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THE MAGAZINE OFY CARE INTERNATIONAL

ISSUE FIVEOCTOBER 2009

Anniversary edition

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Cover picture: Nine-year-old Josephine is from Casamance in Senegal, which has experienced 27 years ofconflict. Her family left her village for neighbouring Guinea-Bissau at the height of the conflict, only returningwhen Josephine’s father heard that Y Care International were working to rebuild his village and had constructeda school. Soon after they returned, Josephine’s mother died after contracting malaria. Now Josephine isdoing her best to help protect other families from malaria by becoming one of our specially trained Peaceand Health Ambassadors. Credit: Sophie Willmington

Y Care International is the internationalrelief and development agency of theYMCA in the UK and Ireland. We work inpartnership with YMCAs in Africa, Asia,the Middle East, Latin America and theCaribbean to empower young peopleand their communities to find alternativesto a future of poverty and disadvantage,and to build lives and communitiesmarked by hope and positive change.

THE MAGAZINE OFY CARE INTERNATIONALISSUE FIVEOCTOBER 2009

Contributors: Gemma Abbs (Editor),Clive Bailey, David Bedford, Eva Cohn,Jessica Hardaway, Harriet Knox,Mickella Lewis, Dylan Mathews,Chris Roles, Lola Ukandu, Terry Waite,Sophie Willimington, Zoë Wilson-YoungDesign: Ian Dunn Design Print: West One Studios

Y Care InternationalKemp House152-160 City RoadLondon EC1V 2NPUnited KingdomTel. 020 7549 [email protected]

Please note that for the purposes of confidentiality,some names appearing in this magazine havebeen changed.

This publication is printed on material sourcedfrom sustainably managed forests.

INSIGHT THE MAGAZINE OF Y CARE INTERNATIONAL2

CONTENTSFOREWORD BY TERRY WAITE 0325 YEAR TIMELINE 04-06 LOOKING FORWARD, 07CHRIS ROLES, CHIEF EXECUTIVEAN INTERVIEW WITH DAVID BEDFORD 07-08A SUPPORTERS STORY: EVA COHN 0825 YEARS OF SUPPORT FROM 09THE AUSTIN BAILEY FOUNDATIONIN HER OWN WORDS: 09AN INTERVIEW WITH LOLA UKANDUHEALING THE SCARS OF CONFLICT 10-11GRADUATION DAY 12-13TUNING INTO PEACE 14-15

FOREWORD BYTERRY WAITE CBEPRESIDENT

“I SINCERELY HOPE THAT Y CAREINTERNATIONAL WILL CONTINUE TOPROSPER OVER THE NEXT 25 YEARSAND BRING HOPE TO MANY MOREYOUNG PEOPLE.”

INSIGHT THE MAGAZINE OF Y CARE INTERNATIONAL 3

We also believe in the right to live in peace and security – whichleads us to support post-conflict programmes and communitybuilding. We can see this in Liberia, where the bitter civil war notonly crippled the country’s infrastructure – its young peopleemerged destitute, internally displaced and traumatised by war.We supported the YMCA of Liberia to help young people cope withthe trauma of war and rebuild their lives. You will read more inthis magazine about how we are continuing to build on this work.

Y Care International’s belief in the right of young people toparticipate actively in the life of their community leads us tosupport youth citizenship and youth justice programmes. Forexample, since 2001, we have been supporting work with formeryoung offenders and those at risk of offending in South Africa.Our Youth Justice in Action campaign has also enabled us toadvocate for fairer youth justice systems around the world.

And our belief in young people’s right to earn a livelihood forthemselves and their families leads to our support of life skillsand livelihood development programmes. Our YMCA partnersgive young people the right balance of the education, skills andconfidence they need to find employment and build a better future.All of this has only been possible with your support.

A special journey

In my role as President, I have been lucky enough to witnessY Care International’s work in action and meet many resilientyoung people and many dedicated YMCA staff and volunteersaround the world.

