School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work (SSESW) colleagues Mandi MacDonald, Berni Kelly, John Pinkerton and Montse Fargas had a very busy and productive visit to Cape Town earlier this month. They were working with the Children's Institute at the University of Cape Town and with SAYes, a local Non-Governmental Organisation working with children's homes to offer transition mentoring.

This pilot project is funded by The Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF), a £1.5 billion fund announced by the UK Government in 2015 to support cutting-edge research that addresses the challenges faced by developing countries. The project involving the SSESW colleagues aims to assess the feasibility of formal mentoring as a means of challenging inequality for young people in care and leaving care in Southern Africa. In one very busy week the team interviewed 37 care experienced young people, 8 carers and 9 mentors. They look forward to sharing the findings with young people, practitioners, academics and policy makers when they return to South Africa in February.