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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 ! #Youth2030 #Youthmatter 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

In the framework of the High Level Political Forum, Jeanne, as an LP4Y representative, attended various panels and sessions at the United Nations Headquarters and share her thoughts with us Jeanne Vigouroux Every year in July, the UN High Level Political Forum gathers UN member states to review their advancement and progress on the 2030 Agenda which includes the UN Sustainable Development Goals. As representatives of the civil society, social organizations, members of the Economic and Social Council, are invited to attend panels, the general assembly and public sessions during these two weeks. In this framework, LP4Y ECOSOC team had the opportunity, for the very first time, to enter the UN headquarters physically after pandemic restrictions and online-only meetings and events. I was asked to write down my first impressions and observations, to tell you what is going on there. So here is a personal fresh eye report. I hope it will lead to further common and fruitful discussions. The first day started with the General Assembly and opening remarks from the ECOSOC president, followed by different statements. Until now, the LP4Y ECOSOC team was navigating between the different online panels and member states’ representatives interventions, NGO side events on zoom, we organized a few ourselves… Not so easy to figure out the best way of being useful and who and what we should target to make a difference. We heard from one another that it takes years for a social organization to achieve little successes. I remember an advertising specialist we met with John, telling us ironically (or not) that if we want to advocate, today it should be on Tik Tok. Still, with a “Catalyst spirit”, we decided to believe we have our place and can enable improvements here. First, it was interesting to hear from a diverse and eclectic panel: World Bank, FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization), economists, UN or Government representatives, etc. It is stimulating to hear from Finland, Madagascar, Sierra Leone, Bangladesh, Qatar, Burkina Faso, Sweden, etc. about their policy orientations and to compare. Many data and facts, economic and social studies, were shared. A lot of statements mentioned the consequences of the pandemic: it increased inequalities, we (the Governments and institutions) must invest and partner to build back better. The ECOSOC president introduction was followed by interventions, keynotes, remarks, messages and even performances, from one and another. And I have not been bored at all. When we got to hear from a 19-years old woman from Chile, with pink and purple hair, screaming in the mic on behalf of women that our uterus belongs to us, in front of diplomats in their suit and tie, and the applause among the civil society and all visitors, I wondered and asked myself: what is the United Nations purpose again? Discuss global issues. Ensure peace. When we listened to a K-pop music band, explaining that instead of investing in the metaverse and virtual ecosystems, we should ensure first that the real world is correctly managed… I thought that advocacy actually may be that. Wake up and shake minds? The street is not the sole space. Young activists understood it. Even within institutional and formal organizations, they take the stage. But it might not be time for politeness and diplomacy anymore? If educating, raising awareness, thinking and brainstorming is a start, is it time to alert, insurge ourselves, call those who make or unmake policies and impact people's lives for action? How to catalyze change, nowadays? We have all seen Sri Lankan protests pictures… After all, extreme poverty and exclusion are violence, and break the UN assumptions, so should we, representatives of the civil society and of the most vulnerable, as well, dare be offensive and have violent words? These few questions came to my mind. Without quoting anyone, some messages from Governments proudly talking about programs they put in place to answer the pandemic crisis can sometimes let a bit doubtful and skeptical because national decision makers, including in countries we operate in, govern in a questionable way. What is our role as a social movement? Can we decently congratulate these speeches? How to discern and find the balance between personal convictions, values, beliefs, and concrete actions, partnerships and synergies we can modestly work on here? What’s the difference between militantism, activism, and advocacy? What do we want to do and what should be our position? What is our final goal here? Is this only about employment of 17-24 years old or should we go further? Mr Kailash Satyarthi, Indian SDG Advocate, 2014 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, spoke on behalf of invisible young people. “When I will see slave children, these young girls I know, smiling again and get hope: only at this moment I will say our policies are successful”. But the matter is not just to know if there is a crisis or not, there will always be. The question is not the crisis, but the decisions we take. Same here: after identifying the challenge – LP4Y did 12 years ago – let’s suggest solutions. A representative of the civil society highlighted that Youth will never have a space in society if they don’t fight for it, they need to organize and set an agenda. Let’s support them in this journey. Here, no anger, no blame, no offense, no radical political views. Indeed, that would not be productive. Then let's take the path of