Example Reflection – Storytelling    Challenge & Selection     I have been working as mentor-coordinator in a social program which aimed to help a group  of young gipsy people (ages 12-16) to finish school and continue studying in secondary  education. (In our country, schooling is mandatory until the age of 16 and gipsy people living  in extreme poverty are especially at risk not being able to finish primary school, repeating  classes quite often, falling out of education, and thus not able to easily find a job and to  integrate into the society…).  Many of the adults in such poor villages had left school early  (e.g. to help their parents raise their siblings or work on the fields) and their children can see  such examples mostly. (Those who could achieve more in life, moved out of the village  already.)    The program works with volunteers of young people (25+ of ages) who are carefully selected  (some are from the same minority group but living in the capital), and they all feel motivated  to help these teenagers with various social inclusive programs. The challenge of the program  is to make these kids understand why education is important and how our mentors could  support them on a daily basis.      As many of the volunteers just recently joined the program, first they needed to get more  information on their mentees and build trust. I decided to use Storytelling to facilitate this get- to-know process, to help open up our mentees, who often deal with prejudice and  preconceptions; who need empathy, inspiration and empowerment to strengthen their self  confidence and self esteem. I hoped that Storytelling would also help our mentors get closer  to their mentees and build trust.    Application    Before talking to the mentees, we had several group sessions with the mentors to get  prepared. We shared stories from our own teenager lives, we talked about our past  experiences with people of similar circumstances etc. We shared stories of previous mentees,  (in other social support programs) and we collected some of the topics we think these  teenagers may face. We were learning about Storytelling as a tool and how to use it with the  help of a trainer.     We decided to pick a few of our own stories that we could share with the mentees. We  focused on stories that include young people with difficulties at school or those with personal  challenges in their families (e.g. abusive parents, parents or siblings using drugs, early  pregnancy etc). We were also seeking stories that have positive outcome and identified some  key learning points that could help our mentees understand more of the situations shared and  the impact on someone’s life.   Mentors shared these stories within the group and we also collected a few reflective questions  that could add to the story and raise more interest and empathy. We made sure each mentor  had a few stories like these, either from his/her own life or something he/she could share with  lots of empathy. We wanted to share some of these stories to connect, to find out more about  the mentees’ personal stories and to understand their own fears, motivations and needs.    Insight & Approach     Two weeks later our mentor group met again. All mentees, with full of emotions, spoke about  their fantastic experiences with the mentees. Despite of initial fears on both sides, mentees  were all very enthusiastic that they had someone to talk to. To have his or her “own mentor”  as something like a treasure, not everyone could have had in the community... As the mentors  shared stories and experiences of their first few meetings it became quite clear how the

Storytelling toolkit actually helped building trust between mentor and mentee.     One of the mentors told us the story how the attitude of her mentee gradually changed. At the  beginning she was seemingly quite reserved and bored. She was not too open about her  school experiences or about her own family situation either. She told the mentor that she  would like to quit school because she is bored. No other reason.   The mentor was then sharing a story of her own life, how she had left school and moved out  of her parents’ house at the age of 16 to “punish” her parents. She worked as waiter and  cleaner and had to do a lot of low skilled work, often late night, so she could pay her bills.  Through a series of eye-opening experiences she decided to take ownership of her own life,  and ten years later she finished secondary school, graduated and started working on her own  film making project. The story focused on our decisions and life challenges.     Our mentor was really proud that as she had shared her own story the mentee was opening up  and started asking a lot of questions. She was also telling about her own goal to become a  cook and then they could talk about what she would need to learn to become a cook. The  mentor even offered to take her to a restaurant to talk to a “real” cook…    We all agreed that this is a great story, especially because the mentee’s comment was: she  would have never thought others (“in the capital”) would also have similar fights with their  parents…Naturally, we all think about our own bad experiences in life as unique that happen  to us only, until someone shares a story and we realize we are not alone…     What I have learnt during these meetings is that sharing our experiences and sharing life  stories is a very powerful tool in the mentoring program. This was the first time that the  mentor program was built on it, mainly with the teenage group of mentees. Other people’s  stories brought to surface our own stories and mentors felt even more motivated and prepared  to do field work. Storytelling is especially good tool while working with a minority group, as  they can connect more easily, feel empathy and understand that “they are not alone”. Such  stories can help mentees create their own stories which show new directions in their lives.   All the stories we collected in our workshops will be written and shared with other members  of the organization for future use.


