Mentorship

The barrier

Many girls make big decisions alone: which subjects to take, whether to stay in school, how to handle pressure from peers or partners, how to earn money. Few have an adult outside the family they can trust to talk things through.

A good mentor does not hand out answers. She helps a girl see her options, ask better questions and build the confidence to choose.

What we have done

Walks of Life was GCCAI's mentorship project, run in partnership with the Mentor Me Initiative. It aimed to build relationships of trust where teenagers could talk to role models about their personal struggles and make decisions that shape their future.

Sessions focused on:

• choosing a career
• dealing with peer pressure and emotional ups and downs
• self-discovery, identity and self-esteem
• addictions
• entrepreneurship and financial decisions

What comes next

We are rebuilding mentorship as a structured programme for 2026, with:

• small groups of girls matched with trained, safeguarding-checked mentors
• a clear curriculum over a fixed period, covering school, careers, money, safety and wellbeing
• simple check-ins at the start and end, to see whether girls feel more confident about their next steps

How you can help

• Become a mentor. Professionals of every kind are welcome. We will train you and run checks first.
• Host a session at your workplace so girls can see careers up close.
• Partner with us if your organisation already mentors young people.