solution-oriented statements, positive recommendations, impactful testimonies and wake up calls. Let’s consider all stakeholders inputs, best practices, and share data, expertise and stories from the field. Even if, sometimes, the challenge is so big, frustrating, that we wish to quicken the pace for faster changes… The DNA of LP4Y is also to argue in a polite and courteous way, with humility. Here are some key information we now all know: According to the World Bank, since 2020, 100 additional million people have fallen into extreme poverty, which is unprecedented. Antonio Guterres, General Secretary of the United Nations, reminds that the poorest people do not live in low income countries today, but in middle income countries. Article 23 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights asserts that “Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favorable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.” Despite this, today, 61% of the entire workforce of the world is in informal jobs, without any social insurance, and nearly 282 million youth are not in employment, education or training (the vast majority are women) (ILO 2021). If we know the causes of exclusion – listening to the youths for years, observing and witnessing it in the field, it is complex, these causes are multiple – we also know the consequences of this exclusion if not fixed quickly. Then, this is not only about charity, this is not only a question of being generous humanists fighting for social justice. It is all about pragmatism and responsibility, because a society excluding half of its young generation is heading straight for disaster. This is actually a matter of collective awareness and general interest. For years, both networks initiated by LP4Y (Youth Inclusion Network and Youth 4 Change Network) have been building capacity and creating the space for companies and social organizations to express the challenges they face, share their experience and best practices, and think together on how to leverage on what works and what does not. Here is LP4Y’s statement since the beginning: we need to act collectively, jointly with local governments, communities, corporations, to foster the social and professional inclusion of the Youth. This being said: raising, highlighting, requesting what? How to benefit from this UN stage at best? Above our convictions and concrete solutions and examples of what works in an operational way, what should we address in terms of policies? For a few weeks now, we initiated an advocacy brainstorming to define it according to LP4Y’s initial vision and values, and draw up step by step our blueprints and roadmap. We can be inspired by what was implemented in some countries, such as Wales. The YIN team reported from the ChangeNow Forum is Paris, that this is the sole country which has named a Commissioner for Future Generations, and has implemented legal requirements to consider the long-term well-being of the planet in this regard (such as the Well being of Future Generations Act 2015; or the 7 Well being goals). Anja Fortuna, Vice President of the European Youth Forum, advocates for a global instrument and framework setting out the particular rights of young people (it only exists for the -18 years old through the UN Convention for the rights of the Child). There are benches of good ideas to explore and push better and more investments on people, and Youth. Since we joined LP4Y, we are all advocates. Wherever we are, whatever our mission or position is, we witness Youth condition and can’t do anything else than act, collaborate, testify and tell the truth – at least facts - around us. What if the UN was the next step to scale up and raise Youth voice on a larger and global scale? ATD 4th World Movement, one of our allies here, understood it: listening to the invisible and wireless ones is at the heart of their advocacy strategy. “Nothing for us without us.” During the panel on education, the authentic testimony of a precarious mother ATD invited, from Latin America, explaining the struggle to raise a child and ensure he can realize his full potential at school, while not having enough money to eat, was impactful and a fresh reminder between two generalist statements on digital literacy. In September, Neeraj Kumar, LP4Y graduate, Delhi Star Club president, now catalyst himself, is coming to NYC to participate in a one-week UN Camp. Coming from a marginalized environment, he struggled to find a job because of his disability and excluded and underprivileged background. But he never lost hope and motivation, he is running his own tuition center in Delhi, to give back to his community. Part of the 10% young leaders selected, Neeraj will work on a solution addressing one of the SDGs (decent work), coached by mentors, and will pitch it in front of an expert panel. Amazing opportunity. Finally, this is definitely the meaning of our presence here and the target we should have: giving the Youth a floor, as often as we can, in order to – when addressing topics of inclusion, gender equality or youth employment – let this space to the most excluded, youth themselves, the better witnesses and ambassadors of their community. So, as a panelist said, we benefit from this “talent and gift of Youth” and bet on them. Their future, their voice. Our advocacy speech, including to the UN, is collective, be part of it. If anything (or anyone) comes to your mind, and you think it should be raised or shown or heard or whatever on a larger scale, please share it! We may not change the world, but we’ll contribute our best. Together we can (achieve more), so let’s all boost and shake this new ecosystem.

