Teaching Paper: Developing Effective Mentorship Programs – Practical Guidelines for Low-Resource Settings

Mentorship programs are critical for youth development, skill-building, and community engagement, particularly in low-resource contexts. This Teaching Paper provides practical guidelines for establishing, structuring, and evaluating mentorship programs, covering goal-setting, mentor-mentee selection, training, relationship management, and monitoring and evaluation. A case study illustrates application in a community-based mentorship initiative, demonstrating how structured guidelines enhance program effectiveness, sustainability, and participant outcomes. The paper is relevant for both practitioners implementing field programs and academics analyzing mentorship strategies.