You may perhaps remember a school teacher who inspired you profoundly, so much so that at this time you can unequivocally state that without that teacher you would not have the success you have at this time. Many of us can make that statement.
If it was not a teacher, it could have been a relative, a friend or another person, often a little older than you, who always encouraged you to stretch your mind and your imagination, to stretch your physical ability beyond the average. That person totally believed in your potential to excel, to conquer mediocrity and averageness, to soar above to the heights of achievement that you would not have reached without that person.
We call that person a mentor. In his book, The Healing Wisdom of Africa, the West African author, Malidoma Patrice Some, states that young people cannot survive and flourish without a mentor.
He defines a mentor as a guide who shows you the way, working from a position of respect and affinity. The mentor sees a shining star in the mentee. She or he sees the mentee as a storehouse of possibility; every one is a storehouse of endless possibilities of certain potentials that need to be honoured and developed. Some says: “the mentor perceives a presence knocking at a door within the mentee and accepts the task of finding, or becoming the key that opens the door.”
The wise one, Sobonfu Some, says that each child is a genius who brings gifts to the community, and that it is the responsibility of a mentor to nourish these abilities in the mentee, so that, at the end of the day, the mentee delivers precious gifts to the community.
The mentee, and therefore each person, is understood by African philosophy as one who comes into this world to share what she or he has with family and community. In this kind of thinking, each of us is here on earth to be a blessing for others, not just for self and family.
So we go back to our question: who is the person who has mentored you to reach where you are today? Who is mentoring your son or daughter to become the best they can be? These are serious questions that need profound answers so that our young people, our children and grandchildren, have the right kind of mentors.
© Prof. Raymond S. Mosha
(+255) 769 417 886 · mosha@depaul.edu
