Elif & Raperin, Mentor & Mentee 2022
Elif & Raperin were paired as Mentor and Mentee on our April - August 2022 cohort. Together they worked on Raperin’s goals, both learning and growing through the process. In these two short pieces, Elif & Raperin reflect on their journeys and what they have learnt from each other along the way.
“…we have a lot in common, as women we are going through very similar challenges in this male-dominated capitalist world, and we can challenge perspectives collectively by supporting each other…”
Mentor, Elif
I joined the Routes Mentoring Programme to improve and practise my mentoring skills and to support another woman who we might share common challenges in a new country.
I would like to say, the programme was designed by the Routes team very professionally from training to delivery. Even if you do not have any mentoring experience before, but you have a passion for it, the programme prepares you for the mentoring process very smoothly with trainings and individual support when needed. I believe skills we have gained during the programme are very crucial both for your personal and professional development. So, if anyone would like to try mentoring and not sure where to start, Routes Mentoring Programme provides a safe space for you to learn and grow.
Becoming a mentor of the Routes Mentoring Programme has been the most rewarding thing I have done in the last year. It was a pure joy to meet with Raperin and be able to accompany her in her journey. Raperin is a very strong woman with a lot of passion and resilience. She wants to understand the non-profit sector in the UK and continue developing a career here as she has a lot of work experience already.
Her struggles of trying to pursue a career in a new country reminded me of my own struggles when first I moved to the UK. After our long conversations I discovered that we have a lot in common, as women we are going through very similar challenges in this male-dominated capitalist world, and we can challenge perspectives collectively by supporting each other.
We have structured our meetings according to Raperin’ s goals and needs but we never missed any chance to get to know each other better and have fun together during the process. Being a part of Raperin’ s journey inspired me a lot and gave me a chance to reflect on my own journey as well. Raperin is a true source of inspiration not only for her daughters but also for the women in her community.
“She never missed a chance saying how much she is learning from me like I learn from her, she is very much like a kind, smart and caring friend. ”
Mentee, Raperin
I was referred by a colleague to Routes being a newcomer to the UK. I was not sure how beneficial this would be for me but was open to try. The introduction meeting motivated me as the general friendly atmosphere was really present and encouraging. My goal from this program was to get to know the work system in the UK, diminish my fears, and restore my confidence.
In the first meeting with my mentor I was expecting a question-answer atmosphere, but no it was a simple meeting just getting to know each other. I must be honest I was not convinced that this could lead to somewhere, but because I’m not the kind of person who would pull back from a commitment I just decided to continue. THANKFULLY, I made just the right decision as later after meeting once every week, we started to really know each other, we discussed our deep concerns and thoughts, we laughed, we met in person and it became my favorite hour of the week.
Elif was genuinely involved in our conversations and discussions, she was honest and kind, and she shared her experiences and thoughts just like I did. She never missed a chance saying how much she is learning from me like I learn from her, she is very much like a kind, smart and caring friend.
She helped to understand the work system in the UK, the knowledge and experience she shared made me look into things from a totally different angle. We defined together our strengths and weaknesses on both professional and personal level, I discovered skills that I would never believe I have.
Now that the programme has just reached the end I have a much clearer vision of how to reach my goal with no fears, more confidence and a trustworthy, out of the blue friend who I can always seek advice from.
Written and published August 2022
The Routes to Employment Pilot Project was developed in response to our RTE research findings, aiming to explore apprenticeships as an innovative employment pathway for refugee women in our community.