This week our Generation STORM programme delivered its final mentor session to it’s latest cohort of young women and girls. The 36-week programme supports young black women and girls aged 16-25 from across London.
Although our target outreach was set at 15 young females, we successfully recruited 19 young women by the time the first session took place. The over subscription of this programme highlights the growing need for more targeted mentorship programmes like this within UK communities.
Throughout the past 36-weeks the females have improved their wellbeing by taking part in weekly fitness, sports and youth game activities. They also learnt different survival and life skills that they will be able to use in their day-to-day life, such as self-defence and braiding Afro-Caribbean hair.
Kadiatu is a young woman from the programme. She shared: “Generation STORM is a fantastic programme that aids young adults to be competent in starting their adult life. I personally benefited from the exercise as it made me more proactive in fitness and improved my mental health.”
Shedaine is our Women and Girls Programmes Manager and is the lead Coach Mentor on this programme. Having designed the programme herself, Shedaine wanted to make sure the young females increased their resilience to social challenges they will face whilst also learning how to find their tribe. Shedaine shared: “A tribe is a group of people that become one, similar to a family.”
Over the last couple of weeks, the young people have been focusing on personal affirmations, goal setting and self-appreciation as well as ways they can stay involved with The Change Foundation after they graduate. Ways of staying involved include becoming Young Ambassadors and returning as future workshops mentors.
Although there is disappointment amongst the women and girls that the sessions will soon finish, Shedaine has been busy organising an exciting retreat in Bournemouth that will celebrate the personal developments each young person.
Kadiatu also shared: “Throughout the programme I have learnt how to manage my time, be safe on social media and most of all how to conduct myself in public whilst planning what I want to do as an adult. The programme has made me gain a lot of confidence and I would not hesitate to recommend it to other young adults like me”.
Shedaine is incredibly proud of the progress that each young person has made. She shared: “It is overwhelming to have watched the programme evolve over the past 36-weeks. The young females see themselves as a tribe and can now discuss anything they want as they see it as a safe place”.
To hear more about Generation storm please contact Shedaine Henry.
