Our Whole Family Mentorship Approach to Youth Mentoring in unique in the way we are willing and ready to join you in your home or somewhere comfortable for you to gather members of your immediate and extended family and friends so we may hold space and educate on what Mentorship entails, what is involved in our Core Programs and how the family unit can best support and nurture the process their young-folk needs in order to regain confidence in themselves as they seek consistent and actionable support in their community.
We feel, and have heard numerous times during this process with families, that mainstream services and government funded youth services often open up their programs and services for free, but families, parents , young people and community feel they are getting a very thin-veneer of consistent and valuable support.
Our programs aren’t free. But they are valuable.
That is why we have built a system & framework that is fair and approachable for both the families we work with, and the mentors that are dedicating a portion of their lives to walk beside them.
Although we have evolved since our initial formation, it is important to us in the name of Intercultural Solidarity to acknowledge where we came from, in order to know where we are heading.
MANA is born from the Polynesian worldview on Personal Power, Strength and Energy.
It is about WHO we are as a Person.
WHAT we do with this Power.
and
WHERE we apply it in our Communities.
It is a force that can be gained and lost through any and all of our day to day actions.
Well, here at MANA Youth Project we believe that by fostering positive community connections and learning to foster congruence; that is when our beliefs and values are ‘in-tune’ with our words and actions, and we can create, nurture and circulate positive and long lasting wellbeing in our communities.
Intergenerational Mentoring is led by Adults & Elders throughout our communities who are invested in the next generations of young people.
It is our Kuleana (Responsibility) and Mission to connect young people to mentors and provide a safe, purpose-led and consistent commitment to helping young people gain authorship over their unique identities and personal narratives through a defining Heroes Journey that will lead them into a discovery process that most people never get the opportunity to take.
That is where we are at now in OUR own Journey here at MANA Youth Project.
Manifesting a Need to reflect on everyday life. What is working for you. What isn't. Where you have been. Where you are wanting to go.
What you want in your life. And who you want to be as a person.
Raising awareness of the aspects of yourself and your life that are no longer serving us. At this stage we may be seeking change, and may be on the lookout for someone who can guide us to where we want to be.
Now that we are on the path to understanding our strengths, values, beliefs and morals, we now must develop a philosophy or code that will hold us accountable and help us navigate this newfound wisdom.
Being Authentic means coming from a real place within. It is when our actions and words are congruent with our beliefs and values. It is being ourselves, not an imitation of what we think we should be or have been told we should be.
This is the truest version of ourselves we can possibly be.