After spending 3 months in the Green Village Nepal, Manisha is sharing her thoughts and fresh feelings about her fruitful and exciting mission as a coach Manisha Chapagain Already 3 months as a coach, and here's my LP4Y Journey experiences After completing my master's degree, I was looking for a job that would allow me to contribute back to my community. Fortunately, I came across a vacancy available at LP4Y. When I spotted an opening for a coach position, I was immediately intrigued and interested in applying. Despite being an introvert, my passion towards serving people has led me to where I am today, as a Catalyst. Making an impact on even a single person or single life is really important to me, but LP4Y allows me to be that facilitator for dozens of Youth. What could be more gratifying than that? I began my Mission as a coach in February 2022, and there is no turning back now. Every day is a process of learning, relearning, and unlearning. I still remember when I first stepped foot on GV Godawari territory during Welcome Weeks, I had inexplicable feelings. Because, despite being in my mid-twenties and a progressive conservative Nepali woman, being apart from my own family was proving to be quite challenging for me. However, despite the fact that each human has hundreds of shades, the naïve Manisha is only one of them. Beneath that naivety, there are others shades too, which were initially shadowed. But now, three months into my endeavor, I've already unveiled and revealed my various hues. In a nutshell, my LP4Y journey all started with Batch 13. And witnessing their improvement and growth has immensely helped me in understanding how people may acquire and master their personalities when they are hungry and enthusiastic to overcome their flaws. Not only have the Youth evolved in the previous three months, but I have as well, I evolved, I fostered. This reciprocal link between Youth and catalysts tells me that by working together, we may overcome our pitfalls, weaknesses and flaws. Also, the energetic Youth of GV center, at times they knock my mind, at times they unleash and unlock my mind, at times I feel superior, at times I feel lost, at times I become clueless, but above all, they are constantly helping to make me realize that we must ‘act locally and think globally’. Therefore, I am more convinced than ever that the bottom-up approach is the way to go. Hence, they (the Youth) serve as a resource for broadening my horizons of knowledge. In truth, the three-month period is also a constant discovering and planning for a better, & greater tomorrow. So I consider myself fortunate every day since I work with the best co-catalysts. And, I am grateful to wake up every day to the landscape of Godawari's Green Village which is beautiful, and refreshing. Green Village team

Think Human Foundation and LP4Y celebrated the successful journey of Filipino Youth graduating from a digital training program about Customer Service Youth from Payatas, Tondo and Taguig Center On July 22nd, Think Human Foundation, Webhelp and Life Project 4 Youth (LP4Y) celebrated together the successful journey of ambitious young Filipinas and Filipinos! This event, gathering 100+ Youth from Luzon, Cebu and Mindanao islands, was the opportunity to shed light on a fruitful collaboration between corporate and non-profit organizations to design a more inclusive world. Since the start of 2022, different activities have been done together to empower Youth coming from underprivileged backgrounds: company visit, mock interviews, digital training sessions, inspirational testimonies.. and more to come for the second semester! Thank you Think Human Foundation and Webhelp for believing in the Youth and accompanying them to succeed in their Life Project Plan. #Togetherwecan! Jacqui from Webhelp - Think Human Foundation Bruno Vergnes - Consultant - Member of the YIN Group picture Taguig + Tondo + Payatas teams

