‘Youth’ Articles at AMURT Disaster Relief

Indonesia – Aceh Tsunami Relief 2005-2007

In the immediate aftermath of the disaster, AMURT and AMURTEL focused on providing emergency supplies to the survivors. We distributed more than US$300,000 worth of food and non-food, medical and recreational items in the first three months to thousands of tsunami survivors in different parts of Aceh.

Kenya

Kenya: Sustainable Peer Educators

Recognizing that peer educator groups have a tendency to disband once a project ends or funding dries up, AMURT integrated income-generation activities into the mission of the Komango peer educator group as a pilot program to bolster their longevity. The group started small by selling sausages and porridge at youth-organized soccer tournaments, in addition to their normal responsibility of discussing HIV prevention with people attending the events.

Venezuela

Venezuela – Barlovento Community Center

The focus of the Center is to serve the impoverished rural villages of Barlovento through education, health, agriculture and cooperatives. Due to a legacy of slavery, poverty and unemployment, most of the Afro-Venezuelan villagers suffer from low self esteem and lack of opportunities to develop their potential.

Kenya

Kenya – Youth Hip Hop

“Why are we going wrong?” raps Suleiman Mohammed, the leader of the AMURTZO Rap Group, “I’m talking to them but they are losing their minds, why are we going wrong?” Suleiman says that he was “going wrong” until he entered the AMURT program. Like many of his peers, he could not generate the money to pay for his education and had to drop out of school and drop into bad habits. However, he always worked on his creative talents, hoping that one day opportunity would knock at his door.

Kenya

Kenya – Youth HIV and AIDS Prevention Program

An important facet of the program is the training and support of 135 peer educators who pass on knowledge to youth, and provide condoms to those who need them. In fact, many of the peer educators have become walking “condom dispensers” and sometimes receive a knock on their doors in the dead of night from friends seeking condom support! In addition, the peer educators visit primary schools and secondary to schools to deliver age-specific messages to children in an entertaining way.