Youth ACT Peru - Lima Group
YOUTH ACT LIMA PERU - LIMA
We are cheerful, helpful, enthusiastic and committed young people in order to promote the common good in society, who live in the San Juan de Lurigancho District, in the Mariscal Cáceres urbanization, Human Settlements. During this time we have been training and contrasting our theoretical learning with the reality of the San Juan de Lurigancho district, to work on a future project that responds to the needs of our area. As a group we have the following objectives:
- Training of citizen leaders who respond in society through active participation.
- Correctly inform the concepts of the problem so that young people recognize and are aware of the reality they live.
Due to the current situation, it was considered fruitful to work on the training of young people, so as a group we have been learning more about the area where we are going to work. The aforementioned was worked with the young leaders of the EDIW PERÚ group. By exchanging knowledge, the EDIW-PERÚ group also consolidated as a fraternal family, committed to its area, district, community, and society.
The logo of our group represents the feeling that, as young people, we have in our hands the ability to have a positive impact on society and contribute to building a fairer and more humane world. Peru is currently going through a series of conflicts on a political, economic and social level. We as young people believe that we can achieve real change, with justice and solidarity. The change begins with us and we continue to grow and prepare to achieve what we want for our country.
We want to use our Instagram account to share content that edifies and contributes to improving the quality of life of young people, for example: deep motivational phrases, reflections on various topics, training routines, among others, all with the purpose of share our experience and encourage others to participate in the group.
Social Media
Youth-Act Peru: Leaders making their mark in the new Guadix: San Juan de Lurigancho
Kathy and David
The Youth ACT – Peru project started in 2018. As a first experience, students from the Women’s University Residence were called to be part of the group of leaders, but due to class schedules and activities at the university, they stopped attending. Then a call was sent out to former students of the Karol Wojtyla School, located in the district of San Juan de Lurigancho, through the teacher of that institution, Hilda Ramos, who is also a member of the Cooperative Association of the Teresian Association. This was followed by a two- year training process for leaders on topics such as: democratic values, the political situation, what role do young people play, violence against women, leadership, and what is the proposal of the Teresian
Association, who is Pedro Poveda for young people in San Juan de Lurigancho?
Within the initial part of the Youth ACT project, the leaders were involved in issues of politics, information and communication, decision-making and minority participation. The most notable regarding the first theme is communication as a process by which information is transmitted and, through this tool, emotions and thoughts are expressed. This is a means to try to persuade or change someone else’s opinion and therein lies its potential with responsible use. In that sense, we are aware that as members of the Youth Act-Peru and EDIW group, we have experienced communication at all times.
The second theme started from being a small group, with a common objective that grew to form family ties and respond to what to contribute. This reflection or question was born during the pandemic in the face of the limiting experiences we faced as a group in order to remain united and try to find a solution to this situation that would allow us to evaluate and make decisions as a team for the benefit of the common
good. Likewise, the experience of the virtual world allowed us to interact behind a screen in order to be able to continue, to carry out a free webinar, to create a space for teaching children with low resources.
Finally, a dissemination programme was carried out with the aim of encouraging and reinforcing education at secondary school level in order to close the educational gaps caused by the pandemic, where we learned to feel the reality of minority groups. I knew that in a way I was part of them, but in reality it was something bigger: the children and young people of San Juan de Lurigancho, specifically in the area of Pérez de Cuellar, who lack opportunities for quality education. As a result, Youth Act Peru came up with a project called “Reforzando saberes, creando sueños” (Strengthening knowledge, creating dreams), where we provided reinforcement in all grades, whether at primary or secondary school level. Seeing their desire to improve and that they could assimilate more knowledge, moved me and our soul felt peace to have been part of the work of helping those who need us, similar to what Pedro Poveda fought for in Guadix.
In summary, the phrase “One gives to others what one has in one’s heart as a reflection of the spirit”, is the premise under which the need arose to reinforce and polish the characteristics of a leader present in each of the team members, signifying the beginning of a series of trainings; one of them was politics. “We are political animals”, Aristotle once said. Man needs others, that is why he lives in society, and this is why the vocation of service is born in human beings. It is precisely this vocation of service and helping others that motivated this family to pass on what we have learned, taking an active part with minorities; we are aware that action must be taken to bring about a change in our society, which is why decision-making was present in every step we took; we knew that the project had enormous potential and that its implementation would help to close the knowledge gaps, gaps that had widened as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
For all these reasons, we are convinced that a just society is built on good education. I am sure that, with each class given to the students of the district of San Juan de Lurigancho, not only knowledge was transmitted, but also the teaching that if we want to change society, that change must start with ourselves, not stop fighting for what we believe in and want to achieve with conviction. We must look at obstacles as an opportunity for growth and continuous improvement. That said, there is no doubt that at Youth Act Peru we are more than a team. We are a family.