What better thanks could there be on today's Thank Your Mentor Day than a big hug and a simple 'thanks'.

Diesha Tucker, 10, and several other Littles from the Big Brothers and Big Sisters (BBBS) programme did one better when they publically thanked their mentors by successfully nominating them Big of the Year.

'A star shining' is how Diesha described Big Sister of the Year Donna Smith. Mrs. Smith received the award at the annual Big Brothers & Big Sisters Christmas banquet. BBBS is a mentoring programme that aims to create caring one-on-one relationships between mentors and children in need. Their motto is 'Friendship makes a Big difference'.

"My Big Sister Donna Smith is a pleasure to me," Diesha wrote in an essay. "She is very kind-hearted to me and other people. She has been my big sister for seven years and I appreciate her and the spare time that she spends with me." Diesha inherited Mrs. Smith from her biological big sister Nikeisha, 19, who outgrew the programme.

It was Nikeisha who first picked Mrs. Smith to be her Big Sister. Nikeisha also wrote an essay nominating Mrs. Smith.

"When I first joined Big Brothers and Big Sisters I was eight," Nikeisha wrote. "They asked me what I liked to do and they tried to match me with the person who had the same interest as me. There were a couple of young ladies I could have chosen. I noticed pictures of some people on the board in the office and I noticed my Aunt Donna. I asked if I could have her. They asked if I was sure and I said yes. I know out of the decisions I have made in my life she has been one of the best."

Mrs. Smith said she had had her Big Sister of the Year acceptance speech written for many years, but was still caught off guard at the awards banquet.

"Esme Williams, the BBBS executive director, was saying: 'and the Big Sister of the Year always tells her Little Sister, 'don't worry about boyfriends until you finish college' '. I was thinking, 'I can't believe there is another Big who tells her Little that'. Then, suddenly, I saw Nikeisha at the podium. Then it dawned on me that they were talking about me." Mrs. Smith said she wanted people to understand that Littles aren't 'delinquents' or from 'bad families'.

"Sometimes people think that," she said. "That's not the case. These girls are great kids. Their mother works in the hospitality industry and doesn't always have time to do the extra things with them. They also have a very close family with lots of cousins. Sometimes Diesha doesn't want to come out. She just wants to stay home and do things with her family. And that's fine. I don't pressure her.

"In the summer my Little doesn't have a lot of time for me because she is busy working. She's a little busy bee. She works at a snowball stand. You should see this kid; she's fantastic."

Mrs. Smith said one of the rewards of being a Big Sister was doing something good for the community, but it was still nice to be thanked.

"Being Big Sister of the Year was more emotional for me, because it showed that what I was making a difference, and that it was appreciated. A lot of times you do something for people, and people always appreciate it, but you never know until you are told." She said mentoring is very needed in the community.

"A child from a strong family atmosphere can still benefit from a different point of view," Mrs. Smith said. "It gives them the opportunity to see different lifestyles. Not necessarily a better lifestyle, just a different one." This year was unusual in that two men were elected Big of the Year, Romano Ramirez and Les Dziwenka.

For Mr. Ramirez there was an instant connection with Little Brother Dalji Waldron, 12.

"When I was suppose to meet his mother for the first time, she brought him along," said Mr. Ramirez. "He didn't stop talking. I recognised that he wasn't a shy person, he was an outgoing person." The two share an interest in sports. When The Royal Gazette spoke with Mr. Ramirez and Dalji, they had just come from one of Dalji's football games. Dalji attends Clearwater Middle School.

"I use to play football when I was younger," said Mr. Ramirez who tries to go to all of Dalji's games. "Now I just go to support him. I played striker and he plays striker sometimes. When he plays, after he finishes, I come up with all of my tips." Dalji said he likes everything about having a Big Brother.

"Everytime I want to go somewhere, I just call him. If he isn't working, he will take me," said Dalji.

Dalji actually went to great trouble to elect Mr. Ramirez as Big Brother of the Year.

"The first essay I wrote got lost," said Dalji. "So I had to write it again. It was originally a power point presentation. I was surprised that he won, because I entered for five years and he came second every time. They told me to keep trying and one day he would win. And he did." Mr. Ramirez said he wanted to become a Big Brother because people have helped him in his life and he wanted to pass that on.

"I recognised that the people who may not be your parents can inspire you," he said.

Dalji wants to be a marine biologist when he grows up, or maybe a zoologist.

"I like dolphins and eagles," said Dalji. "Also lions and tigers." To other guys thinking about becoming a Big Brother, Mr. Ramirez said, "Just go ahead and do it." Mr. Ramirez is a carpenter and owns his own business, Crafty Carpenter.

"Sometimes people calculate the outcome and how much time they will have to spend," Mr. Ramirez said. "I thought maybe I didn't have enough time to spend with someone. But after you go ahead and do it, you end up having plenty of time. You want to spend that time, so you make time. After you get into it you enjoy it." Chartered accountant Les Dziwenka also said he was happy to be nominated as Big Brother of the year by both his Littles, Demetre Daniels, 13, and Damien Campbell, 10.

"These little guys are very excited to get out and do things with a guy," said Mr. Dziwenka. "Sometimes we just go to the park and kick a football around. We play softball. We ride bikes. I help out with homework. I play video games or use the Internet." In his essay, Damien wrote that Mr. Dziwenka had made a big difference in his life.

"Because I am an only child my mother finds it very difficult to participate in certain sports such as playing football and cricket just to name a few sports that boys are interested in doing," wrote Damien. "I love to go fishing.

"I feel he is someone I can talk to. I am very comfortable when I am with him. He shows interest in my school work. He asks how I was getting along in school and if I had a productive week." Demetre wrote, "I really like my Big Brother Les. We have lots of fun together. I love sports, and we often play basketball and football together. He is always there for me and I know that he likes me and cares about me. He doesn't want me to get into trouble." Mr. Dziwenka said he decided to give back to the community five years ago.

"I felt there was a need," he said. He spends about two to three hours a week with his Little despite having a 16 month old daughter.

"My wife is very understanding," said Mr. Dziwenka. "Once in awhile we all go out together, but really it is suppose to be one-on-one time with the Little. I thought it was going to be difficult to make time for my Little, but it isn't hard. You'd be surprised at how much time you really have." Mr. Dziwenka knows a few things about being a little brother himself, as he has six older siblings.

"I thought it was unfortunate that some kids don't have older siblings to spend time with." He said sometimes there were things a Little wanted to talk about that they didn't want to talk about with their mother.

He said the most frustrating thing about being a Big Brother was seeing how many kids don't have a relationship with their fathers.

"It's the kids who are hurt the most by this," he said. "They can't choose this situation." And he said that a Big Brother or Big Sister can never be a replacement for a missing parent.

In addition to student essays, some of the criteria for becoming Big Sister or Big Brother of the year, included participation in BBBS training workshops and events and also involvement in BBBS programmes such as Big for a Day, the Christmas boat parade and tag days.

For more information about BBBS go to http://www.bbbs.bm/ , email esme.bbbs@logic.bm">esme.bbbs@logic.bm or telephone 232-2802.