Big Brother/Big Sister Project
Online Mentoring
By: Ma. Concecpion ‘Jing’ Ureta, Director Student Assistance Program/Personnel Officer
Notre Dame Of Marbel University
Koronadal City, South Cotabato Philippines

Background:
The online mentoring started with some few friends from the US three years ago. It was easy to match a mentee with a mentor. I saw the excitement of the students as they exchanged emails with people who were complete strangers to them.

I guess the passion to reach out and touch lives grew deeper in me when I learned from a friend about a sudden death of a street kid. He was probably bored with life or even got tired of it. I realized that like him there are more students under my supervision who simply want a friend, a big brother/big sister to listen, care and nurture them. I knew that if I wanted to reach out to all my students I needed more people to help me out. I started inviting more mentors among the various E groups I belong. Surprisingly, I never ran out of people who just wanted to do something good for other people. People from here and abroad answered my call for the project.

Proponents:
The mentees of the project are working students under the Student Assistance Program of the Notre Dame of Marbel University. The students are selected and matched with mentors who may or may not request for specific preference such as their professional interest.

Objective:
Allow people to take an active interest in a working student’s life especially in his education where they guide and motivate the students to be the best that they can be.

How it is done:
The project is a total departure from the traditional mentoring since it does not follow a standard format. Everything is done online. It is easier than a face to face meeting since there is no schedule to follow, no tense moments when one has to face a teacher or a mentor. A mentor’s experience is usually more than enough to set the pace. Everything else will flow.

How Online Mentoring helps:
Online Mentoring works both ways. For the mentee: the student learns from the mentors’ experiences that will help prepare him for a life after graduation. The mentors on the other hand learns and appreciates the difficulties that the student mentee has to cope with.

Would you like to read testimonials?

If you're interested in being a big brother or big sister, please contact donna@katipunan-usa.org. You will be assigned a college student in the Philippines and let the emailing begin.