In February 2004, I made a special journey. I visited the MiddleEast for the first time since my release from captivity in Beirut13 years earlier. I was there to mark Y Care International’s 20thanniversary by visiting its work with young people in Lebanonand the Occupied Palestinian Territories. At a vocational trainingcentre in Jericho, I was able to see for myself some of this work inaction, giving young people, particularly young women, vocationaltraining in areas like computing and mechanics – skills that are sodesperately needed if they are to escape poverty and earn theirown living in the future.

In many ways, Y Care International is an organisation which isproud to be different. The most obvious thing that sets us apartfrom other organisations is the fact that our work focuses onyoung people. Around one in five of the world’s population is agedbetween 15 and 24. Disadvantaged young people in developingcountries are often marginalised from society and their needs andrights are too often neglected, The vision of YMCAs around theworld is to ensure that the needs of young people are notoverlooked by society.

At Y Care, we know that when given the chance, young people cantransform their own lives and those of others. We also believe thatyoung people’s voices must be heard, so we encourage those wesupport to take an active part in bringing about change – not justin their community, but in the wider world too.

In addition, we do not run overseas offices or employ expatriatestaff. Instead, we know that our YMCA partners, as local,autonomous organisations, are close to the communities theyare part of and know the best ways to help. It has been a privilegeto have been exposed to the strength and commitment of theseorganisations over the past 25 years. It is your support which hasmade all this possible. I sincerely hope that Y Care Internationalwill continue to prosper over the next 25 years and bring hopeto many more young people.

Care International has been part of my life for the past 25 years, ever since two employees of YMCA England approached me with a novel idea. The international YMCA movement (the oldest international voluntary

organisation in the world) was, they said, a truly massiveorganisation, that had been carrying out life-changing youthwork with young men and women in many of the poorestcountries in the world for 150 years.

Y Care International is launched

They asked me to join them in launching a new charity that wouldchannel the resources of the YMCA to enable disadvantaged youngpeople in the developing world to have a better quality of life.

Today, Y Care International is as vibrant and purposeful as ever.Our goals remain much the same as they were then: to changethe lives of disadvantaged young people for the better.

Y Care International still works through locally-based YMCAsacross the developing world, funding and supporting a broadrange of projects. All our work is centred on our core belief thatevery young person has particular rights.

Young people’s rights

The right to healthy physical development for example,which leads us to support health promotion and HIV/AIDSprogrammes. Y Care International has been instrumental insetting up an HIV/AIDS network across India, where over twomillion people are living with HIV/AIDS. Our YMCA partnersaround the world are working to increase awareness of HIVamong those groups who are most vulnerable to infection.

We believe young people have the right to protection from theimpact of natural and human-made disasters and emergencies.This leads us to support the emergency relief and rehabilitationprogrammes which Building Societies, Y Care supporters andthe public have been so supportive of over the years. This wasparticularly evident when we raised a staggering £4.7 million,which enabled us to respond immediately to the devastatingTsunami in India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia, where we continueto support communities.

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1984-2009INSIGHT THE MAGAZINE OF Y CARE INTERNATIONAL4

1991NOVEMBERTerry Waite is releasedfrom captivity; YCI holdsa thanksgiving service at StPaul’s Cathedral a few dayslater and a message fromTerry Waite is read.

1992MARCHTerry chairs his first boardmeeting following his release.

1997YCI joins the Fairtrade andJubilee 2000 campaigns.

1998NOVEMBERYCI supports the YMCAs ofHonduras, Nicaragua and ElSalvador to provide relief inthe aftermath of HurricaneMitch – the largest tropicalstorm in the region for100 years.

1999YCI launches an emergencyresponse to the war in Kosovo.

AUGUSTYCI launches an emergencyappeal to help those affectedby an earthquake in Turkey.

NOVEMBERYCI launches an appeal forvictims of the Orissa Cyclonein India.

2000FEBRUARYYCI launches itsTarget campaignin the Houses of Parliament.Funded by the EC, the campaigncalls for a higher priority to begiven to skills developmentprogrammes for marginalisedyoung people in the developingworld in order for them tobreak the cycle of poverty.

AUGUSTTerry Waite visits YCI projectsin Colombia and Honduras,supporting street childrenand young people affectedby Hurricane Mitch.

