Marloes works for Rabobank Netherlands and mentors Carmen
‘The general opinion in the Netherlands is “people can’t be struggling to get by in this
country with its social security and benefits”. But if you take a good look, that’s not
always the case. All kinds of factors can lead to people or families ending up in
straitened circumstances and in need of a helping hand. There could be people living
within less than 20 kilometres – residents of your neighbourhood – who really have to
pull out all the stops just in order to get by.
I like being able to do something for someone else, to give something back. Because personally I’ve got a lot to
be grateful for: I’m from a happy family, have never wanted for anything and had a lot of chances in life. My
volunteer work with a family and visiting them at home makes me all the more conscious of that. It puts your
feet firmly back on the ground, makes you realise how lucky you are and what you’ve got. And the mentor hour
I have with Carmen gives me energy. I always leave there feeling far more energetic than I did when I arrived.
Carmen’s biggest hurdles at school were reading and maths. When I started mentoring her we focused on the
basics in these subjects, going back to first principles. Then she’d read something and I’d ask when she was
finished: now what have you just read?
But often the pupil’s problems reach beyond that which you can see. It’s not only about the subjects at school,
there’s more to it. Only schoolwork – that’s not what you’re there for when you’re a mentor. But that’s where
you start, it’s the first phase in your mentoring.
As time went by, my pupil Carmen started to see her arithmetic improve. Bit by bit she began to really enjoy
making a new date with me for a mentor hour.
Further down the line we started working on Carmen’s self-confidence. That’s only possible once you trust one
another and your pupil accepts your support. I encourage Carmen, give her genuine compliments. She’s more at
ease with herself now and that’s had a positive impact on her schoolwork.
Carmen and I have built up a relationship of trust and Carmen’s mother, too, has put her trust in me as a mentor
for her daughter. In order to succeed at school you need someone who encourages you, eggs you on and supports
you. In every mentoring relationship that’s key. And that’s how I’ve tried to do it with Carmen.
I’m proud of Carmen:- that she has more self-confidence, that she’s more ready to stand up for herself and to
voice her opinions, that she’s grown. Of course I’ll never know exactly what my role as mentor has been in
achieving this. But I know for a fact I’ve contributed something. Our relationship is a source of strength for her.
Another thing I’m proud of – and that’s not something I’m quick to say about myself – is that I’ve been able to
help in forging the contact between Rabobank Foundation and School’s cool. I’m proud to be able to work for
Rabobank and that my employer has committed support for School’s cool so that School’s cool can
professionalise further and offer more needy children throughout the Netherlands the added support of a homebased mentor.”