As you know, it is imperative for youngsters who aspire to become a successful part of the global workforce, to have good English language communication skills.

We have launched a program to impart English language instruction over the phone, to youngsters from disadvantaged backgrounds. Our target group is in their late teens and early twenties. Most of them have had a formal education, upto high school, in a Hindi medium school. Their curriculum includes English, but their language skills are abysmal!

We are gradually building a base of mentors. Our request to them is to converse on the phone, from the comfort of their own home, with a mentee that they are paired with, for a minimum of two hours a week. Mentors may choose any time that is mutually convenient to them, and to their mentee. We ensure that overseas mentors are connected with mentees who have smart phones with WhatsApp.

While mentors enter the lives of mentees through English language conversation, our hope is that, over time, mentors will become more deeply engaged in the lives of those they are connected with. In the process, they can guide the youngsters through the extremely difficult circumstances that they are born into.

The program is clearly designed to help youth from disadvantaged backgrounds. However, we are constantly getting feedback from our mentors about how deeply these connections are enriching their own lives!