Youth Councils: Volunteering to give back to the community
At the 25 rural high schools participating in our youth empowerment program, Youth Councils propose and lead extracurricular activities for their classmates and their community.
Despite the significant progress made in recent years in the field of education, disparities between urban and rural areas remain significant. In many provinces, young people still have limited access to quality educational resources and opportunities that would allow them to develop their skills, self-confidence, and independence.
Volunteer work
Giving up their time, evenings, and weekends—that’s the commitment made by the 600 active members of the Youth Councils at the high schools participating in the youth development program. Elected by their peers for their enthusiasm, these young leaders rally other students to organize extracurricular activities for their classmates and the residents of their villages.
The program includes the formation of sports and reading clubs, awareness campaigns on the environment, gender equality, and road safety, as well as the promotion of reading and academic support for 1,500 elementary school children. Twenty-five micro-libraries will also be created and managed by young people in their villages.
Skills that will help them in the future
Through this commitment, these young volunteers gain valuable, long-lasting skills that will benefit them in both their professional and personal lives. They learn to be leaders, take the initiative, and run awareness campaigns…
Their social, civic, and organizational skills are strengthened every day through their involvement. In addition to the 600 active members of the Youth Councils, nearly 1,700 high school students are building their independence and their ability to take initiative.
A training led by Sipar
Young people receive training both in person and online from the Sipar team. Material resources are also provided: books for reading promotion activities and the creation of micro-libraries, school supplies for tutoring sessions with children, and a grant allocated to each Youth Council to organize its awareness campaigns.
Sipar’s coordination team is responsible for monitoring the students and their activities. At each school, a teacher and a librarian also serve as points of contact responsible for supporting and monitoring the students.
As of today, we are still €77,000 short of the amount needed to complete this project, which is co-funded by the French Development Agency. To support us, become a sponsor or make a donation by following that link.