Mariam Sarrafan, Program Coordinator, Mentors & Mentorship Resources
“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” – Rumi (Persian poet)
Mariam joined Infinite Family in 2008 as a Video Mentor with her Net Buddy son, Sibusiso. Over the years, Sibu became part of Mariam’s family, with constant communication discussing Sibu’s goals and plans for his future, and how he can achieve them.
Two years ago, Mariam joined Infinite Family’s staff because she knows firsthand what 30 minutes a week, actively advocating and committing to the most vulnerable children in South Africa, can achieve. She has personally seen how Sibu has grown from a shy, temperamental, “unfocused” (as he puts it) youngster into a responsible, mature, and caring young man. Now he is the one who mentors others.
In her role, Mariam identifies and trains all individuals interested in becoming Video Mentors with Infinite Family. She supports new Video Mentors through the onboarding process until they are connected with their Net Buddy mentees.
Mariam’s goal is to see more and more (and more) teens matched with mentors all over the world. Mentors who guide them to build self-confidence, encourage them to think about and plan their future and show them that they are cared for and that they matter. Mariam hopes to see these teens turn their dreams into reality, growing into the best version of themselves and becoming leaders in their communities.
Mariam credits her cultural upbringing for fostering her passion for giving back and caring. She grew up in Europe and the Middle East, and has lived in the U.S. and Southeast Asia, raising her children to appreciate all the world has to offer. Mariam has volunteered her time for multiple causes, including caring for abused toddlers, fundraising for public schools, as well as building schools and bringing education to Cambodian children.
Mariam graduated from Purdue University with a Master’s degree in Education, a Bachelor of Arts in French Language & Literature, and a Bachelor of Sciences degree in Environmental Design. Mariam lives with her husband in New York City. Her children are spread across the world — her daughter is in Baton Rouge, her oldest son in San Francisco, and of course Sibu in SA!
“It’s your road, and yours alone – others may walk it with you, but no one can walk it for you.” – Rumi
Amy Conrad Stokes, Founder and CEO,
Infinite Family and Infinite Family, South Africa
Amy is a 2011 CNN Top Ten Hero
“If the relationship is the motivation for attracting a child to a caring adult, then it’s also the inspiration for getting that child to invest in themselves, to learn the skills to do whatever they need to create their own opportunities in the future.”
When Infinite Family’s Founder and CEO, Amy Stokes, traveled to South Africa to meet her son in 2003, her thoughts were about his future and the joy of adding to her own family through adoption. She and her husband, Chris, always planned a family enriched by adoption, and selected South Africa because of the overwhelming number of children there orphaned by AIDS. During the journey, Amy experienced first-hand the devastation of HIV/AIDS on families, communities and the traditional extended-family way of life.
Seeing all of the unattended young children, she wondered at the absence of young adults compared to number of teens, children and babies. “I wondered what life would be like for these children – what the future would hold for them. Any one of them could have been my own son. I thought ‘If very few of the adults you care about has lived past 35, then why would you think you can? Why would you stay in school; why would you learn skills you might need later on, especially when you can’t imagine later on?’ With so many children and so few adults to help them grow up, I knew we had to find a way to bring new information, resources and the caring, nurturing effect of other adults into their lives.”
That way became Infinite Family, a video mentoring program that harnesses the untapped resource of adults worldwide to mentor pre-teens and teens over the Internet. Founded by Amy in 2006, Infinite Family has built and operated computer labs at partner organization sites in rural and urban areas in South Africa. In addition to providing mentors for children, the interactive Ezomndeni Net mentoring platform created by Infinite Family helps them develop critical language and technology skills, while working with mentors on the program’s five core skill areas towards self-reliance.
More than 600 teens and pre-teens have already benefitted from Infinite Family’s video mentoring program, but Amy says, “We’re really just getting started. Our growth over the next few years will more than double the number of kids we can serve.”
Amy has spent more than 20 years working in all areas of business planning, start-up and ongoing management. She started her professional career as part of Andersen’s Consulting Strategic Services team in Chicago, then San Francisco. She learned the power of mentoring from teens at Studio Air, the youth venture she started as a subsidiary of Shorebank Corporation. Since founding Infinite Family, Amy has committed her career to extending the organization’s powerful video mentoring relationships to children anywhere who need an additional caring adult in their lives to build the confidence, skills and global perspective that promote success.
Amy was graduated from Kalamazoo College magna cum laude with a B.A. degree in economics (Honors) and French and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She and her husband live in New York with their three children.
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Sanele Buthelezi, Mentoring Support Specialist, South Africa
“Because of all I learned through Infinite Family’s mentoring program, I see myself as a proud young man of South Africa with my whole life ahead of me.”
Sanele Buthelezi describes his role as Mentoring Support Specialist with Infinite Family as “coming full circle” in his life. As one of Infinite Family’s pioneer Net Buddies, Sanele brings valued first-hand experience with video mentoring and its impact on youth achievement to his work every day. His understanding of technology and familiarity with Infinite Family’s video mentoring platform help ensure that mentors and Net Buddies are able to make the most out of their weekly video conversations together.
A young entrepreneur and self-proclaimed “ideas guy”, Sanele’s motivation to do well in life goes hand-in-hand with a commitment to be of service to others. He credits his video mentor with helping build the bridge of hopes and dreams in his life, and for teaching him the importance of hard work to making them a reality. Along with facilitating the mentor-Net Buddy experience as a Mentor Support Specialist, Sanele is passionate about using social media to communicate the issues affecting young adults in South Africa today, and to engaging Infinite Family and its audience in the dialogue. He’s inspired by the youth in Infinite Family’s program and is happiest just hanging out with them on a Saturday afternoon.
