Advocacy on Youth Development

The Bakhita Canossa Foundation – Philanthropic Development Office (BCFI – PDO) Advocacy on Youth Development wants to increase the opportunities for a better life with empowered and nurtured children and youth.

The youth who are the backbone of the nation and future pillars of the country (com­prising 30M in 2015) are left unattended and unheard. They face several challenges today like education, employment, teenage pregnancy, early marriage, sexual­ity, and risky behaviors (smoking and illegal substance use).

The youth face challenges that affect their health (mental and physical), educational development, and recreation opportunities. These challenges can be conquered by effectively mobilizing and accessing limited resources. Through partnerships with stakeholders of all ages, community involvement, local solutions, and the learning process approach, rural areas can increase community capacity, which can enhance positive youth development and improve the quality of life of the community.

The BCFI-PDO Youth Development Program is a spiritual accompaniment for the children and the youths in different communities empowered through spiritual formation programs, educational development, leadership development programs, and sports, music, and arts development program to address the gap they face today. BCFI-PDO Youth Development Program funding sources include private donations from individuals, sponsorship, and income-generating projects.

WHAT SPECIFIC PROBLEM TO BE SERVED?

The youth who are the backbone of the nation and future pillars of the country (com­prising 30M in 2015) are left unattended and unheard. They are facing several chal­lenges today like education, employment, teenage pregnancy, early marriage, sexual­ity, risk behaviors (smoking and illegal substance use).

The youth face challenges that affect their health (mental and physical), educational development, and recreation opportunities. These challenges can be conquered by effectively mobilizing and accessing the limited resources. Through partnerships with stakeholders of all ages, community involvement, local solutions, and the learning process approach, rural areas can increase community capacity which can enhance positive youth development and improve the quality of life the community.

“Young people are almost three times more likely to be underemployed than adults and continuously exposed to lower quality of jobs, greater labor market inequalities, and longer and more insecure school-to-work transitions. In addition, women are more likely to be underemployed and under-paid, and to undertake part-time jobs or work under temporary contracts.

That is why education and training are key determinants of success in the labor market. But existing systems are failing to address the learning needs of many young people, and surveys of learning outcomes and skills show that a large number of youth have low levels of achievement in basic literacy and numeracy. Skills and jobs for youth feature prominently in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and SDG target 4.4 calls for substantial increase in the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills.

July 15, 2016 is World Youth Day Skills Day, and the United Nations is observing the day with special event on the theme of “Skills Development to Improve Youth Employment.” Understanding what works to support young people in today’s and tomorrow’s labor market through training and skills development will be key to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda, and will be at the center of this high-level event.”

http://www.un.org/youthenvoy/2016/06/world-youth-skills-day-2016-2/

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority

The 2013 Functional Literacy, Education, and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS) covered around 36 million population aged 6 to 24 years. According to the survey, one in every ten or about 4 million Filipino children and youth was out of school in 2013. Out-of-school children are defined in the FLEMMS as persons aged 6 to 14 years who are not attending school while out-of-school youth as persons aged 15 to 24 years who are not attending school, have not finished any college or post-secondary course, and are not working.

The 2013 FLEMMS results also showed that of the nearly 4 million out-of-school children and youth, 22.9 percent have entered into a union or marriage. Another 19.2 percent cited insufficient family income to send a child to school as the reason for not attending school (this refers to all educational expenses other than tuition fees), while 19.1 percent lack interest in attending school.

HOW WILL THE YOUTH MINISTRY PROGRAM BEST ADDRESS THE PROBLEM?

The BCFI-PDO Youth Development Program is a spiritual accompaniment for the children and the youths in different communities empowered through

  • Spiritual Formation Program
  • Educational Development Program
  • Leadership development program
  • Sports, music, and arts Program

This is to address the gap they face today.