Nils Roman, former Coach, is sharing about his 1 year mission! Nils Roman, former Coach of Care 4 Change Pahar Ganj, Delhi, India A bit more than one year ago, I arrived in New-Delhi to live an experience with the wish to grow as a human being and a professional. As expected, this experience taught me hundreds of values, qualities, skills, and memories that I will bring to my side all my life. This experience was to be a Coach for the professional and social integration of excluded young adults. Today, I want to share with you deeper things than how my experience was, what I lived there, and how the country was. I want to tell you stories that offered me three outstanding learnings that I received during this one-in-a-lifetime experience alongside the Delhi Youth and my co-catalysts. 1- Positivity “If you are positive, you’ll see opportunities instead of obstacles.” In June, my center was facing many challenges that we can list as follows: - One coach when we are supposed to be two - A lack of Youth in the center due to the pandemic and bad retention of the newcomers - A building in poor condition Therefore, we were thinking about closing it. As you can imagine, this is not an easy decision to take when you know that this centre is also a place where excluded young adults are allowed to dream and build a brighter future. Thousands of questions were raised in my mind: How to save this centre? How do I tell the Youth about it? What will happen to me and to the Youth? How will they feel about it? It didn’t take long before the same questions were raised in the mind of the Youth and for them to ask me. Therefore, in July, I decided to tell the Youth the truth about everything without any filters. It was not an easy afternoon since almost all of them were feeling abandoned (again for some of them), were feeling confused, were feeling scared (and I was also). However, I wanted to be positive, and I told them to be too! The solution was to stay unified to find slums areas nearby the centre, motivate excluded young adults, and help the newcomers to feel good when they arrive. During the next weeks, unexpected things happened… In less than 2 weeks the Youth smashed all the challenges of finding new areas and recruiting new Youth. After one month, the team of 8 became a team of 21 motivated young adults ready to move into a brand new LP4Y center. Today, I want to tell you that positivity is something magic. It first allows you to push the boundaries of your mind and others' mind but it is also something that we can forward to anyone! To know more about the power of positivity you can also check out the story written by the Youth of Paharganj. 2- Humility “I am no one to judge you, and neither you are.” 8:58 am on the clock and it was time for my co-catalysts and me to go down to the ground floor in the training room to start the typical “Professional checking”. Nevertheless, that 10th February, it was different from the other days since many Youth were in front of the door speaking, shouting instead of being sited in the room to start the morning briefing. We started to ask the team what was happening, and they answered that a young drug addict wanted to join the centre. The team explained to us that it was not good for the centre since it could create a bad dynamic. Being catalysts, it was not possible for us to stop at that answer and we had to cross the doorstep to meet that guy. He was standing in the street 5 meters away from the door, scared, terrified, with his cloth in his mouth soaked in glue (the cheapest drug commonly used by poor people in India). As you can imagine, we were also confused about how to act and what to do even more when this person doesn’t speak our language. At the same time, I remember this neighbor crossing our way and telling this young guy aggressively “Jao jao!” which means “go away, go away!” and telling us “Don’t take care of him, he is lost, you can’t do anything”. Still, after almost one year in India, it was inconceivable for me to give up and to listen to that neighbor. In other words, it was not possible for me not to try to help him. Who am I to judge that young man? Therefore, I decided to call Shankar and Dilip (2 Youth of the program) to come with me to speak with that “drug addict”, to translate and explain to him what was LP4Y. The beginning of the conversation was surrounded by apprehension, fear, and wariness to progressively leave the place to peace, intensity, and comprehension. What was different from the beginning? To ask his name which was Kamal and to consider him as a human being, not a cleaner! After this sincere discussion, we came back to the training room