We are looking for a male volunteer to mentor a 17-year-old refugee from Eritrea who lives in a foster home in Holland. This youth has been in Bethany's refugee foster care program since February of 2017, and he has been with the same foster family the entire time. He is very close to them. He is an 11th grader at a local public school. His case manager shared, "He is intelligent, driven, and enjoys school. He likes structure and appreciates having a schedule. He plays on the varsity soccer team, and is very focused on fitness, working out every afternoon. He is developing ways to cope with stress, which usually expresses itself through anger and self-isolation. Will sometimes 'disengage’ from family, friends during stressful times (sometimes for 10-14 days at a time). He is processing traumatic memories and the stress of overseas family members requesting support.

Background: This youth was born in Eritrea, to a mother who was ill and unable to work. His father was a soldier in the military and only visited his family one month a year. The youth was prevented from attending school, and age 9, he was forced by his parents to work for a local man as a shepherd assistant. Out of fear of physical assault by his employer, he fled Eritrea in 2014 and entered Ethiopia. He entered the Mai Aini Refugee Camp in Ethiopia in August 2014. He lived in the refugee camp until his resettlement in the United States in 2017.