Earlier this year I was privileged to be the first Jordanian Mentor for Mowgli UK.



http://www.slideshare.net/mowglifoundation/meet-the-mowgli-mentees-and-mentors


The following article by my fellow Mentor John Hannon was published in the current edition of Coaching at Work magazine; and reflect the uniqueness and sense of purpose that this unique program provides:

Entrepreneurs in Jordan are using mentors to help them develop their businesses and boost employment figures

• Is there anything I can do as a coach to help promote economic growth in some of the poorer countries of the world?
• Are there ways in which coaching and mentoring can make a difference on a global scale?
• How can I use my training and experience to help young entrepreneurs in the Middle East develop their businesses and employ more people?

These were some of the questions that led me to Jordan in late March with the Mowgli Foundation. Mowgli is a not-for-profit mentoring organisation. It aims to make a difference to business start-ups and aspiring entrepreneurs worldwide. Mentors are matched with mentees, initially in the Middle East, to help them develop businesses.

The other mentors on this trip came from a variety of backgrounds including coaching, training, engineering, management and consulting. All had been inspired to volunteer their time in support of this project.

After landing in Jordan we had a three hour drive from the capital Amman, followed by half an hour along a dirt track in an ancient pickup truck driven by a local Bedouin. We arrived at Feynan Eco Lodge at midnight.

Feynan was an experience in itself. It is mostly solar powered and lit partly by candles. It is in the Dana Biosphere Reserve and generates revenue for the local community. All this provides a unique and memorable setting for mentors and mentees to get to know each other.

Mowgli CEO Simon Edwards and volunteer mentor Derek Watson skilfully guided us through the four days, spending two days with the other mentors and two with the mentees, five of whom were from Jordan and two from Palestine.

The experience was memorable in many ways, from hiking up the surrounding hills before breakfast and feeling the deep solitude and peace of the location, to the enthusiasm and optimism of the young Palestinian and Jordanian entrepreneurs. We also worked outdoors in the spring sunshine whenever possible.

Other moments included pausing to talk under the shade of a tree, dining by candlelight on the terrace, sitting around the fire in the evening listening to stories of Bedouin life, hearing first-hand about the pain and suffering of life in Palestine, and sitting on the roof of the lodge and seeing the stars without light pollution.

For me the core of the experience was the purpose that drew us to the Jordanian desert that week. Whatever our different ethnic backgrounds, political views, religious affiliations, nationality, gender, age or personality, we’re all very similar beneath the surface. We share the same hopes and fears: to be happy and prosper, to be able to support our families, and to feel successful and proud to be alive. In such a troubled world it felt very rich to be part of an enterprise based on the principle of human beings working together for no other reward than to help one another.

It has been said that 80 million new jobs are needed in the Middle East over the next 10 years. It’s a huge undertaking and it will need the support of many people.

It felt good to make a small contribution.