Mosaic has celebrated its achievements across Yorkshire at a special event held in Doncaster.
20 year-old Jazibah Ziarab, a student from Bradford, was one of the keynote speakers at the event. Jazibah’s story is particularly significant as she is the first former mentee of Mosaic to begin work as a mentor, having been mentored herself through Mosaic’s Secondary School programme when she was in Year 10 at Belle Vue Girls’ School in Bradford.
In her address, Jazibah commented: “I was 14 when our teachers told us we would be taking part in Mosaic’s mentoring programme to help us with our employability skills and confidence. I was so aloof before starting, had no intention of going into higher education and didn’t know what career I was interested in. After taking part in Mosaic’s mentoring programme, that all changed. Now I feel so much better and more composed as a person. There hasn’t been one interview that I’ve been to where it hasn’t been successful.”
The event also saw four pupils from Field Lane Infant and Junior School in Batley share their experience of Mosaic’s Primary School mentoring programme in front of the one hundred strong audience. 10 year-old Zahra Ali, said: “I really enjoyed learning from our mentors – Ajaz Ahmed, Nabila Ayub and Griselda Togobo. They taught us that if we work hard and believe in ourselves, we can get any job we want when we grow up.”
Mosaic chairman Shabir Randeree CBE, chose the occasion to announce the winner of Mosaic’s national ‘Mentor of the Year’ award, which this year went to Nasrin Akhtar from Birmingham.
Shabir commented: “Our volunteer mentor community is the life blood of our programme delivery at Mosaic. Each individual mentor is so special to us, and to the young people whose lives they impact.”
The ‘Mentor of the Year’ award was presented by Mosaic’s founding chairman, HRH Princess Badiya bint El Hassan of Jordan, who gave a speech widely praising the charity’s continued dedication to improving the lives of young people around the UK as it celebrates its 10-year anniversary.
Mosaic’s presence in Yorkshire continues to grow and in the 2016/17 academic year, more young people than ever are being given the help and inspiration they need to plan their future.
I am honoured to have been involved with Mosaic since its launch in 2007. It is a vital organisation: providing a positive platform for young people to explore the issues and opportunities facing them today. As a member of Mosaic’s speaker bureau, I spoke at its ‘Connecting Cultures’ event in...