WE ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE!!!

When we started our Junior Youth group, we did a lot of services such as: cleaning the beach, visiting the orphanage, distributing food to the poor ... etc. One of the services that we started to do was collecting paper from our neighbors and taking them to the few recycling bins we found here in kuwait. So this began gradually until it became something we did every month. Because not a lot of people knew about recycling in Kuwait, we had an idea to start a recycling program in our schools. We began planning, after a few months we found a company that agreed to provide our school with bins for recycling, so we made posters, prepared powerpoints and talked to a lot of people about the environment. The point is:  we started with small services and now we are expanding and making a difference in this world. Hopefully we could expand more and more to serve our country and to have a part in making the world a better place.

Why are Junior Youth important?

We all know that youth today will be the leaders of tomorrow. So it's very important to educate them before they become youth ( ages 15 and above). Junior Youth are between the ages 11-15. They're no longer kids but still not Youth. In this critical age they have spacial needs, because they go through a lot of changes physically, mentally and psychologically. So they need special attention. Also in this age they have a lot of questions such as ( Who am I? What am I doing in this world? If they don't get the answers they're looking for or the needed attention; they will be dragged by the society, and all that energy they poses will be wasted in all the wrong things such as: drugs, smoking and bad behavior. You can't isolate your children from the society, so what can you do? The Junior Youth Program has been proven to have a significant effect on the Junior Youth in developing their abilities and talents. Also it makes them understand the concept of service, and it uses all that energy in something useful. In this particular age the Junior Youth get affected easily by the things surrounding them, so they become perfect targets for media because nobody pays attention to them. Therefore trying to guide them before becoming youth is very important, because when that age is over it's very hard to change them if they chose the wrong path. In this age they are always looking for an older figure to look up to, and the animator who is a youth a bit older than them can be that role model. So all that energy and unbelievable talent that nobody cares or doesn't know about, will at last be acknowledged. And isn't that what we all want in some way?

The changes that I saw in my friends

I mentioned before that I attend a Junior Youth group. I would like to talk about the changes that I saw in myself and in my friends after attending the group. First I'd like to start by telling you how we were before joining the group. Before, we would always talk about subjects that didn't really matter. Now most of our talks are about world unity, what we can do to help people, wars and its effects, peace, service, education...etc. Before, we'd throw garbage on the ground and we wouldn't really care about the environment. Now we go places to clean up the garbage such as: The beach and our school. The most important change in my opinion is that we don't backbite, lie, curse or gossip as we used to do. We know the affects it has on our souls. That it is like a poison that slowly kills it. Now we know the importance of morals and manners. When one of us does something wrong, we always remind each other of the things that we learned in the group, and try to correct our mistakes. We have also become more attached to our spiritual side. We read more prayers and do more services for the community that we live in. Most of us have really developed our talents in drawing, playing sports, playing guitar and singing. We have learned a lot of things and in the same time we have so much fun. I can't think of a better place I would like to spend my time in. It has really changed our lives.

Children And Youth

When I look at the world nowadays I see two sides: how it's progressing and developing with all the new innovations and how it's being corrupted day by day. Our youth are being affected by that corruption and, instead of ending it, they are being absorbed by it and spreading it. When I say corruption I mean the loss of morals and manners. Nowadays you see children talk back when spoken to, curse, hit and shout. All of this at a very young age. So what will happen when they become youth? I can't even imagine what will happen when they're adults. I think a lot of the problems that we see today are because of these behaviors. So I think we should work on the children and youth before it gets too late.

Children and youth have a very important role to play in the future. They are the future. So what can we do to be good role models to our children and youth? Let's start with children. Most children always like to imitate there parents' behavior. "Practice of sports, nutritional habits and the values of children are often the reflection of their father and mother. Scientific studies demonstrate that children who have inactive parents have a greater risk to have also a sedentary lifestyle." (The The North American Magazine).

