2019 bwij Convention Mentorship
The Big/Lil sister is a mentorship programme was initiated at the 1st Annual Black Women in Japan (BWIJ) conference in 2017. This programme seeks to connect black women who are currently living in Japan on a more personal and intimate level. The Big/Lil sis programme was created due to the complexities of moving to another country, dealing with various anomalies, and the noticed ‘loneliness’ and helplessness that one often feels when they are a minority in any society.
It’s main aim is to create a comfortable transition for these ladies (lil sisters), while giving the more experienced ladies (big sisters) a chance to give back to society. Through this medium, it is the hope of the BWIJ committee to assist ‘new’ ladies in realising their true purpose and enjoy the varied aspects of Japanese culture without focusing on the depressants that are included in this and every society.
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Big sisters are ladies who have been living in Japan for a while and have some experience that they are willing to share with others. Some of their responsibilities include giving needed information to their lil sister, providing a listening ear, organizing meetups (casual one-on-one), checking in on their lil sister ever so often and anything else deemed necessary by the sisters. Big sisters often preempt the necessary advice, as sometimes, the lil sisters are not privy to the information that may be available. It is the expectation that, if the big sister does not have the necessary information, they will seek it to fulfill their tasks.
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The Lil sisters, on the other hand, are ladies who have recently moved to Japan and are in need of general daily life advice. However, ladies who have been here for over a year have also opted to be lil sister.
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In matching the pairs, BWIJ committee tries to choose ladies who have a similar passion, living within close proximity to each other and generally from the same country or area. This proves to give the sisters a better understanding and bond with each other.
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The BWIJ committee would like to see this programme grow in numbers and become a stable part of the BWIJ group. If you are interested in being apart of this programme, please click the button below.
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