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FROM VICTIM TO GO-GETTERJohn and Benta grew up on poor living conditions, leaving them with equally poor-looking prospects in life. It is safe to say that it has been a life-changing journey for the PDAid Foundation’s first two participants.Benta grew up in the slums, where she had a great deal of traumatizing things happen to her at a very young age. She managed to bury herself in taking care of her siblings and never took the time to consider her situation. ‘Dennis and everyone else involved in the drafting of the mentoring programme will never understand just how much it means to me and how much I needed someone else to lean on for a change. It turned out that I needed a mentor more than I could possibly imagine or admit to myself. I thought that I would just open up to a total stranger and at the end of the day I would still have the same problems without any solution offered. I was wrong. I have discovered things about myself that I did not even know existed. I am more confident. I know what I want. Most importantly, my future looks brighter than anything I have ever experienced before.’John also speaks of a brighter future and positive outlook due to his enrollment in the mentoring programme.‘The mentoring programme has helped me believe in a brighter future. The wise counselling and professional guidance given to me by my mentor helped me develop my business skills, which will help me to contribute to my future job quickly and effectively. The whole programme also taught me the importance of socializing and meeting people. Most importantly, I have learnt the importance of NEVER GIVING UP. The entire mentoring programme was amazing.’Lars Frost, who has been John’s mentor throughout the entire programme, sums up his experience. ‘It has been an exceptional experience for me to witness how John has developed, both personally and professionally. Even though we had to overcome small hurdles such as the language barrier, cultural differences and an unreliable internet, John and I both agree that we have a great connection and shared an amazing journey together.’Peninna Rissgaard is a coach, facilitator in learning philosophy, lecturer, teacher and one of the Foundation’s mentors. She explains the process Benta has gone through during their 12 meetings. ‘The paradigm shift from victim to empowered individual gives mentees an aura of self- confidence and an appetite for life. From being stuck in the past and all the bad experiences affiliated with the past, mentees develop a new version of themselves – something like an ‘upgrade’. This ‘upgrade’ opens the eyes of the mentee to new possibilities and a world where everything is achievable. If you can think it, you can do it!’Peninna elaborates on the effectiveness of the mentoring programme, expressing her hopes for its future distribution: ‘This programme is so effective that it might be possible to let the mentees, who have the will and qualities to give back to their local communities, to become future mentors themselves. Young people from all over the world could benefit from this programme. I see a huge potential for implementing it in schools in the near future. I sincerely hope this will happen. The sooner the better.’As the founder and originator of the PDAid Foundation, Dennis Nielsen is grateful and excited to have received a positive response from both mentors and mentees.‘It pleases me to see how well the mentoring programme and the mentors have performed. We should all be very proud that we are able to provide our group of talented youth with such a uniquely designed programme. It is simply incomparable to anything we have been able to accomplish.’The support programme, which has been developed in close collaboration with the Chief Secretary Tom Petersen from the Danish NGO Talent Scouts and with the continued input from KI, continues to succeed in accommodating talented young peoples’ need for self-belief and a better future. On top of that, Dennis assures that the mentoring programme will receive the European Mentor Certification in the near future. ■Above: Tanzania, Marangu Hotel. All participants of the KI Climb 2016 get together with their guides and check their equipment prior to the climb PDAID FOUNDATION BACKGROUNDPDAID Foundation was launched in February 2015 by CEO of Phoenix Design Aid, Dennis Nielsen, and his wife Pia Nielsen, with the support of the Kilimanjaro Initiative (NGO) headquartered in Kenya. Through education, financial means, personal communication and mentorships, the foundation supports talented, young individuals from disadvantaged communities in becoming positive change agents within corporate and societal management. www.pdaidfoundation.orgFurther information• PDAid Foundation www.pdaidfoundation.org• Kilimanjaro Initiative www.kiworld.org • PDAid Foundation Film www.pdaidfoundation.org/about-us/film• UNFCU www.unfcu.orgSUSTAINABLE BUSINESS 095