Mentors4U Colombia

Mentors4U Colombia was co-founded in 2017 by young Colombians, after noticing the socio-economic barriers and professional challenges to accessing the labour market in their country. The non-profit organisation identifies, supports and connects low-income students with career opportunities through their mentoring programme. Yineth was a mentee of the original programme in Colombia. After graduating, she became their Director of Operations, and then COO, where she replicated the programme throughout Colombia.

Yineth attended the One Young World Summit in Bogotá, 2017, as a fellow of The Jang-Calderón Family Foundation in 2017. Being part of the One Young World Community, especially in Colombia, has given her the opportunity to expand her work with Mentors4U Colombia. Yineth created a mentorship programme for Ambassadors that are part of the One Young World network in the country as a pilot in 2019. The feedback and knowledge she gained from this experiment proved vital to the project’s later success. Through One Young World, Yineth has been connected with both local and international opportunities, and has been involved with the Latin American Leadership Academy.

Mentors4U Colombia has successfully organised seven mentorship programmes, impacting over 500 students, and the project has been successfully replicated through partner organisations in four other countries. Their mentorship programme lasts between six to seven months on average, with mentors and mentees meeting up to four hours a month on a one-to-one basis. The organisation provides skills building opportunities through workshops, as well as guidelines and advice, to mentors and mentees alike, to ensure that both parties get the most out of their time together. Mentors4U Colombia also reduces social gaps when it comes to accessing the labour market. Their methodology has been used to advise universities, businesses and non-governmental organisations in Colombia to create their own mentoring programmes, and the organisation has partnered with university alumni associations and companies to source its mentors.

“I think that One Young World gives hope for young people to keep working despite the challenges they face daily to change the world. Being part of the One Young World Community, especially in Colombia, has been a great opportunity to expand my work with Mentors4U because they had me create a mentorship pilot programme for other Ambassadors in 2019.”