It's up to the parents to raise there children in an environment where morals and principles are important. The society they are living in also has a big influence in their children's behavior. Therefor in our Baha'i community we have children classes. Children from young ages attend and learn good ethics and morals such as: honesty, faithfulness, truthfulness, courage, generosity, etc.

If children attended such classes, they will become spiritually prepared to face the challenges of life and not be so easily influenced by the corruption we see nowadays. But, these lessons must be continually taught as the children grow into youth so that they always focus on what is right. I am a youth and still attend classes that teach me how to make the right choices. These classes have helped me a lot to see the world in a different way and has helped me realize that we as individuals can make a difference how hard it might be. Even if we affect one person we have made a difference and we have accomplished something. So let's work together to raise our children and youth according to good morals so that they can make the world a better place to live in.

A song I wrote about peace

Peace is a word is a five letter word.

People all around the world are dreaming of this word.

This simple word gives them hope.

If they try, if they work the wars might end.

Unity and love might bring some peace,

If they work together as one country.

Why can't people understand?

When will this discrimination end?

I want a reason I want it now.

Why are people killing and dying, shooting and crying,

Shouting and screaming, hitting and beating?

I want a reason I want it now.

Why isn't peace coming to town?

Gossiping and backbiting are everywhere

We all know what gossiping and backbiting are. But have you ever thought of the bad effect it has on your soul? I have, and what I discovered is that our soul is like our body, it needs food to grow and if you don't feed it will die. In my opinion our soul grows with good deeds and actions and dies with bad deeds such as gossiping and backbiting. Nowadays it seems like gossiping has become a habit . It's like a hobby for people, they get together just to gossip or backbite. The worst thing about it is that people think that it's not a bad thing. They say:"So what we gossip. What's so bad about that." They don't think about how their soul will be affected, that it will be a veil keeping them away from the love of God. In the Baha'i teachings it says that the love of God never goes away but we are the ones who keep ourselves away from it with a veil. And that veil consists of the bad things that we do that again includes gossiping and backbiting and also a lot of other things. So if we want to get closer to God we should burn that veil. Don't be overtaken by those corrupt urges. Fight them! and later on you will see the fruits of winning that fight. This takes us back to our main goal of spiritual development. This shows that whatever we do is related to our soul and spiritual development.

The Junior Youth Program

There are a lot of problems facing the world nowadays like poverty, racism, broken families and many other problems that are well known .

What is the solution? When will peace come? These are questions I always think about. But I realized that thinking about it doesn't solve it. That's why I decided to make a difference in the world by starting a Junior Youth group so that we could discuss the problems in the world and think of ways to solve them. And one of those ways is by serving the community that we are living in. In my opinion the most important solution is the spiritual one. And when I say spiritual I mean the development of virtues. Just Imagine the world if everybody was honest, brave, responsible, loving, forgiving, faithful, generous ....etc. I would love to live in that world but unfortunately there is no such world. Maybe not yet but there will be. A lot of people might disagree. They might say it's impossible for that to happen. You might change your mind after hearing what I have to say.

I mentioned before that I attend a Junior Youth Program. I am sure you are wondering what that is? This program is called the Junior Youth Empowerment Program. This is an educational, ethical, social program specialized for the junior youth. It was established by international educational institutions. When I say junior youth that means ages between 11-15. Youth in these ages go throw a lot of changes mentally, physically and psychologically. They're no longer kids but not yet adults. They're are in a critical age where they have special needs. Let's not forget that there is a huge amount of pressure on them from there friends, the school and the media. So they usually choose the wrong path but this program helps them to build a moral foundation so they can distinguish between right and wrong.

Every Junior youth is gifted and talented in some way. One of the purposes of this program is discovering these gifts and using them to serve the community they are living in. This program also develops the power of expression in youth. It also shows them the consequences of their actions. We achieve all of this by reading books that were specially written for this purpose. Every four weeks we go and do a service including: cleaning the parks, beaches visiting sick people in the hospital, helping poor people and so on. We also do different activities in the group such as doing different kinds of art and craft, going on trips, playing sports, cooking.....etc. This helps them to find any hidden talents they might have and works on developing them.