Choosing Our Future is a venue or space that gathers for @ risk kids’ age 15 - 26 living around the area of Sapi. These young boys have their own stories in their life’s, stories that made the community and their own parents don’t believe in them anymore. The community is looking at these kids in a different angle of life as “trouble kids “or “useless kids”. The young people themselves have lost their value and dignity in their own home and even their community.

Most of these young people come from broken homes and to an extend that both parents have gone their ways leaving the kids with far extended families. Others involved in activities such as substance abuse (tobacco, marijuana, kava, alcohol), stealing, fighting, excessive noise every weekends, using abusive language at an early age. Furthermore few of them had their first ever police arrest on 5 or 6 grade  and now living with very far extended families.

Therefore, this venue or space serves as the first point of contact in gaining access to information and resources. This will help them in order to develop positive options, by assisting them in developing individual goals and plans to integrat youth to the community, gain self-respect and dignity and have control over their lives. The programs and service will help encourage young people to move through a series of constructive steps of their life. The Space will also organise program such as visiting the needy and etc.

The question we ask ourselves is “throughout our entire life in this community have we seen and heard anything from the community that they organise to help us or assist in finding an avenue to solve our issues?”….we believe that change is a process that can happen only with right tools and using it in a right way and it’s an awarding experience.

The Duke of Edinburgh, Futsal and the psychosocial program is a second chance or an avenue to re-emphasis the teachings (parenting) and somehow mould our children in a positive way. This young people see this program as a tool for change in their own life’s.

The approach to this young people is sensitive in a way that only some people can get thru. We move in a indirect ways, approach one to one and discussing with them their plans in life and also mention to them that “successful people have discipline in life it’s not all about money.

Activities plan out are;

• ·         Spend time one to one with each participants informing them about the program
• ·         Discuss with them and parents about developing personal time table
• ·         Collect Final timetable and make copies for Parents/Guidance and participants
• ·         Conduct a group meeting and present the idea to everyone
• ·         Compile participants profile
• ·         Discuss with them the Individual work plan for the DOE
• ·         Compile the group work plan that include DOE and PSS activities
• ·         Start a livelihood project to financial support the group.
• ·         Futsal
• ·         Food & Friends& Storian

One of the main challenge this boys a going thru is owning a futsal shoes.. Today 06th of June 2016 the boys begin working - fundraising to raise funds for futsal shoes. First work clean up a space for 5000vt....Read more exciting stories this month.......

COF monthly activities update(June)

Friday class with Sunday school children

Fire wood collection

Choosing our future group members will be working together on a monthly work plan for this month on activities such as;

Award meetings for units 1st april 2012

Dispite the weather on the 1st of April 2012... More then 100 youths gather together at stade basket ball court for the award meeting...
Youths ask questions to their award leaders and get to know each other in their units.. the youths have divided to 4 units and each units has their unit leader that will work closly with the award leader in any meetings and discussions....
All the youths a prepared to start off their award program with the help of their award leaders....
We have participants from epauto school, erakor brigde youth, stade youth association youth, usp students and Buninga community youth...
This young people will be facing the challenge for 6 months to complete their Bronze award... We have award leaders from different organisation that a willing to help out with the award program. we have selwyn toa from the transparancy vanuatu, Regina Peter from the youth challenge vanuatu, we have John botleng from the FM 107, Ephraim Ruddely from the Bachlar USP and Alex micky from the epauto school....Most of this award leaders have a passion to work with young people so they a all looking forward in implementing the award activity...

Vanuatu International Award...

The region(Asia, Pacific) is pleased to welcome our newest Independent Operator (IO) and the first in Vanuatu – the Stade Youth Association. This follows on from Award Leader Training in 2010, which included several of the young people involved in the local community youth work group. Thirty young people will commence their Bronze Award Programmes. Our region now has over 115 IOs from 18 countries in Asia and the Pacific.

