I have been thinking hard about several events i observed and experienced during my research at the Youth in Transition Program (YITP). I know they are trying to tell me something….something important for youth workers to know… something for Sri Lanka to understand … something for me to write about.
Why most young people cried at the end of YITP?
Why YITP has often left such a deep impression on youth who have participated in it
(and those who don’t feel strongly about the program, what does that mean?)
Why it’s easy for youth to go back to their normal way of living if no proper follow-up is done?
Why some youth were able to carry out the spirit from YITP and develop further and whty some could not?
The continuous relationship i formed with those youth i met at the YITP not only made my stay in Sri Lanka more fun, but allowed me to think twice about the notion of youth development in Sri Lanka. My friends actions and behaviors after the program have big meanings that need to be understood and recognized. They seem to say something:
“We want our freedom as youth. We are resourceful, creative and adaptive to change. We want to be respected and we yearn for good elders to guide us. We do recognize that we have weaknesses - sometimes too emotions, sometimes not being respectful to the elders - but we are willing to change. We understand how you (the adults) see us. We don’t really blame you if you have negative views on us. But you shouldn’t generalize that all youths are anti-social and just because we like bob marley doesn’t mean that we will not respect you and be good. Sometimes, we can’t help it to make mistakes but deep in ourselves, we want to be better, if you just give us a bit more chance. We smell globalization in our daily, sometimes, we long to enjoy the feast globalization has to offer us, but sometimes, we don’t have the resources to really get ourselves to the feast. oh well….it’s okay even though we cannot enjoy the feast, we can have the left over or just have our usual meal at home. But mind you, one day, some of us would make ourselves there - we are using mobile phones in the most innovative way you have even known. We get frustrated when we don’t understand something- why things have to be in certain kinds of ways, with rules and rigid structure? We get frustrated but we tried to find ways to deal with it. Maybe, the techniques we used were not right…we know we know…yet we are innovative ones who are willing to try out new solutions. Our friends are our best buddies…it is some important to have good friends because that’s where we learn to be good. Friends are important to us and from their supports, we have more motivation to develop our dreams and hold positive views in life. How nice would it be if the society is full of caring adults, good friends, and safe space for us to be ourselves and develop our potentials. So far, some of us are trying to cultivate such space, and your support would be a plus to us. We still have that trust in you and hope you trust us too…we love our country and peoples! We want to be good citizenship too”
Hope somebody with wiser insights can tell me if i have heard what my young friends said…..
Filed under: Thesis Journey | Tagged: YITP thesis
