The Cable & Wireless Scholarship programme now into its 16th year is being enhanced through a mentorship programme.

Cable & Wireless recognizes that healthy personal development is enhanced by positive nurturing mentoring relationships and such relationships are often hard to find. The company’s Big Brother / Big Sister Programme seeks to provide students with positive adult role models who offer them friendship and support to aid their development of self value and confidence through having a positive and caring adult friend who listens, accepts, understands, and respects them.

The volunteers in the programme are Cable & Wireless staff members at all levels. A series of training workshops were held with the volunteers and the programme has now officially begun.

After meeting with her mentee last week Karline Hypolite, Executive assistant to the CE and one of the mentors in the programme –said “this will probably be one of the most rewarding things that I will do for a child. My mentee seems to be a sweet and smart young lady. I have identified areas in which I can work with her and I am happy to be able to help.”

The mentorship programme is extended through the entire Cable & Wireless Scholarship Awards Programme to include awardees at all levels.

Over the past 15 years Cable & Wireless has awarded at least 14 scholarships per year to students entering secondary schools whose parents are faced with extreme financial challenges. The company does academic follow up with each student annually and conducts summer workshops and on the job training for the awardees. The introduction of the mentorship programme is another way identified by the Human Resource Department of Cable & Wireless that can assist in the holistic development of the awardees. It also provides the staff with an opportunity to interact with the awardees therefore making them feel more a part the Cable & Wireless family. The 2007 programme will soon be officially launched.