The history of Y Care international – 25 year timeline

1985SPRINGTerry Waite brings togetherthe leading Building Societiesto collect money for YCI infuture emergency situations;a scheme which would raisemillions of pounds for victimsof natural and man-madedisasters over the next 25 years.

YCI’s first full-time staffmember is appointed as Headof Development Educationto challenge young peoplein YMCAs around the UKto become engaged inglobal issues.

MAYThe first emergency appealwith Building Societies raisesnearly £200,000 to supportBangladesh YMCA’s emergencyrelief work with victims ofthe cyclone.

1984Terry Waite accepts an invitation to help launch Y Care Internationaland becomes Founding Chairman.

Y Care International (YCI) is officially launched with an inauguralappeal – for one million ten pences. Messages of support arereceived from the leaders of all four main political parties.The appeal raises £40,000 within the first two months.

YCI’s first grants to YMCA emergency programmes are made for child victims of the war in Lebanon; to help victims of thedrought in Mozambique; to support a house building programmefor those caught in sectarian violence in Sri Lanka; and forNigerian refugees in Ghana.

Grants to support long term development programmes arealso made to YMCAs in the Occupied Palestinian Territories,The Gambia, Costa Rica and Ghana, for vocational training,community development and refugee projects.

WINTERYCI’s first development programme supported by the BritishGovernment is launched, training young people in computerskills in Hyderabad, India.

1983David Bedford, Director ofPublic Affairs at YMCAEngland, proposes the creationof an agency which wouldsupport the grassroots reliefand development work ofYMCA organisations all overthe developing world.

DECEMBERTerry Waite, accompanying theArchbishop of Canterbury, DrRobert Runcie, meets YMCAleaders in Shanghai who areplanning new YMCA workfollowing the end of theCultural Revolution. Thismeeting gives both men aninsight into the potential of theworldwide YMCA movement.

1985

200019981991/97 1999

1983 1984

1984-2009INSIGHT THE MAGAZINE OF Y CARE INTERNATIONAL 5

1990JUNEYCI raises over £1million forvictims of the Iranian earthquake.

AUTUMNPrime Minister MargaretThatcher visits Armenia toopen the YCI funded LordByron school. YCI pledges tosupport the creation of theArmenian YMCA to bringlong-term support to youngsurvivors of the earthquake.

2001YCI responds to earthquakesin El Salvador, and Gujurat, theworst earthquake to have hitIndia in 50 years. Funds helpto rebuild houses and schools.

1989£1.3 million is raised for thevictims of the Armenianearthquake. PresidentGorbachev and PrimeMinister Margaret Thatcherwitness the signing of anagreement in which YCIpromises £250,000 to supportthe rebuilding of a school inLeninakan, Armenia.

The British Government backsYCI with £340,000 for eightof its projects, including thosein Gaza, Sudan, Bangladesh,Kenya and Paraguay.

The Terry Waite VocationalTraining Centre in Ranaghat,near Calcutta opens.

1987/88YCI’s income reaches £850,000and the organisation is nowsupporting 45 YMCA projectsfor young people across Africa,Asia, Latin America, the MiddleEast and Eastern Europe.

1988JANUARYOn the first anniversary of hiscaptivity, Terry’s wife, FrancesWaite and Mother Teresalaunch a joint appeal for fundsto support the Terry WaiteVocational Training Centre inCalcutta, offering vocationaltraining to disadvantagedstreet children in Calcutta.

1986SUMMERYCI raises over £1millionthrough Building Societiesfor Sport Aid – Bob Geldof ’sfollow up to Live Aid toprovide famine relief in Africa.Terry Waite presents the chequeto Bob at Lambeth Palace.

1987JANUARYTerry Waite is taken hostagein Lebanon. YCI plays a part intrying to secure his release. Atthe request of the Archbishopof Canterbury, YCI DirectorDavid Bedford visits Calcuttato ask Mother Teresa to make a public appeal for his release.

DECEMBERThe Archbishop of Canterbury,Dr Robert Runcie, agrees tobecome acting Chair of YCIin Terry Waite’s absence.

