Mentors play a vital role in the success of our scholars. Young women in Togo face both social and academic challenges to pursuing an education, from pressure to marry young to finding a well-lit place to study at night. Indeed, every evening in Togo’s bigger towns, in the hours after they’ve completed household chores, young women crouch with their notebooks under a street lamp to review their lessons before bed.
Pathways Togo understands that an enthusiastic and supportive mentor can profoundly impact a scholar’s chances of overcoming obstacles to achieve her dreams. Pathways Togo matches each scholar with a mentor who lives in or around her village and understands first-hand the unique local challenges students face. The role of the mentor is to serve as a guide, offering both academic and emotional support. Eventually, those scholars who have completed their education will be asked to serve as mentors to the next generation of scholarship recipients.