Mentoring Matters: "Mujeres Latinas" Helps New Arrivals Get Acclimated To South Florida

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DAVIE (CBSMiami) – Middle school girls in Davie – many of them new to the United States – are being setup with mentors that are helping them make connections that will affect every area of their lives.

Laughter and good cheer surround these middle school girls at Indian Ridge Middle School.

They are a special group of young women because they are facing what some would call both a unique challenge and opportunity.

Most of the young women in this pilot mentoring program have recently arrived with their families from various Latin American countries including Venezuela, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Mexico. They are all learning about a new language, new culture and new country.

Yvonne Salas, Vice President of the organization Mujeres Latinas, works with Indian Ridge Middle School and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Broward County to find mentors for these young girls.

"They are facing the unknown and that can be a terrifying experience because they don't know what to expect. Peer pressure is very strong at their age and they are vulnerable," Salas said.

Salas and her team are specifically looking for mentors who are Hispanic and female. The mentors are asked to commit one hour a week to meet with their mentee at the school.

"We want the mentors to be Hispanic women because we feel that they can identify with the girls and talk to them in their native language. It also gives the girls an opportunity to have someone to talk to about their worries, their concerns and problems. The mentors also guide the girls on how to make friends, how to incorporate themselves with how the school system works here which is very different than the Latin-American countries that they come from," said Salas.

Marili Jimenez arrived from the Dominican Republic nine months ago. The 15 year old told CBS4 that she would advise students to take part in this mentoring program because she says the mentors are very helpful, want good things for the students and really help you change.

She credits her mentor for learning English in the nine short months that she has been in South Florida.

"In reality, they are persons that help you and want good things for you. The truth is that they help you change," she said. "For example with my English, I believe I learned faster because of my mentor because I've only been here nine months."

Analise Marquez came from Venezuela with her family just six months ago. She said that things are going better than she ever expected and that she's happy she's getting good grades in school. The seventh grader told CBS4 her mentor is very helpful.

Assistant Principal Pete Muniz is one of the founders of the program.

He said he saw there was a huge need for Hispanics in his school, especially for the girls.

"The most important thing is confidence, because for Hispanics it's usually a situation that calls for them to be subservient to say yes most of the time," he explained. "Over the last few years they have a voice, a personality and they can express themselves whether it's in Spanish or in English. And it allows them to feel a part of the community, a part of this school and they don't feel like they have to back down because they don't know the full language or whatever they know they are part of this school, and that's the important part."

Salas, who has also been a mentor herself, said she sees this program as an opportunity for the girls to improve their quality of life and improve their families quality of life.

"Since we are Hispanic women that have had opportunities in this great country, we want to make sure this new generation of newly arrived girls have not as many but even more opportunities than we have and they can be all and for that we need people to guide them. There is a girl that we can match with a volunteer without a doubt," she said.

Click here if you would like to find out more about being a mentor with Mujeres Latinas. 

If you are a mentor and would like to share your story with us, please email us at mentoringmatters@cbs.com or CLICK HERE for more information about how you can become a mentor.