Latest results from the 2017-18 Community Leadership Training course funded by MK Community Foundation are very positive for the new Mentoring activity,  included for the first time.  Mentoring appears to have the greatest impact of all activities for those who experienced it (see chart above). scoring an impact rating of 75%.

“I met 3 times with one of my mentees,” said Ayser Al Jawad of Middle Eastern Cultural Group,  “It felt very good to discuss the Citizens concepts from the training and clarify certain aspects.”

“I met with my mentor formally once although I had other interaction with him over the year,” said Linda McComie or St. Edward’s Catholic Church.  “As a result of that meeting I set some goals which i subsequently achieved.  I then set some further goals which i am slowly working through.  My awareness of relational building tool within the context of community change is theoretical and mentoring overlaid this with more practical aspects some of which I was able to use.”

“The Mentoring experience was a good one for me,” said Tess Price of Church of Christ the Cornerstone.  “She was a really great mentor! She was encouraging, empathetic and supported me by listening, giving me good advice and being very supportive.”

Mentor Tim Norwood, co-Chair of Citizens:mk who has attended national Six-Day Training, said:  “I started the first session by laying out some ground rules, ie confidentiality, role, and expectations, and I’ve been clear that my role is to listen and ask questions, not to tell them what to do. I have also pointed out that we are teaching community organising, so I will keep bringing the conversation back to the methods and principles of community organising.”

Another mentor, Kurshida Mirza, also co-Chair of Citizens:mk, said:  “I only met my mentees formally once but kept in touch with them virtually as well as chatting to them over the phone and supporting them at events.  I also supported them with creating opportunities for them by opening up dialogue with others to enable them to develop their potential.

“For me I found the experience as a mentor highly rewarding, it was my way of giving back to Citizens: mk for giving me the tools to enable community organising. It was such a delight to see my mentees develop and the best of all was that my own institution gained from being able to recruit such competent individuals. One of the mentees has become a Trustee of my institution and the other a sister organisation … so all in all it has been a win, win!”