19891987/881986/87 1990

2004JANUARYYCI receives a Comic ReliefInvestment Grant – a grant of£1million over four years toinvest in both YCI and itspartner organisations inHonduras, Nicaragua, SouthAfrica, Sierra Leone and Zambia.

YCI celebrates its 20thAnniversary and launchesits Spoils of War campaign,addressing the impact ofarmed conflict on youngpeople. Terry Waite launchesthe campaign with a speech atthe Royal Geographic Societyin London.

2002YCI begins a programme ofsupport through the IndianNational Council of YMCAsfor a network of YMCAsworking with people livingwith HIV/AIDS and onHIV/AIDS preventionprogrammes.

JULYYCI’s Southern Africa foodcrisis appeal raises over£310,000 to help those facingstarvation in Zambia, Malawi,Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

20022001 2004

FEBRUARYTerry Waite visits YCI fundedprojects in Lebanon – his firstvisit to the country since hisrelease from captivity in 1991.

MARCHYCI responds to thehumanitarian crisis in Darfur,which left two million peopledisplaced from their homes.

1984-2009


2008JANUARYYCI publishes a research reporton former child soldiers inColombia: ‘Lost Childhoods’.

MAYYCI launches an appeal forvictims of Cyclone Nargisin Burma.

JUNEYCI launches its Seed Fundingprogramme, providing fundingfor global youth work projectsin YMCAs around the UKand Ireland.

2009JANUARYYCI launches an appeal forpeople affected by the war inthe Gaza Strip.

MARCHYoung people representing fivecountries take the Youth Justicein Action campaign to the UNHuman Rights Council inGeneva, at which they speakabout their personal experiencesof youth justice systems aroundthe world and the need for fairer,more effective ways of respondingto the needs of young people.The young people make a vitalcontribution to a UN resolution.

APRILYCI supports YMCAs in Sudanand Sri Lanka to supportdisplaced people followingconflicts in both regions.

MAYCampaigners march onthe UK parliament as partof our Youth Justice inAction campaign.

The history of Y Care international – 25 year timeline

200720052004

2008 2009

20062006JUNEYCI launches the Youth WorkersNetwork to support youthworkers in YMCAs aroundthe UK and Ireland to helpyoung people engage withglobal issues.

APRILYCI launches an emergencyappeal for those affected bythe food crisis in East Africa.Funds are sent to Ethiopia,Kenya, Somalia and Malawi.

JULYYCI launches a worldwidecampaign in South Africa,Youth Justice in Action.

AUGUSTYCI launches an appeal forLebanon YMCA to helpsupport those affected bythe war in Lebanon.

2005APRILYCI becomes an independentcharity.

JULYYoung people from YMCAsaround the UK and Ireland,brought together by YCI, makeup the largest single gatheringof young people at the MakePoverty History campaign’sEdinburgh rally.

NOVEMBERYCI appoints a new ChiefExecutive, Chris Roles.

DECEMBERYCI makes an immediateresponse to the South AsianTsunami. An appeal islaunched, raising £4.7millionwhich in the following fewmonths and years supportslarge-scale rehabilitationprojects in Sri Lanka, Indiaand Indonesia.

2007AUGUSTYCI sends emergency assistanceto those affected by the Piscoearthquake in Peru.

A three-year rehabilitation andreconstruction programmecomes to an end in India,Indonesia and Sri Lanka,benefiting thousands ofpeople who were affectedby the Tsunami. This includesthe building of 1,000 homes,extensive communitybuilding, care for youngpeople who had beenorphaned, and a large-scalevocational training programme.

A delegation of young peoplefrom YMCAs in NorthernIreland visit Sierra Leone, aspart of YCI’s Reconciliationand Peace programme.

NOVEMBERYCI launches an emergencyappeal for victims of CycloneSidr in Bangladesh.


