Youth Community Services Center

The Youth Community Services Centre (YCSC), a Sano Paila youth forum established in 2009, facilitates connections between youth and the community, providing a credible, effective, and rewarding avenue for youth community service and the development of youth potential. YCSC views the free time, energy, drive, and frustration of local youth as resources rather than obstacles. The center works with and develop skill sets for disadvantaged and at-risk youth, including community youth, enhancing their knowledge, perspectives, and understanding of the cultural and social variables within the community.

YCSC promotes youth involvement by offering opportunities for experiential learning, effective community service, process-oriented approaches to self and community development, and an outlet for personal growth and socializing.

For the development of youth and their community, the YCSC integrates and bridges gaps, transforming youth energy into avenues for dynamic enterprise and growth, achieving progress in education and social activities, including employment. Specifically targeted are the information gap, education gap, and generation gap that exist between youth and society. Interconnections, collaborations, and positive changes are fostered through the forum, youth clubs, information centers, social activities, seminars, mentorships, advocacy, peer education, and awareness programs.

The following are the major ongoing activities of the YCSC:

1. Youth Awareness and Communication Program (YACP)

This youth grassroots initiative, the Youth Awareness and Communication Program (YACP), provides a solid platform for disadvantaged youth to enhance their lives through soft skills and communication skills and contribute to youth empowerment at the community level. YACP currently offers the following trainings and participatory workshops to youth:

1. Soft Skills Training: Public Speaking, Time Management, Teamwork
2. Leadership Development Trainings
3. Introductory Media Trainings
4. Planning, Dialogue, and Negotiation Skills
5. Movie Screenings and Discussions

This program also encourages youth to discuss and communicate their views on critical issues and provides opportunities for them to articulate their aspirations and perspectives peacefully and with a proper and respectful attitude.

Likewise, by encouraging youth to discuss their views on critical issues, they learn about the similarities of their objectives instead of assuming radical and insurmountable differences. By including the participation of different youth organizations and associations, youth journalists, and activists in the programs, we offer the opportunity to interconnect youth with various other youth organizations and expose participants to diverse perspectives on pertinent issues.

2. Hospital Volunteer Services

Local Youth Volunteers of YCSC assist individuals at the bottom of the socio-economic pyramid, drug users, and homeless patients at government hospitals in accessing healthcare and help them receive appropriate treatment without prejudice and free of charge, including no-cost medications. Additionally, a full-day hospital cleaning program is conducted every month where volunteers clean the floors, walls of the general wards, and the hospital premises.

3. Annual May Day Program

Every year, Sano Paila, through YCSC and with the support of its community partners, marks International Labor Day on May 1st by organizing a free health camp for working-class individuals. This camp is staffed by local doctors and nurses who volunteer their time and provides no-cost medications, while also spreading the message of May Day.

4. “Students as Partners in Community Development”

In early 2016, Sano Paila initiated a collaboration campaign under the theme “Students as Partners in Community Development” with high school and undergraduate students. The objective is to provide platforms for young minds to get involved and contribute to community development and to generate awareness regarding ownership and a sense of belonging.

Impact of Youth Community Services Center:

In direct alignment with the YCSC's core objectives of youth empowerment and community engagement, the program has successfully trained and mobilized over 1,000 dedicated youth volunteers through a comprehensive series of 204 impactful workshops. These workshops have been strategically designed to equip young individuals with essential leadership skills, effective communication techniques, project management abilities, and a strong sense of civic responsibility, enabling them to become true catalysts for positive change within their communities.

Furthermore, recognizing the power of collaboration and collective action, Sano Paila has actively cultivated strategic partnerships with over 40 vibrant youth clubs and organizations across the region.

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