By Ikenna Uwadileke
The Judy Alexis Foundation, a non-governmental organisation based in Abuja has commenced its mentorship series to develop youth population on capacity and productivity.
Speaking at the maiden edition of the mentors programme on Wednesday, the founder, Ms Judy Melifonwu said it was targeted at accelerating the potential of young Nigerians and give professionals opportunity to give back to their local communities.
According to her, this elevate mentorship forum held at Triple 9 Apartments, Pool and Spa in Lifecamp brought to light the importance of mentorship and how it can aid people in all stages of life.
“Many times people feel that money is what they need so that they can move to the next level in life. This is not always the case.
“The Judy Alexis Foundation is working to show people how they can elevate their lives through emulating the good practices of people within their chosen fields, expanding their networks and striving for excellence in all that they do,’’ she said.
Melifonwu said her involvement in the project was giving back to the society through learning opportunity, creating a platform for networking activities, transfer of skills, sharing experience as benefits to mentees among others.
“The program brought together 50 mentees interested in personal development and seasoned professionals with a variety of backgrounds: entrepreneurs, public servants, members of the armed forces and corporate executives.
“These mentors spoke to participants so that they could naturally decide who they want to be mentored by and a lot of great relationships were built,’’ she said.
Some of the mentors described the programme as what would empower youths and engage them meaningfully in the society.
According to Aisha Shabba, a TV personality, mentoring is the new goldmine toward youth empowerment.
“When I heard about this programme I was very happy because one thing that we learn especially when you are growing to be successful is that you need a very good mentor, someone that will guide you down the line.
“Everybody needs somebody; we all need help and this foundation opens that path for that and it is good to see people interested in getting mentored.
“The economy is very tight so we have a foundation that gets people prepared for the working field, right knowledge, look well and speak well show that we are not waiting for the government to do the work but be the people that will do the work,’’ Shabba said.
Similarly, Lilian Elenwoke, an entrepreneur, described mentoring as a tool for sustainable development among the youth.
She said that the programme provided a platform for young Nigerians to learn from peoples experiences.
“We do not want the younger people to go through the difficult experiences we went through so we want to help them cut that by teaching them what to do and what not to do based on experiences that we had,’’ Elenwoke said.
One of the beneficiaries, Ibrahim Yakubu, said that he would put the knowledge to good use.
According to him, this programme has thought me how I can present myself online and during a meeting as well as how to prepare my curriculum vitae.
“This will help me present myself to those job opportunities that I am looking for,’’ he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the highlight of the event was the `Dress for Success’ clothing space that allowed mentees to pick out professional clothing, shoes handbags and weavons.
According to Melifonwu, this will help them kickstart their new endeavors and dress the way they want to be addressed. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)