Freedom Burrows and Sergio White know each other so well that they can finish each other?s sentences. They laugh at the same jokes, love the same action movies and even look like father and son.

For more than ten years the animated Big Brother and his equally cheerful little brother have enjoyed a lasting partnership, supporting one another in good times and bad through the local Big Brothers and Big Sisters programme. When people in the community see one of the well-known pair without the other, they often get confused.

?They ask me, where?s my son,? laughed Mr. Burrows.

Mr. Burrows became a Big Brother to Sergio, now age 20, when he was a mischievous six-year-old in need of some guidance from a role model. Both his mother and father had died from cancer when he was a young boy, and his grandmother, busy raising his twin sisters, wanted a positive male role model Sergio could look up to for advice and support.

?We don?t even think of one another as not related,? said Mr. White. These days, the only thing they clash over are the rival football teams they support.

?I wanted to keep him on the right path,? said Mr. Burrows. ?He didn?t have a father or a role model. I?ve always considered myself a role model. Neither of us came from a strong family background so we created our own family by being together.?

Mr. Burrows, who grew up in foster homes, provided a wealth of fun activities for the two to participate in together, getting the energetic young boy involved in martial arts, bowling, golfing, weight lifting and fitness training. And when he was a teenager, Mr. White said his Big Brother provided a listening ear and advice on everything from girls to schoolwork.

In 1988, Mr. Burrows was introduced to the Big Brother programme through the Bermuda Regiment which made presentations about the programme to new army recruits. The local programme currently has a waiting list of 80 boys who are in need of Big Brothers.

As a manager at a security company, Mr. Burrows works long hours and is on call 24 hours a day. However, he never broke his commitment to his little brother although he has two children of his own, a son and a daughter.

?I could never tell him, I?d be there and not show up,? said Mr. Burrows.

?And that?s one thing I learned from him,? pointed out Mr. White. ?If you make a commitment you have to keep it.?

The Big Brother and little brother couldn?t imagine life without one another.

?I didn?t grow up in the best of neighbourhoods myself and I wanted to be able to make some time for someone less fortunate,? said Mr. Burrows.

?This is an excellent programme particularly for young people today. If they have role models to guide them in the right direction, rather than being brought up in the streets, they can stay on the right path. As you can see it helped out with Sergio,? said Mr. Burrows.

It was Mr. Burrows who Sergio credits with inspiring him to go on and become Bermuda?s youngest Bermudian certified personal trainer.

?He told me I could reach for the stars so I did. He said to never look back and to never think you?re limited to this. He says you can always do better,? said Mr. White.

?He is part of me, he brought me up, and I credit him with helping me get here today.

?Without him, I?d probably be working a nine to five job, not really happy with my life.?

Mr. Burrows said he admires Sergio for accomplishing his goal. Both believe with the right forces of motivation and encouragement young people can achieve their dreams.

?You can make it in Bermuda if you really put your heart into it,? said Mr. White.

Even though both little brother and Big Brother have busy schedules they stay in touch through email and the telephone, making time to do something fun together at least once a week.

At 18, boys are officially out of the programme, but many ?brothers? stay in touch, maintaining close friendships for years.

Mr. White wants to become a Big Brother to a young boy like himself in need of some guidance and support. Mr. Burrows also helps out with events run by the programme as his newest little brother is overseas.

?This is the ultimate programme. I would encourage men in Bermuda with the ability and the mindset to get involved to help better the youth today who are growing up.

?I think that if we put our time and energy into taking care of young people, we?ll have a better community as a result,? said Mr. Burrows.