with the 2 Youth. It was important for us to speak to the team in order to remind them what is exclusion, how we should face it, and how to fight it. We finished the talk with the hope that Kamal would join us the next day. Unfortunately, he never came back. However, Kamal’s teaching on that day will always come back to our mind when it will be about meeting unknown people and accepting them as they are. 3- Acceptance “You have to accept whatever comes and the only important thing is that you face it with courage and with the best that you have to give.” I believe that it can be hard to accept the changes that life is bringing in our life, it can be difficult to accept a gift or the help of others. For me, it was difficult to accept that people in difficult situations were opening their little home. At first, I was not feeling comfortable to sit on their “family bed” (a bed where all the family is usually sleeping), to take the food and drinks they were offering to me. However, home visit after home visit, I started to accept what they had to offer to me without any shame. It was probably the best decision I could have taken. It allowed the family to not only open their home to me but also their heart. Consequently, it allowed me to understand deeply the situation of the youth, as well as, his/her family condition. Above all, those true discussions taught me things that I will carry forever in my life such as the true meaning of welcoming someone! As I said, people can also be resilient to the changes that life is bringing to them. According to me, resistance to change is not a good idea because it could take you away from improvement. To illustrate this concept, I would like to share with you the story of one youth. Shamsher is 18 years old and is living in Kirti Nagar a slum area nearby the railways. This area is unsanitary, addiction to alcohol and drugs are part of it, and violence can also represent a challenge in some families. When he first arrived at the center in July, Shamsher was a young man very unconfident, low level in English, and shy but with a strong motivation to change his life. After 2 months, Shamsher had done many improvements in English and confidence but he was still facing huge challenges. Indeed, Shamsher was showing disrespect toward his teammates and the coaches. He was not able to receive any feedback from people and was struggling to step back about him. At some point, he was becoming violent and arrogant with people. As coaches, we had to tell him that it was necessary for him to change as soon as possible because these kinds of behavior would not be allowed in any company. He was always listening carefully and eager to learn but he was struggling with the bad habits created by his life and his environment. I remember him one day, after a fight in the team, in a dark room with his punches on the table and his eyes closed thinking about which decision to take. Leaving the center and going back to his old life or staying in the center, going out of his comfort zone and accepting to change his life (which means his friends and all the things he was used to). However, after some time, magic happened again and he started to become a key player in the team, being able to manage people and push them to do better and better. I understood that Shamsher was in the process to become a better person and had accepted to change when I saw him, one day, with a newcomer in a room. He was explaining to the newcomer why it is important to deal with negative feelings and how to change them into positive ones. Shamsher has now finished LP4Y and is working in a loan company. Stepping back from my hometown, I can say that one year ago, starting this adventure with no idea of what was waiting for me was the best decision I could have taken. Finally, I would like to add that there is no limit in this world when positivity, love, and resilience are part of the same team. I would like to thank all the people that were on my side during this crazy year. To my Paharganj and Sangam Vihar fellows, thank you from the bottom of my heart for supporting me, giving me advice, and accompanying me for one year. I can definitely call you “Family” now! To all the Youth I have been working with, many times you told me “Thank you Coach” but today again, I want to say thank you so much for teaching me so many things about myself and who I want to become. To all my co-catalysts, thank you so much for the great time we spent together and all the good memories we built together. To LP4Y, thank you for building bridges between the excluded world and the included world where dreaming for tomorrow is possible. Nils Roman

