Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) is a nonprofit children’s mentoring programme is focused on creating brighter futures for Thames/Coromandel children through long term, meaningful relationships with a positive adult role model/ tuakana.  Big Brothers Big Sister’s kaupapa is all about using these relationships to build, strengthen and promote positive relationships between children, youth, adults, whanau, the local community and iwi.

On 17 October, the team officially signed on to become part of the Big Brothers Big Sisters Aotearoa affiliated whānau. Taking the helm as Branch Manager is Nicki Airey, former BBBS Rotorua Manager.

The children on our programme are lucky enough to have an adult spend at least one hour per week with them on their own. They do fun things like baking, mountain biking, swimming, playing sport, board games or just hanging out. For a lot of the children involved in BBBS they are missing one or both parents often due to drug, alcohol or criminal problems or they need guidance to attend school and gain confidence. For these children having an adult who dedicates time each week to just them is so important for developing their self-worth and self-confidence.

Benefits to the child

The outcomes of the BBBS programme have been researched extensively both nationally and internationally. BBBS completes Programme Outcome Evaluations with each participating child, mentor and caregiver annually.

Some key highlights from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health study on Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada include:

·        Mentored boys are 2 times less likely to develop negative conducts like bullying, fighting, lying, cheating, or losing their temper.

·        Mentored boys are 2 times more likely to believe that school is fun and that doing well academically is important.

·        Mentored girls are 4 times less likely to bully, fight, lie or express anger than girls without a mentor.

Benefits to the family

Nearly 60% of our children are being raised by a solo mother, while just over 20% are being raised by a grandparent or grandparents. Often these families are experiencing very challenging situations and they are appreciative of not only the support for their children but also themselves. Each mentoring match is supervised by a professional social work coordinator who not only provides support for the mentor and the child but also the family. Often this can mean the BBBS Coordinators can be making referrals and attending meetings with other social agencies to facilitate additional support for the family, attending family meetings at school with teachers, or providing resources like bikes for the children.