Youth Impact

This week we started our life skills portion of the Youth Impact program (click on the link to see a promo video). It will last 12 weeks. We are working with youth that have graduated from the orphanages (16-25 years old). The Youth Impact Program will cover three areas: life skills, employment skills, and business skills. In the future we would like to provide subsidized housing for the youth as well.

I have the joy of getting to lead two groups in Kazakh. I was pretty concerned whether my Kazakh would be sufficient. The first day was a little challenging, but from that I learned some ways to make things go a little easier. Today I had a copy of both the Kazakh and English in my notebook. That way, when I forgot a word, or wanted to quickly glance at where I was and see where I was going, I could look at the English and then refer back to the Kazakh. I had forgotten how easy it is to glance at something in my own language and understand without having to read each word.

Both my groups went smoothly, although only 2 girls were present at each. This week we talked about our self-talk and how it affects our lives. Next week we will talk about setting goals and how to get past obstacles. Both of my groups are primarily made up of youth that are developmentally slow. I am looking forward to seeing how their concept of who they are changes during this program. So often they are told that they are worthless. I hope that through this program they will see that the opposite is true.