For the past four years, I have been an active member of our local youth group organization which brings together all the youths both in and out of school to offer their services to our local community. We first came up with the idea when one very vocal youth died and contributions were required to help with the funeral expenses. We organized ourselves in groups to move from door to door asking for help from those who could sympathize with us and have pity on the dead.
The outcome of the collection done by the youth was so good that we decided to form an association to help us in such cases as well as others where a large number was needed. We drew our plans and put down what we wanted to achieve as a unit, instead of just coming together during a tragedy. Since the initiation of the projects that we set required some money which had to be accounted for. We elected executive officials to oversee the management of the funds and the projects. I was elected the project coordinator, a position which I held for four terms (with one term lasting one year).
We initiated several projects to help our local community and integrate all the idle youths in the neighborhood to have something constructive to do. As the project coordinator, I was charged with the duty of coming up with a strategy to liaise with the target group that is the community and the members who were to carry out the activities. At some point, I was to come up with a new project, introduce it to the other executive officials and if they approve it, we would share the idea with the other members before introducing it to the community.
The projects included: – Stocking and Selling of livestock feeds and drugs, carrying out artificial insemination, building of bridges, growing of tree nurseries and selling the trees, as well as voluntary afforestation, carrying of community youth counseling on AIDS awareness and drug-related issues, communal land preparation to the very aged in the community, the sick and also to those that do not have the people to help them. The four years have been a great success to me and the entire youth association.
We managed to win back the confidence of the community elders who now view the youths as an important part of the community, not as in the before where we were viewed as a nuisance hindering community development. The counseling sessions helped some youths to drop drug use and embrace more productive behaviors and above all the bond between the different age groups within our community has been strengthened. Apart from just being parents to us, we have become good friends with our parents and can confide in them and tell them our worst fears. This has been my greatest achievement and away I consider best to have given back to the community which raised me.