Young people growing up in this modern complicated world have many difficulties to face, and opportunities for personal achievement are often limited. At the same time, parents, teachers, volunteer organisation leaders and employers, who recognise their responsiblities towards young people, also have their problems. This programme is intended to help both the young as well as those who are concerned for their welfare. the object is to provide an introduction to worthwhile leisure activities and voluntary service, as a challenge to the individual to discoveer the satisfaction of achievement and as a guide for those people and organisation who would like to encourage the developement of their younger fellow citizens.
How the Award changes lives:
"Before I did the Award I didn't have any future plans or vision for my life - how could I think about my future? I lost everything." Vijayaraja Miruthiika, Award participant from Sri Lanka.
"All of the young people I work with through the Award are inspiring in one way or another. Being involved in the Award Programme has had a huge effect on me too.
"It motivated me to further my studies and, in 2007, I completed a National Diploma in Youth Development. The Award gives me the satisfaction of doing something worthwhile. I believe I’ve found my calling in life." Shareen, Award leader from South Africa.
The Award is helping to change young people's lives all over the world, equipping them with skills and experience to make a difference to their lives and their communities.
A participant stated that "
"Before participating in the Award, never in all my wildest dreams did I think I would be capable of handling such challenges. It is an experience which I will treasure for the rest of my life."
Award participant, Hong Kong......
To gain an Award, participants must complete activities in four Sections for a specified minimum period of time. There is an additional requirement of a Residential Project at Gold Level. Participants decide what they would like to do for each Section.
Service
Participants engage with their community and discover the impact they can have through:

• Community service projects
• Conservation work
• Voluntary service in hospitals or community homes
• More specialised training such as lifesaving, first aid or rescue services.

Adventurous Journey
The Adventurous Journey is about adventure and discovery. Participants develop an understanding of the environment, and the importance of working together in a team with a common purpose. It can be on foot, by bicycle, boat or on horseback. Training, preparation, self sufficiency and self-reliance are the key elements.
Skills
The Skills Section is about developing personal interests and learning practical skills. There are almost limitless possibilities to choose from. There is no set standard that participants must reach: they set their own goals and measure their progress against them.
Physical Recreation
By undertaking some form of organised and regular physical activity, participants show perseverance and improve their fitness. Their goal is to record their individual progress. Most team and individual sports are included, such as football, athletics, and archery.
As every individual is different, so too are the challenges that young people undertake to achieve an award. With guidance from adults, each young person shuold be encourage to reflect upon their interests, abilities and ambitions and then set themselves, their hidden depths of character and developing as a human being in the process. Now thats a sense of achievement!
It is important that these challenges are at the right level for the individual participants. Too easy and there will be ni sense of real achievement. Too difficult and the young person may give up in despair.
Participants do not have to be good at anything to get an award, they simple need to set personally challenging targets for improvement and then strive to reach these targets. A young person will get out of the Award what they put into it. There are no short cuts to a real sense of achivement, it has to be earned.
" What i hear i forget, what i see i remember, what i do i understand.." confucius, chinese philosopher.

Solomon islands Action partners

Oxfam international youth partnership program is really a program that helps young poeple to bring ford change to our community.
Solomon islands action partners have their first monthly meeting for 2012 to discuss how them as an action partner can use the pacific art festival to advocate for a change in their own country. This young people have no youth development officer in place at the oxfam solomon island office but yet they decide to try and do things their own.
They plan in their first meeting to undergo a peer educators training and also advocators training as well to work together for a change in their own country. In the group we have both 2007  and 2010 action partners that came together to dicuss their ideas together. They plan to come and have their meetings every thursdays. They will help to advocate during the 11th pacific arts festival this year 2012 july...

Youth as agent for change: Count our blessings everyday...

Youth as agent for change: Count our blessings everyday...: I believe we had countless accomplishments. Never forget that each of our accomplishments are blessing to others. The more we enter and d...

Count our blessings everyday...

I  believe we had countless accomplishments. 
Never forget that each of our accomplishments are blessing to others. The more we enter and dwell on our horizons and uncomfortable zones, we are at the rim of our possibilities, but entering into a new world, horizon, or climbing on to a new step of the ladder of progress, development, and maturity in thought that weighs wiser decisions.

when the tank is full, it needs to be emptied to create space for new and fresh water.....