VeNews March 9, 2001

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Central American Youth Service Projects

Vesper recently announced a multi-year collaborative project with Comunidad Cristiana Mesoamericana (CCM), a network of 17 Central American community organizations. During the project's first year, youth leadership development is one of the main activities. Young people, working together with adult leaders, will develop youth community service projects to be carried out in communities needing special assistance.

Two region-wide youth service projects are anticipated. Each project would include one or two young people from each of the CCM organizations to come together and work cooperatively on a project in an area of special need. Preliminary plans were that one of the service projects would be located in El Salvador. When the earthquakes struck, the preliminary plan quickly became reality. The first regional youth service project for CCM young people will occur in late April in El Salvador. The second regional youth service project is planned for July in Mexico.
In January a small group of young people convened in El Salvador to form a core planning group. During this preliminary planning meeting, the teenagers discussed what types of activities should be included in the service projects. The meeting served as a type of focus group to elicit the opinions of the young people regarding what would be of interest to teens in the region. They also discussed which activities would teach skills that would have practical value and that could be applied when they returned home to their own communities.

The discussion and recommendations from the core planning group meeting in January are being used to shape a training agenda for a regional workshop of young people and adults who work with youth groups. This in-depth training will consist of a weeklong series of workshops and practice activities. The purpose of the training is to assist the young people, and leaders of youth groups, to learn project planning skills and to further their organizational competencies. They will also learn to collaborate and work together in planning regional activities. This regional training workshop for youth will occur in May in El Salvador.
The project promises to provide young people with theory, instruction, and practical experience in functioning as leaders, both in their local organizations and collaboratively, at a regional level.

For more information about CCM in Central America, contact us at .

Vesper Society is a private operating foundation with programs in leadership, health, and Central America. Our mission is to create opportunities for individuals, groups, and organizations to apply moral and ethical values in decision making on social and economic issues.