Why are young people at the heart of what we do?
Hands On Magdalena Medio will work with young people in Colombia to make peace a reality in their community.
Chris Knowles works in our education team. In this blog he explains why young leadership is essential to CAFOD’s work.
Our new Hands On project in Colombia has young leadership at its heart because young people are not just the future of our world, but as Rosana, involved in the project in Colombia says;
“We have a responsibility towards our country, we are the present”. Rosana
Read about our latest Hands On project
Young leadership is central to many of the projects we support all around the world, even here in England and Wales. Around three hundred sixth formers from all over the country spend a year building up their leadership skills, fundraising, campaigning and raising awareness to make a difference to our world.
So why do we at CAFOD spend so much time on young leadership? As Pope Francis says in his Encyclical Laudato Si, “young people demand change!”, they have so much potential to renew our world, to tackle social injustices and climate change if we just allow them to space to learn, grow and flourish.
Pope Francis’ encyclical, Laudato Si’
Through my work with young people, both here in England and Wales, and all around the world I never cease to be amazed at their creativity and desire to treat others with compassion and change the world. It always leaves me wondering, what kind of world could we build if we allowed young people to take responsibility as they do with CAFOD in this country, and with our partners in Colombia.
Support young leaders like 15-year-old Rosana in Colombia on their quest for peace today.
