The application process for prospective mentors starts on Monday, December 21 and will last until the end of January 2021. Those who wish to undertake the valuable but often demanding role of the mentor for one of the one hundred unaccompanied children participating in the PROUD project, are invited to submit their application on the project’s website, https://careforminors.eu/mentors/how-to-become-a-mentor/. The processing of applications will result in the selection of one hundred suitable mentors, who will have the opportunity to participate in the training on counseling and mentoring of unaccompanied minors. They will then be matched with their mentee and begin their mentoring meetings (live and/or electronically). The minimum number of meetings between a mentor and a mentee is twelve and will take place during the period March-October 2021.

The PROUD project

The PROUD project (Promoting Supported Independent Living as an alternative care practice for unaccompanied minors) is a two year project, implemented in Greece, the Netherlands, Spain and Germany, with the aim to support unaccompanied minors, aged between 15-18 years old residing in these countries, during their transition to an adult and independent life. The project is coordinated by METAdrasi, while the other project partners in Greece include NGO Apostoli, the Centre for European Constitutional Law and theAthens Lifelong Learning Institute, in the Netherlands Stichting Nidos, in Germany Plan International and in Spain Fundació Idea.

For more information and applications, interested parties can visit the project’s website https://careforminors.eu/mentors/how-to-become-a-mentor/ and take the first step towards a life experience both for themselves and for each unaccompanied child they will support.