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In regard to the question of the type and frequency of the implemented activities in the area of
education and support for children in conflict with the law, the mentors used most of their time on
improvement of regular attendance at schools and improvement of the discipline. This was done on each
mentoring meeting with 81,82% of the children.
In terms of the intensity of support in the learning process, the mentors provided such support to the
children at each meeting or for 36.36% of the children in conflict with the law. For 9,10% of the
children this
type of support was not necessary since they had good grades in school. The mentors provided professional
orientation support for most of the children in conflict with the law once a month (for 43,18% of the
children). In time, the children in conflict with the law expressed more interest to learn and they improved
their regular attendance of classes, showed respect towards the teachers and fulfilled their school obligations.
There were certain children who improved over 15 of their bad grades, and some of the children as part time
students passed exams for two school years in a period of one school year thanks to the support of the
mentors. Some of them continued the education. The children who attended the presentation
for enrolment at
the faculty expressed interest to continue their education although they did not have such interest or desire
before the inclusion in the mentoring programme.
The third area was focused on
the process of socialization, in broader context.
The main objective was
each child in conflict with the law to obtain a fundamental system of values, to make distinction between
moral and immoral behavior, to take responsibility for his / her actions or in other words to learn how to
interact socially and to gain skills, knowledge and competencies from positive examples from life. The
mentored children are adolescents and the mentors help the children to prepare better for their future roles in
life. The emphasis was placed on more intensive involvement or accompanying the children on public and
cultural events, visiting museums, theater performances, going to the cinema, or going to the church on
religious
holidays,
New Year fairs, humanitarian actions and sport competitions.
Many juveniles did not conduct such activities until their involvement in the mentoring relationship,
due to lack of motivation, interest, lack of companions and due to financial limitations. The activities of this
type were really interesting and beneficial for the children, since they enabled structural use of their leisure
time and they motivated them to show other initiatives for participation in such events.
In compliance with the interest of the children in conflict with the law, the mentors visited the local
community and learned about their immediate environment. This flexible and creative participation enabled
the children in conflict with the law juveniles to expand their experiences and horizons in different areas of
the public social life in the city.
Within the fourth area, the mentors acted as
mediators or brokers of resources and they showed the
mentored juveniles how to
apply for the available services and resources, and not to be provided with them
by others. The involvement or linking the child with the services and resources from the local community
was one of the key objectives of the work. Although we live in a society where the mode for utilization of
services and resources is not always exactly regulated and defined, the mentors tried to link the children with
the services which are important for them, such as learning foreign languages. The courses lasted up to four
months, and the classes were held twice a week. The participants also expressed interest to attend computer
training classes and sports. During the implementation of the programme different services were
incorporated in the work with children. In Kumanovo the mentor enabled the child to fix his teeth. This
intervention had a strong impact on the enhancement of the safety and certainty of the child. The child was
15 years old and for the first time it was taken to Commission for appraisal of speech impairment. Then the
child was included in the programme for speech treatment at the Dental Clinic which lasted for 7 months and
it will continue in the next year as well. Immediately it was evident that there was
improvement in the speech
which had a strong impact on his adaptation and integration in the immediate environment through better
establishment of contacts with his peers.
During the implementation of the programme, the children were informed about the procedure for
taking driving license classes, as well as other services which
are considered as easy,
such as proper behavior
in shops, coffee bars, restaurants, and information about cinema and theater plays, utilization of public
transport. The children were provided with useful links to resources in the community in order to reduce the
risk factors at children, and to enhance the protective factors and assistance and support for their better
functionality and integration in the local community. Some of the activities in the local community were in
the area of involvement of programmes for promotion of healthy lifestyle, achieving rights in the area of
health care, education and legal assistance. Regardless of the nature of the conducted activities in the target
areas, the primary objective was to respect the interest of the child, which required consultation about each
planned activity. During the mentoring relationship there were not any significant obstacles in the process of
the implementation of the activities. In the beginning, many of the children were late on the mentorship