Wendy Lariestan, Training & Development Center Tondo, Manilla, Philippines

Yogita, who now works in a Startup in Delhi, shares her journey in the center of Sangam Vihar Yogita Kohli, Training & Development Center Sangam Vihar, Delhi, Inde

Tesjaswini tells us more about her experience as a mentee! Tejaswini Singh, 18 years old, Training & Development Center of Sangam Vihar, Delhi, India

Ola, the President of the Stars Club GVL shares about her new position and actions in Lebanon! Ola Androun, President of the Stars Club Green Village Lebanon

Anjali, a mentee of the mentorship programme in Sangam Vihar, shares about her experience! Anjali Diwakar, Management Step, Training & Development Center of Sangam Vihar, Delhi, India

Cherimae, a Star of CDO shares her experience as a trainee of the Webhelp Training programme Cherimae Mulos, 22 years old, Stars in the Training & Development Center of Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines Hi I am Cherimae Mulos, I am 22 years old and I resided at Cagayan de Oro City. My life used to be really challenging because I had stopped studying owing to financial difficulties. I'd given up hope. In that situation, I had no idea what my life goals would be or what I should expect in the future. I was on standby for approximately three months, but in the meantime, I was looking for scholarships to help pay for my tuition if I decided to return to school. However, because I'm a student, it's a little difficult. Some Educational Assistance Programs qualify for scholarship merit if the student is still in school. I realized I couldn't rely on this program since I felt empty. Since then, I've been fighting on my own and telling myself that I'll be able to find another fantastic opportunity. If others can do it, there's no reason why I can't. I was in City Hall, trying to find a job and enroll in the TESDA out-of-school youth program. When I met the previous former STAR President, he introduced me to the Life Project 4 Youth Organization, which was a fantastic opportunity. I was piqued, and after some consideration, I decided to join. I was first nervous since the coaches were foreigners who spoke fluent English, a language in which I am not competent. I'm finding it difficult to fit in with the team, especially since I'm dealing with Deaf Youths. It's a new atmosphere for me, and I'm having to adjust to their perceptions and be aware of my actions. Nonetheless, I persisted in attending the training. I'm grateful that I was able to conquer those challenges and learn something from them. The coaches, the team, and the training have all aided me in being a professional in all areas of competence. Not only has it aided me in becoming a professional, but it has also changed me to have a direction and set objectives for my future, which is something I had never considered before. I value the Coaches' constant guidance, inspiration, and positive affirmations that I could achieve more than I ever imagined. I admire the Team's support, happy times, and the opportunity to create wonderful memories that I will treasure. The WEBHELP Training Program, one of LP4Y's partners, assisted and trained me to gain a professional job, and I am currently employed at Concentrix as a Customer Service Representative, specifically as an Advisor I Transaction Marketing Advisor, for almost a year and counting. I can confidently state that all of my personal and professional experiences, as well as the challenges I've faced in leading the team, have shaped me into the best version of myself that I am today. I am eternally grateful to Life Project for Youth for transforming people's lives into a brighter and more colorful future and for making them better people. I don't think I'll ever be able to thank them enough, but I'll do my best to share my experiences and transmit my knowledge in order to inspire the next generation of TDC Cagayan de Oro Youth. Finally, my message to everyone is that you alone, and no one else, have the power to transform your life. Nothing is impossible, and you are free to dream. Simply begin with yourself, plan one step at a time, and remember that God has better plans for you. Fighting, and TOGETHER WE CAN !

Mariechu, a Star of TDC Tondo, shares her experience as part of the Stars club! Mariechu Peralta, Support Project Manager of Stars Club in the Philippines Good day everyone, I am Mariechu Peralta, a former Youth of Bloom program, one of the previous programs here at the Tondo Training Development Center. I am currently working for LP4Y as the Support Project Manager of Stars Club Philippines and the Star digital Catalyst of the Philippines, Stars Club is a group of Youths who finished the PTE (the Professional Training for Entrepreneurs in LP4Y) and now have to face the real world, outside the Training Development Centers. As their main contact I am helping them to find a decent job, guiding them with their job search , creating events to make a connection between LP4Y and to their fellow stars, giving them some advices professionally and emotionally, yes I am also sometimes giving them some advices and motivations when they are encountering some problematic situations in their life but I am only doing it when they are willing to open it up with me and I am also searching for possible partners that can give them job, trainings and internships. And as of the moment I am currently focusing on creating events for the stars and creating some projects to empower them because in the past 2 years we are a bit in a pause due to the pandemic. I know that I should make the stars club active again. Because the stars club is a great help to all of the stars, in this organization they can find a lot of ways and motivation to reach their dreams. I am here to accompany them because I know that we can suddenly feel stress when we don't find a job or when we feel lost because of the an expected circumstances. This is never easy but the key is to never give up and to keep learning on our every failure. Thanks and I hope I inspire you to help the Stars Club to reach more achievements and innovation in the future.