Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Lima (Agenzia Fides) - "This turning point in the training of young people has been quite positive and we firmly believe that volunteers can carry out very interesting projects for the benefit of their communities", says Elkin Darío Fernandez Toro, coordinator of the "Young Caritas Ayaviri" who explains to Agenzia Fides his experience in the training of the coordinators of the event "Imp! Act Young Cáritas" which was held in Lima from 12 to 15 March.
More than a hundred young volunteers from 20 different places in the country participated in the meeting, with the aim of improving their skills, develop ideas and transform them into projects of social innovation, becoming operators of change in their respective communities.
"We have developed different methodologies on social innovation - continues the coordinator - and this will be fundamental so that young people can give life to creative and specific projects for the benefit of the communities in which they want to provide their service". Young people have identified the most important challenges of their communities, to promote solutions that bring about positive change.
"For me, Young Caritas is love in action. It is something that allows me to share my knowledge with other people and to engage in common social work. Volunteering and participation in all this help us to strengthen our capacities and reach more people", says Gabriela Sulca Pedraza, a volunteer of Young Caritas Abancay, who attended the meeting.
This event is part of the "Young Cáritas: impactando en tu comunidad" project, a platform in many countries - in Peru since 2017 - that promotes social engagement and offers young people between 18 and 29 years of age change, through various actions at the service of the most needy. Young Cáritas seeks to solve the problems of each community by working on specific topics such as environment, education, health, the elderly, equality between men and women and social inclusion.
Between April and December 2018, 12 training sessions and various projects, campaigns and innovation dynamics will be organized to help improve the quality of life of many people. It is expected that at the end of this year 300 operators of change will be trained, who will be able to carry out their projects of aid in society and will pioneers in promoting a greater number of voluntary initiatives in all the cities of Peru.
"I firmly believe that experiences like this should be replicated everywhere, because it is very important to count on the strength of young volunteers, who can really commit themselves to change and the social transformation of the country", concludes Elkin Dario Fernandez. (LG) (Agenzia Fides, 22/3/2018)
