From Nepal to Bangladesh to the Philippines, last 15th July, the LP4Y Youth took part in the Youth Skills Day celebrated by the United Nations, online and offline in Kathmandu ! Discover their inspiring testimony
Maria Hitang - Colline Pusta
I sat in a corner. I sat in a corner and watched these ladies talk. I watched these ladies embody what they learn each day in the LP4Y centers, day after day, month after month.
I watched these ladies speak with conviction about how all young people need is a safe space to learn, grow and enhance our skills.
And as I sat there in the corner watching these ladies make themselves proud, I felt proud of them and I felt a little proud of myself.
I felt proud because I am a Catalyst. A Catalyst that is making impact in the lives of young girls. Perhaps the impact isn't as huge as the project I represent but an impact is an impact!
While I felt my chest swell with pride, there was a small voice in my head that said, Maria, be a Catalyst, always.
Context: I accompanied a group of young women to the UN house who graciously invited The Green Village Nepal and the Training and Development center to participate in the #skillshala that happened today on the occasion of World Youth Skill Day!
From the bottom of my heart, I thank Binita Karki, you truly are something my friend! The passion I see in you ignites something in me ! Truly does.
Ladies and gentlemen of this beautiful country, it's time. It's time to ask yourself, what am I doing to accompany young people today? Trust me, this is the question you want to ask yourself because the future is Youth! And the future is NOW !
Maria Hitang, Nepal
Good Day Everyone, My name is Colline Pusta, I’m from the Philippines and I’m 18 years old. I am living in a poor place here in Taguig, Manila with my sister and grandparents. Their occupation is trash collectors and we are living from this activity. I have a child whose name is Marcus and he is 2 years old. About his father we’re not live-in partners but he always gives us financial support to sustain our daily needs. I finished my 12th grade thanks to my grandparents who said that I can’t find a job if I don’t finish my studies. It’s not possible for me to go to college because it’s too expensive and I need to take care of my child first. After I graduated senior high school, one of my friends told me that he’s one of the trainees in Life Project 4 Youth and I can join them because it can be a great opportunity for me to have work experience and to find a decent job. LP4Y or Life Project 4 Youth is an International Movement that gives free training for 6 months to give opportunities and to encourage Youth between 18 - 24 years old that are out-of-school and or not employed to improve their skills and help them find a decent job. In LP4Y I experience working in a company and to learn teamwork with my co-youths. I overcome my weaknesses like when I feel nervous I need to dare and to surpass this kind of fear. Also I improved many of my skills for example: English Speaking, Public Speaking like presenting in front of many people and good communication with others specially when we do a mobilization in the community to encourage other youths to join the Life Project 4 Youth team. I know that Developing Soft Skills such as Creativity, Open-mindedness, taking initiative, Leadership and Public Speaking will bring up my confidence and allow me to be ready for any kind of job. Thanks to LP4Y I developed my capacity to adapt and to participate to any kind of project for example:
provide training to the community,
organize Events
lead the team
Communication Project.
Today I am currently in the program after a month and I can see that all those skills allow youths to be confident when they’re looking for a job and it works because I see my former co-youths working in the companies and they change their life and I am willing to do the same to be successful someday.
In LP4Y we propose an activity impacting the community and during this time we are empowered because we are the one creating the training, running the event and taking decisions. We make mistakes but we learn from them and this is how we get empowered skills. Our activity is to provide training to the community about how to get a Job or Job Integration and this is how we developed social impact skills. During all this time focused on the activity, we learn how to solve problems, to communicate, to work as a team, to think about creative and collaborative solutions. Thanks to this we have an impact on the community and we become actors of change.
Colline Pusta