"Young people should be at the forefront of global change and innovation. Empowered, they can be key agents for development and peace. If, however, they are left on society's margins, all of us will be impoverished. Let us ensure that all young people have every opportunity to participate fully in the lives of their societies."
-- Kofi Annan
I saw it firsthand today. It actually happened inadvertently. We hosted a local community meeting at our New Hope Church & Community Center in Far East Dallas. The purpose of the meeting was to begin to perform a "Land Use Study" and to gather thoughts and ideas from neighborhood residents. This meeting would serve to identify ways in which we could make our community a better one in which to live.
I had invited Anthony (11 year old in our neighborhood) to help me do some cleanup work around our property this morning. As I saw folks file in for the community meeting, I saw Anthony getting involved. My first thought was, "Well, he is going to be bored by this....but I'll let him figure that out on his own". I walked in an hour later....and Anthony was leading the meeting. He was expressing some wonderful, new ideas that the rest of the group had never even thought about. He presented his proposals to the group in a clear, confident way. As Anthony spoke, I looked around saw hope fill the room.
It reminded me of how one of the greatest resources that exists in each community is our youth. The problems that plague our society serve as great opportunities to empower our youth to lead the charge in doing something about them. Their ingenuity, energy, attitude, and fresh faith are exactly what we need to see in order to bring about a positive change in our communities.
We have been preaching a message of prevention to our youth for far too long. We have hindered them by telling them what they cannot and will not do. In the process we have left them no alternative for what they should do because they are "not old enough to do that yet" or “they don’t know how”. Now is the time for us to empower our youth...and let them lead us out into the community, walking alongside them to encourage and coach them (which means that many times we get to be on the sidelines and they get to be in the middle of the action).
I once read in a book ...
"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity."
I am glad that Anthony took the lead today in our community meeting. After all, it is Anthony who will be living in our community far beyond any of us adults. There could not be a better time for him and all youth to join and lead in the process of transforming our communities, one block at a time.
