Mentoring The Nirvana Way

Nirvana Ministries Mentoring Participants

Community Journal Mentoring Program Going Green

Members of the Milwaukee Community Journal sponsored mentoring program, “WhatIs A Man” and “What Is a Woman” recently toured the Urban Farm located on Silver Springs Blvd. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The summer program agenda is focused on the ecology and having a respect and appreciation for our environment.

The youth participants were accompanied by Dr. William Rogers, mentor director of Nirvana Ministries, Lydia Green, peer mentor and Dr. Earl Wheatfall, president of the Milwaukee Chapter of 100 Black Men. The 100 Black Men organization sponsored a pizza party in the park at the conclusion of the tour. The “summer program” youth range in age from 4 to 12 and consist of both male and female.

During the week participants discuss and read books on the environment. They also develop mini projects around the environment and make presentations to parents and visitors. After the completion of the Urban Farm tour, the group went to the public library and designed their own puppet show based on things learned from the farm tour.

Wardell Canser listens to Deon Nabors Jr. as he does a puppet presentation on farm life.

The youth meet twice a week and take two field trips a month. The field trips are sponsored by a grant from the Milwaukee County “Safe Alternative Youth Program” under the leadership of County Board Chair Lee Holloway. The mentoring program is also funded by the Milwaukee Community Journal and Nirvana Ministries. The mentoring program has been in existence four years and operates mainly from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. School in Milwaukee during the regular school year.

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Young Women From Milwaukee Give Tribute To The Legacy of Fannie Lou Hamer

RAYS OF HOPE:

USING HISTORY AS A TOOL FOR MENTORING

Eight grade students from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. School recently held their annual African American History Tour of the Civil Rights attractions in Memphis, Tennessee and the Mississippi Delta area. Dr. King School is an African American Immersion program, the only such program in the Milwaukee Public School system.

Several of the students on the tour were members of the What Is A Man and the What Is a Woman mentoring program sponsored by the Milwaukee Community Journal and Nirvana Ministries at Dr. King School. The program has been in operation at Dr. King School for three years.

The trip was sponsored by donations from Northwestern Mutual, community businesses, individuals, parents, Dr. King staff and Dr. King School. Twenty two students made the trip, along with school principal, Shiron Posely; eighth grade teacher, Janet Butler; staff, Dannette Justus, Barbara Kimbrough; school mentors, Tyrone Dumas, Frenchie Beckum, Mark Wade, County Supervisor Toni Clark; and school historical consultant, Dr. William Rogers.

The Memphis portion of the tour included the Civil Rights Museum,Slave Haven and the Stax Museum.

The Mississippi tour was organized by Mississippi Valley State University located in Itta Bena, Mississippi. Site visits included: Baptist Town Community,in Greenwood, MS, where Robert Johnson lived, played and died; Money, MS, where the tragic events leading to the kidnapping & murder of Emmett Till unfolded, Mississippi Valley State University campus with a tour of the Delta Research Cultural Institute & the campus Student Union. Students also went to Indianola,MS to tour the B.B. King Museum. They were able to experience a live performance by recording artist Dr. Alphonso Sanders and meet Mrs. Mary Shepard, the Delta Blues Homecoming Queen. The tour also included a visit to Ruleville, MS to visit the Fannie Lou Hamer Memorial.

Prior to attending the trip students were lectured on the history of all the sites to be covered on the trip by eighth grade teacher Janet Butler, Dr. William Rogers and Tyrone Dumas. The lectures not only included historical information but stressed how each participant must prepare their lives to be leaders and institution builders at the completion of their education.

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WHY MENTORING IS NECESSARY

There are many factors that challenge the healthy existence of family life. Many family structures are fractured which is often a results of the physical and spiritual absence of the father. This condition creates a major challenge in the successful maturation of male and female youth to adulthood.

Mentoring is a special relationship that can offset some of the negative results which are manifested from this circumstance. Mentoring is based on men and women who have successfully traveled the road to adulthood. This concept requires adults to reach out and assist younger males and females in achieving life goals and pursuing their dreams. It encourages men and women to teach youth the things they have learned in order to survive in the world. Mentoring means committing ones time and effort to develop a supportive relationship with a young male or female. Well organized mentoring programs have proven to be a successful tool in combating and preventing many of the self-destructive behaviors that plague young folk today.

A community that embraces and supports mentoring is a community operating in the spirit of the Kwanzaa principle, kujichagulia (self determination). A strong mentoring community is one that is taking charge of its destiny.

The following are all outcomes of an effective mentoring program:

•Mentors foster and encourage an “elevated” academic attitude among youth, helping them to understand the purpose of learning.

•Mentors as positive role models provide examples and give instructions for practicing positive life-styles.

•Mentors steer youth away from engaging in self-destructive life styles.

•Mentors encourage youth to understand the necessity of having a love and respect for God, self, family and community.

•Mentors assist youth in creating, developing and using positive decision making skills, critical thinking skills, and problem solving skills.

•Through mentoring, youth are exposed to a variety of activities and environments that give them a better understanding of the world and their place in the world.

Mentoring is not a panacea for all social ills that impact the black family, but it is a proven fact that mentoring can redirect youth toward a more productive path in life. We encourage the men of our community to “step to the plate” and become a mentor. You have something to offer. Your travels along life’s highway will make a wonderful guide for young men. You survived the journey, now help another young brother make their journey a successful one. Let me leave you with a wonderful poem my father taught me many years ago. Digest its meaning and let me suggest that you follow its example.

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