How this selfless teen has helped an Albanian girl settle into the UK
Children's North East has launched a new peer mentoring service for young people in Gateshead to combat social isolation
Rachael Nichol
Teenage mentor Georgia Kendal, 18 with Olivia Xhameta (Image: Newcastle Chronicle)
After moving to the UK with her family from Albania in 2015, Olivia Xhameta felt lost and alone.
Thousands of miles from her friends and family and in a land where she couldn't speak the language Olivia was an easy target for bullies.
But thanks to Chlidren North East's new mentoring service now this 12-year-old has transformed her confidence and really started to settle in to British life.
The peer mentoring service, which was supported by players of People's Postcode Lottery, aims to combat social isolation amongst young adults and improve their self-confidence.
Olivia was paired up with Georgia Kendal, who helps her to develop her language skills and to try new things - with a friendly face in tow.
Georgia, who hopes to become a children's nurse, got involved after volunteering in her local primary school.
(Image: Children North East)
The 18-year-old, from Ryton, said: "Olivia's found it quite difficult to make friends when she was in primary school – but now she's in Year 7 and all she talks about is her new friends.
"I would like to think that our sessions have helped with that. The first couple of times we met she was chatty but still quite reserved – now I can hardly shut her up!"
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And after meeting Georgia, Olivia's family have seen a massive change and are pleased to see their daughter happy.
Olivia's mum, Jehona, said: "Olivia really struggled with school because she couldn't understand anything and I couldn't help with her homework. But she has really enjoyed spending time with Georgia."
The pair take part in activities from swimming to visiting cat cafes.
One simple step the pair have taken together is to travel by bus, not only does this give Olivia a sense of freedom it also helps her to become more confident in using public transport.
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Olivia said she always looks forward to meeting Georgia and said she couldn't choose which activity she'd enjoyed the most as she'd loved all of them.
Georgia added that she had personally gained a huge amount from peer mentoring.
She said: "It's an amazing experience, the feeling that you get from knowing you've improved someone's confidence in the way they see the world.
"Knowing that you've had an impact on someone's life is really, really rewarding."
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