Mentors Without Borders

By Uzma Hussain

Edited by Lauren Quirici

The program that I am working with, Mentors Without Borders, was begun last year by myself and Mahdiya Ahmed.  This project began as a result of a CAUSE project centering around tutoring the Hussein family, a group of Somali refugees. Through them, I learned that there was a larger refugee population in Springfield. After learning this, we started working on forming a project designed to interact with and assist the refugee community in Springfield. This year, I am working on the project alongside another CBL fellow, Michaela Coughlin.The program has two CBL fellows, but we have many more mentors than we did when we started.

This year, one of the main things we wanted to work on was structure. Along with the help of Alan Bloomgarden, we discussed some methods for doing this. One of the steps we took toward establishing a better structure was purchasing workbooks that were recommended to us by Grey House, which also works with ESL students.

I am currently a senior, so I will be working on this project for one more semester. After I graduate, Michaela will take over. Structure and specialized education for each age group is something that I would like to achieve. Not all of the mentees have the same needs, and it’s important that we are able to provide useful resources to them all.

As with anything, especially a project that is relatively new, we do face some challenges. I’ve realized that it’s always important to keep in mind that although we may set goals for a semester or a year, achieving those goals relies on everyone’s full effort. Therefore, it is important to make sure that everyone is on the same page.  A project such as this is always going to be a challenge. Thinking that just because you found a solution to a problem once doesn’t mean that that problem will not arise again. It is also important to be aware of cultural differences. It’s important to be culturally conscious, and to understand that taking on a savior complex can be very problematic and should be avoided.

Mentee retention, and even mentor retention, has been an obstacle for us in the past. It’s always frustrating to encounter problems like this, but it has always been important for me to be able to take a step back and take a look at the whole picture rather than just one pixel of it.

I think above all, it has been important for me to do more than just study and take exams on this campus. This is why I sought to explore the community around me. Through such exploration, I was able to observe a need in the community and then develop this project to address it. In several of my classes we learn about ideas, concepts, and cultures through texts, but it’s a totally different feel when I actually get the chance to interact with the people who represent these cultures, who have these different ideas and concepts.

Every Sunday, I have a battle with my alarm clock in order to get up to get to Springfield. However, when I am able to make a connection with a mentee, or when a mentee understands a concept and gets really excited about it…those are the moments that make everything worthwhile. We work so hard on planning lessons to teach the mentees each Sunday, but more often than not I come back to campus realizing that I have also been taught a lesson.