Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “youth”
Dear friend, 20 months ago, a colleague was knocking on doors to meet students taking their “N” Level examinations and to wish them well. It was her way of establishing a relationship with young people in the neighbourhood that she had not met and reconnecting with those already on our database. Amy, 16 years old, was not at home but …
Dear friends, A youth who was new to the programme picked up a guitar hesitantly and started strumming at the back of the room. She knew the song the “band” was playing, and she mouthed the lyrics which spoke to her. “Do you ever feel like a plastic bag, drifting through the wind, wanting to start again?” Do you ever …
Dear friends, The youth were surprised when a mother revealed that when she was violated as a child, the adults she confided in did not believe her. It was an experience the other three mothers present resonated with and they added that such was their reality when they were young. After a brief pause, one of the youth responded, “I …
Dear friends, 8 youth from different neighbourhoods responded enthusiastically to an invitation to explore how they could lead or be a part of a social action project that they cared about. They told us that they were inspired by mothers in their respective neighbourhoods who organized community activities, spoke to their neighbours about improving their health and cared for older …
CW: mentions of sexual violence In 2018 I was conducting an applied drama programme with 11 and 12 year old girls. During that period, they began telling stories about their experiences of gendered violence, and one girl brought up that she had two cousins who were sexually abusing her. We met with the families involved to facilitate a process of …
Dear friends, A teacher at our early childhood centre got her students to clap as they spelt out “papaya” loudly together with her and everyone was moving energetically to the rhythm of a rhyming cheer, “P-A-P-A-Y-A, P-A-P-A-Y-A, P-A-P-A-Y-A, PAPAYA-YEH!” When it was clear that everyone could easily spell “papaya,” she carried on with the lesson by introducing the fruit for the …
Beyond Expectations began in 2018 as a mentoring initiative by NUS students serving as mentors for 13 to 17-year-old youths from our Redhill rental communities. The initiative has gone a long way and has since expanded and diversified its mentor pool to include students from other local universities. In this short interview, we ask the team more about how the …
Dear friends, Youth Day is commemorated on the the first weekend of July, but we got our own little celebration going last Saturday. We kept the ritual alive the past 2 years with an online event, but the young people showed us why some things should not be done virtually. As we prepared to board the bus to a bowling …
Dear friends, We introduced the concept of self-esteem to 7 young people aged from 11 to 16 years old but only 1 of them has attended all 3 weekly sessions so far. However, we believe he will be sharing his insights with his friends and perhaps, more will join us as we continue the conversation. When asked what “self-esteem” meant, …
Dear friends, 8 youth who are pursuing post-secondary education organised a webinar for children and their care-givers. They presented themselves as “Human Books” that revealed their experiences at school and to answer any questions about themselves that their “readers” were interested in finding out. To everyone’s pleasant surprise 25 caregivers and children made their way to this online Human Library. These …