Sanele is a graduate of United Church School and has studied marketing at the Institution of Marketing Management. An avid reader of philosophy and outdoorsman, Sanele has participated in fundraising challenges to summit Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and Aconcagua Mountain in Argentina.
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Millicent Khumalo, Mentoring Support Specialist, South Africa
“Our teens need to understand what it means to become self-reliant, and that they are planting the seeds of the future with every action they take today. “
Millicent (Milly) Khumalo joined Infinite Family in 2009 as a pioneer Net Fundi (mentoring site facilitator) at Tsogang Sechaba Community Project. As an Extended Public Works Program (EPWP) volunteer, Millicent’s strong work with the orphan and vulnerable children and families at Tsohang Sechaba earned her recognition from management, who recommended her for Infinite Family’s first Net Fundi position. Her role then was to make sure that the video chats between mentors and Net Buddies ran according to schedule, to conduct home and school visits for Net Buddies, and to communicate issues about Net Buddies’ circumstances and home environments to Infinite Family and its video mentors.
In 2012, Millicent was promoted to Mentoring Support Specialist with Infinite Family. Among the responsibilities of her role are monitoring video conferences, making sure that Net Buddies and mentors are present for their VCs, working with Net Fundis at Infinite Family’s mentoring sites to optimize support of the mentoring relationship and office administration. She describes her role as Mentor Support Specialist as “a perfect way to build on her connection with youth in the community, and to continue guiding them to become their best selves.” She loves training new Net Buddies and watching them grow more confident in themselves through mentoring.
Millicent holds a Computer Literacy Certificate (Wits) and Call Center Certificate (Cornerstone), and lives in Johannesburg with her grandmother, siblings, cousins and two sons.
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Zoleka Petse, Deputy Director of Programs, South Africa
“Madiba put it best when he said ‘There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children. Individuals, corporations, NGO’s and governments – we all have role to play in ensuring all children have a chance at a better life.”
Zoleka Petse joined Infinite Family in 2009, and serves as its Deputy Director of Programs. As a qualified social worker, Zoleka brings several years of experience as an advocate for children’s rights and responsibilities in both the government and NGO sectors. Zoleka’s career-long commitment to issues affecting children in need of care includes important roles in educating communities about children’s rights and helping establish the Protocol for Child Protection Services for the Eastern Cape Province.
A veteran community organizer, Zoleka worked with the Gauteng Provincial government to mobilize community networks of support for children and families affected by HIV and AIDS. Along with her professional expertise in Social Work, Zoleka is experienced in management, office procedures and training.
Zoleka describes her role as Deputy Director of Programs as “the mouthpiece of all things Infinite Family in South Africa.” In short: Zoleka drives it all. She coordinates all aspects and activities pertaining to Infinite Family’s video mentoring program in South Africa, including: managing Infinite Family staff, liaising with the NGO host or school partners, representing Infinite Family to corporate partners and government officials, training of children, support staff and mentoring site facilitators (Net Fundis), and liaising with relevant stakeholders on issues affecting mentees.
Zoleka is passionate about South Africa’s youth and has dedicated her career to helping improve the condition of children most in need. She views Infinite Family as cool, modern and needed intervention that uses technology to help teens at risk of falling through the cracks get the guidance they need to set – and surpass – their goals.
Zoleka holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Work from then University of Transkei (now Walter Sisulu University), a diploma in Project Management from Training and Management College and a certificate in Employee Assistance Program from the University of Pretoria.
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Christina Potsane, Mentoring Support Specialist, South Africa
“Infinite Family is a part of me, and I see myself as an example to other young women. I want them to know they have a voice in their own futures, and that having a mentor can help them to find it. THEN, I want them to shout out loud!”
Christina (Chrissy) Potsane has been a member of Infinite Family since its launch in 2006 when she was one of the first Net Buddies to be matched with a video mentor at Nkosi’s Haven. She describes her current role as Mentor Support Specialist with Infinite Family as “an amazing opportunity to help teens develop the confidence they need to really take on their futures.”
Prior to becoming a Mentor Support Specialist, Chrissy worked as a Program Assistant with Infinite Family, where she monitored video chats between Net Buddies and Mentors, engaged with the Net Fundis at the mentoring sites, and handled administrative responsibilities in support of the mentoring relationships. Along with insight and compassion for the challenges facing youth in the communities where it works, as the longest standing employee of Infinite Family, Christina brings valued perspective and institutional knowledge to her role with mentors, host partners and Net Buddies.
Christina is motivated by the role that young people can play in shaping the future of South Africa, and to raising awareness about the opportunities and responsibility that youth have to work towards a better life for all South Africans. She is especially passionate about the challenges facing girls and young women in the communities where Infinite Family works, and the importance of mentoring to empowering them. She’s proud of the distance she and her fellow Net Buddy alumni have come since they helped pilot video mentoring with Infinite Family, and inspired by every single Net Buddy who begins the mentoring journey!
Christina holds a CPR Certificate with Emergency Medical Services (EMS), a parenting Certificate with Child and Family Unit, and a Computer Literacy Certificate from Wits. As a professional ballroom dancer with FEDANSA (Federation of Dance Sport SA), she has also worked at UCS School as a dance instructor.
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