We are looking for a male volunteer to mentor an 18-year-old from Eritrea who arrived into Bethany's refugee foster care program in January of 2020. He has been placed in a foster home in Walker. His case manager shared, "This youth has basic conversational English. I think he will be a very quick learner the more he practices! He appears to be very sociable and outgoing. He is willing to engage in conversation and relationships despite limited English abilities. The youth appears to have appropriate mental health overall but will begin counseling in February. He was informed that his brother was killed shortly after his arrival to the United States and this has been a significant stressor for him. To date he has been very friendly and engaging with his foster family, his peers, and agency staff. He shared that he enjoys soccer and listening to music."

Background: In Eritrea, this youth grew up with his parents and seven siblings, although his father was rarely present due to active military duty. The youth attended school through 7th grade, but he fled Eritrea due to fear of conscription into the army. He journeyed to Sudan with a friend, but was caught up in a human smuggling scheme on his way to Libya. He experienced gun violence during his journey, and war broke out in Libya so he was relocated to Niger, where he lived in a refugee camp until he was resettled to the United States.