Mentoring program makes a difference for Forestville girls
Reprinted from www.gazette.net
by Tiesha Higgins
Staff Writer Dec. 4, 2003

When Kamilah Baldwin looks in the mirror, the view she sees is very different from what it was two years ago. "I was the type of person that would skip class, curse out teachers and I wasn't doing my homework," said Baldwin.

Today, the 17-year-old junior at Forestville Military Academy is well-mannered, motivated and responsible.

Baldwin credits the changes in her to an Upper Marlboro-based organization called SISTAS, a nonprofit outreach program for girls aged 12 to 17 designed to build self-esteem, reduce teen pregnancy and encourage girls to finish school. Baldwin is one of nine girls in the program at Forestville.

Founded in 1998 by former teacher Wendy Gray, SISTAS stands for Sisters Integrating Staying Together Always Surviving. "It's our hope and our goal to develop the girls into the leaders of tomorrow," said Gray, who has run SISTAS full-time since 2001.

The organization focuses on conflict resolution, leadership, respect, attitude, health, self-image and community service. For the program, girls are paired with an adult female mentor who calls them weekly and spends quality time with them at least once each month. To create a safe haven for the girls, mentors are required to commit to the program until their mentee graduates from high school.

"We've seen girls that have been so hard to reach and they've learned that there are people you can trust," Gray said of the importance of the mentors.

Gray, an Upper Marlboro resident, personally visits Forestville Military and H.D. Woodson High School in the District weekly for a group session with the girls during their lunch period. The mentors, participants and parents gather once a month for an array of workshops covering topics like self-defense, hair care, sign language and fitness.

Right now the mentors are helping the girls with applications for government summer jobs.

Gray and her husband, Eric, who runs his own clothing line called Ready for Battle, currently fund the organization out of their own pocket -- more than $400 per month. However, she said they never end up short.

"Whenever you're doing God's work, he will certainly provide a way," she said.

As proof of that, 16 of the girls received personal computers from Massachusetts-based Raytheon last summer. And the program just received a $6,000 grant from Bowie State University for a prevention program.

SISTAS mentors said all you have to do is look at the girls to see that the program is working. "Before we working on bullying and aggression, now she's calmed down a lot," said mentor Maya Johnson of her 12-year-old mentee Nineeka.

With a new self-image, Kamilah's changed in other ways too. Tomboyish hairstyles and baggy jeans were her usual attire. Now she styles her hair, wears clothes that fit and says she carries herself differently. "[This program] was a miracle for me," said Kamilah.

For more information on SISTAS, call 301-780-5650 or write to SISTAS, P.O. Box 575, Upper Marlboro, Md. 20773.

E-mail Tiesha Higgins at thiggins@gazette.net.