Big Brothers needs male mentors

Big Brother calls for more male mentors in Mayo


Anton McNulty

THE Big Brother Big Sister (BBBS) Youth Mentoring Programme in Mayo fears alienating up to 20 young people who want to become involved in the programme – because they cannot get enough male volunteers to match up with the young people.
Last month, BBBS held its first national gathering in Delphi Mountain Resort in Connemara with over 100 young people from all over Ireland enjoying the adventure-filled weekend. During the weekend participants took part in an array of activities, such as kayaking, surfing, orienteering, music, photography, art and craft workshops and a table quiz.
The BBBS programme has its origins in the US where it was formed in 1904. It was introduced to Mayo and Galway by Foróige in 2001, before being rolled out nationally in 2004. It is available in 12 counties nationwide and to date there have been over 1,000 matches formed.
Peter Duffy, the BBBS project officer in south Mayo, explained that BBBS was basically a mentoring programme for young people aged between ten and 18 years old with an adult volunteer aged over the age of 18. He said the basic idea is that a friendship will form between the young person and adult volunteer mentor that will promote the positive development of the young person.
He said there were numerous examples of success stories in the programme and the majority of volunteers continue in the programme after the first year because they enjoy it. However, he added that they were having problems getting male volunteers in particular to commit in the Westport area and this caused difficulties in keeping young people interested.
“In Mayo our biggest problem is getting volunteers, both male and female, but it is males we need at the moment. In Westport, there is a list of 20 matches waiting to get involved and one of our problems is that while the young people are enthusiastic and are raring to go, they will only wait so long. The young people want to develop new interests and, hopefully, develop a friendship when they can meet someone for once a week,” he said.
Peter explained that the young person and adult volunteer mentor are matched based on common interests and personalities. In Westport, they meet once a week, for a year, in the Neighbourhood Youth Project building on James’ Street, and together they decide on the type of activities that they would like to do. He said the BBBS programme was an established and proven method and young people and volunteers both get something out of the experience.
“In Westport, we have all the facilities where you can meet up and enjoy yourself, especially at this time of the year. You could ask any of our volunteers, they don’t regard it as a job, they enjoy themselves and most continue year on year.