Page 143 - Mousumi: Unbelievable Transformation

Youth Mentor

I work as a Youth Mentor a person who is responsible for creating barrier-free,
environments to ensure that youth realise their ultimate potential. I experiment
with this otherwise difficult-sounding task through a residential program called
Aaina Dekho, wherein 15 individuals all over India go on a journey of self-
awareness and value-based leadership building through rural immersion. The 6-
day residential program consists of a pre-designed and intensive schedule to
make the participants delve deeper into self by inducing collective belongingness
through practising the values of acceptance, empathy, honesty, gratitude,
compassion and love. The participants enjoy a series of specially designed
workshops to understand their self-perception, systemic perspectives, and the art
of asking questions through action learning and understanding what influence
their behavior.
Working as a youth mentor is an experience dynamic enough to get you
out of your comfort zone. It requires a sophisticated understanding of the
developmental stage of young adulthood, understanding their challenges and
potential barriers.
Often, skills of creating environments that are powerful and enabling is
a result of extensive research and thoughtful and contextual adoption of
successful models of self-transformation.
It won't raise an eyebrow if I mention that I was not born with the idea. I have
had my share of experiences that defined my journey to take up this role which
goes like this.
I belong to a town called Mandi in Himachal Pradesh. A place is known
for its beauty, temples and distinctive culture. Sadly, the place has been missing
out something integral to its culture- its YOUTH. Most of its people in their
prime tend to live, study and earn in the cities away from their hometown. There
is no reason apart from getting a 'permanent' government job or an 'existing' and
almost thriving family-initiated business opportunity that practically tends to
compel some people to stay in a town they love so deeply. There are hardly
individuals who 'choose' to stay 'back'.
Empathizing deeply with them, there are real-time hardships to get back.
Without going into the reasons, the common belief that hangs in the air is that a
dearth of opportunities coupled with a fear of stagnated financial and perspective
growth. This belief has been woven so deep in the local cultural narrative that
staying back is seen as doing 'nothing much' in life.
People who tend to stay, report of mentioning an enormous cultural
pressure- and, mind you, this can come from anybody in their circle- their
parents, their neighbours and their distant relatives too.
I am one of such youth who has left my community soon after getting
over with school. However, during my postgraduation in Development

♦♦Career Mantra♦♦ Page 142