Example Reflection – Storytelling Challenge & Selection I have been working as mentor - coordinator in a social program which aimed to help a group of young gipsy people ( ages 12 - 16 ) to finish school and continue studying in secondary education . ( In our country , schooling is mandatory until the age of 16 and gipsy people living in extreme poverty are especially at risk not being able to finish primary school , repeating classes quite often , falling out of education , and thus not able to easily find a job and to integrate into the society … ) . Many of the adults in such poor villages had left school early ( e.g. to help their parents raise their siblings or work on the fields ) and their children can see such examples mostly . ( Those who could achieve more in life , moved out of the village already . ) The program works with volunteers of young people ( 25 + of ages ) who are carefully selected ( some are from the same minority group but living in the capital ) , and they all feel motivated to help these teenagers with various social inclusive programs . The challenge of the program is to make these kids understand why education is important and how our mentors could support them on a daily basis . As many of the volunteers just recently joined the program , first they needed to get more information on their mentees and build trust . I decided to use Storytelling to facilitate this get- to - know process , to help open up our mentees , who often deal with prejudice and preconceptions ; who need empathy , inspiration and empowerment to strengthen their self confidence and self esteem . I hoped that Storytelling would also help our mentors get closer to their mentees and build trust . Application Before talking to the mentees , we had several group sessions with the mentors to get prepared . We shared stories from our own teenager lives , we talked about our past experiences with people of similar circumstances etc . We shared stories of previous mentees , ( in other social support programs ) and we collected some of the topics we think these teenagers may face . We were learning about Storytelling as a tool and how to use it with the help of a trainer . We decided to pick a few of our own stories that we could share with the mentees . We focused on stories that include young people with difficulties at school or those with personal challenges in their families ( e.g. abusive parents , parents or siblings using drugs , early pregnancy etc ) . We were also seeking stories that have positive outcome and identified some key learning points that could help our mentees understand more of the situations shared and the impact on someone ’s life . Mentors shared these stories within the group and we also collected a few reflective questions that could add to the story and raise more interest and empathy . We made sure each mentor had a few stories like these , either from his / her own life or something he / she could share with lots of empathy . We wanted to share some of these stories to connect , to find out more about the mentees ’ personal stories and to understand their own fears , motivations and needs . Insight & Approach Two weeks later our mentor group met again . All mentees , with full of emotions , spoke about their fantastic experiences with the mentees . Despite of initial fears on both sides , mentees were all very enthusiastic that they had someone to talk to . To have his or her “ own mentor ” as something like a treasure , not everyone could have had in the community ... As the mentors shared stories and experiences of their first few meetings it became quite clear how the Storytelling toolkit actually helped building trust between mentor and mentee . One of the mentors told us the story how the attitude of her mentee gradually changed . At the beginning she was seemingly quite reserved and bored . She was not too open about her school experiences or about her own family situation either . She told the mentor that she would like to quit school because she is bored . No other reason . The mentor was then sharing a story of her own life , how she had left school and moved out of her parents ’ house at the age of 16 to “ punish ” her parents . She worked as waiter and cleaner and had to do a lot of low skilled work , often late night , so she could pay her bills . Through a series of eye - opening experiences she decided to take ownership of her own life , and ten years later she finished secondary school , graduated and started working on her own film making project . The story focused on our decisions and life challenges . Our mentor was really proud that as she had shared her own story the mentee was opening up and started asking a lot of questions . She was also telling about her own goal to become a cook and then they could talk about what she would need to learn to become a cook . The mentor even offered to take her to a restaurant to talk to a “ real ” cook … We all agreed that this is a great story , especially because the mentee ’s comment was : she would have never thought others ( “ in the capital ” ) would also have similar fights with their parents … Naturally , we all think about our own bad experiences in life as unique that happen to us only , until someone shares a story and we realize we are not alone … What I have learnt during these meetings is that sharing our experiences and sharing life stories is a very powerful tool in the mentoring program . This was the first time that the mentor program was built on it , mainly with the teenage group of mentees . Other people ’s stories brought to surface our own stories and mentors felt even more motivated and prepared to do field work . Storytelling is especially good tool while working with a minority group , as they can connect more easily , feel empathy and understand that “ they are not alone ” . Such stories can help mentees create their own stories which show new directions in their lives . All the stories we collected in our workshops will be written and shared with other members of the organization for future use .