A number of the youth we work with are very keen to work with children, so we took them to a home comprising mainly of children under 10 years of age for a visit. The youth were keen to give their time to the younger children who do not get visitors and who were delighted to have older boys around.
At first everybody was a bit shy but before too long the younger children were entertaining us with their singing and dancing. For the duration of the visit each of the youth had at least one child on his knee, and in some cases, two.
I overheard one of the youth ask the small children what they wanted to be when they grow up and the reply was `a statue’.
The visit was a great success and the youth are going to return on a regular basis to visit the small children. Giving back is an important part of the process for the youth we work with, especially as they live in an institution where everything is done for them. Learning to give is essential during their preparation for making the transition to independent living.
This is great – what wonderful work. I think the concept of giving back to the community is extremely important. Great stuff – OTSK seems like a very worthy cause.
A statue? Adorable
“A statue”! That is so precious.
I think it’s wonderful that these youth have the opportunity to be role models and leaders to the children younger than themselves, which I’m sure must be a boost to their self-esteem and also must help to strengthen the community as a whole.
Great work so far!