Where did the idea for establishing YCI come from?Before YCI was established, YMCAs around the UK and Irelandwere giving on average £10,000 a year to their counterpartYMCAs worldwide. I had been Director of Public Affairs atYMCA England since 1981 and had previously worked with theRed Cross, which meant I had a good picture of how effectivepartnership working with locally based organisations could be.It was clear that given the strength of the worldwide infrastructureof the YMCA and the fact that there was – at that time – no NGOfocusing on the needs of disadvantaged young people, thatestablishing a YMCA development agency would work. It wasevident to me that we should be doing more to support theinfrastructure of YMCAs worldwide to implement programmes.When I put the idea to the Chief Executive, John Naylor he wasvery supportive and it all started from there.

An interview with David BedfordDAVID BEDFORD IS CO-FOUNDER AND THE FIRST DIRECTOR OF Y CARE INTERNATIONAL.HERE, GEMMA ABBS ASKS HIM ABOUT THE EARLY YEARS OF THE ORGANISATION.

n this, Y Care International’s 25th anniversary, I have been looking back into some of the documents that tellour story – board minutes, project reports, publications.You will read about some of the highlights of this story

elsewhere in Insight. The cumulative impression that they giveis of a great deal of work done by many committed staff andvolunteers, and some life changing programmes for young peoplethroughout that time. I wish we could hear directly from someof those young people helped in the early days to see what kindof a transformed life they are now able to live.

Looking forward

By Chris Roles, Chief ExecutiveO

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t’s good to celebrate anniversaries – they are a chance to look back with gratitude and satisfaction at all that has been achieved. But for a youth focused organisation like ours, perhaps we should not ask ourselves ‘how old are we?’ but

rather ‘how young are we?’ Are we youthful in the way that wework? Do we properly respect the experience and insight thatyoung people can bring to our work? Are we relevant inresponding to the needs of young people in the developing world?Do young people play a full role in influencing Y Care International?

Looking back, we can also see the ways in which the needs ofyoung people have changed and we are prompted to ask whetherwe have responded adequately to these changes. Urbanisation isadvancing rapidly in the developing world: have our programmesresponded to meet the needs faced by young people growing up incities, often in slum communities? The global economic crisis hasmade chronic levels of unemployment even worse for young people:are our vocational training programmes giving young people themost relevant skills and the best chance of earning a living forthemselves? HIV and AIDS was only just becoming known aboutwhen Y Care International was founded: are we doing enough tohelp young people respond to this threat to their futures?

As we go forward, we will continue to ask these questions aboutthe relevance and quality of our programmes for young people.But we will also try to improve the way that we work – let me giveyou two examples.

First, in recent years, we have made a major commitment toincreasing the level of young people’s participation in our work.Young people in YMCAs with whom we work around the worldare best placed to know what their needs are and what barriers prevent

them from living more fulfilled lives, free from poverty. Andyoung people in the UK and Ireland have a tremendous capacityto understand and relate to issues affecting young people in thedeveloping world. We are committed to increasing the participationof young people – not just because it seems appropriate for ayouth focused organisation to put young people at its heart, butalso because, in many respects, they often know best, and theircontribution will make us a more relevant and effective organisation.

Working in partnership

Another of YCI’s assets, alongside the young people I havementioned, is the YMCA movement itself. In more than 100countries around the world, people come together to work foryoung people and their communities as the local part of thisglobal movement. And this is where we find our partners, whetherin Peru or Palestine, Lebanon or Liberia, Sri Lanka or Senegal.And our work is much more effective where these YMCA partnersare strong organisations, led by local people, with a clear missionand programmes that meet the needs of young people. So, lookingforward, we are committed to ensuring that our partners have theresources and capacity to run the best possible programmes.

Looking back and looking forward gives us new motivation todo more, to do better, and to be even more relevant. But we cannotdo any of this without the financial help that our supporters havebeen generous enough to give through every one of our 25 years.We are grateful for this support and hope that you feel able tocontinue this support for many years to come.

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va Cohn is a long-standing supporter of Y Care International. She also loves music. For approximately 18 years, she has been combining

her deep concern for deprived childrenand young people around the world andher love of music, to raise money andawareness for Y Care International’s work.With the help of the talented musiciansin her local choir, ‘Women in Harmony’and the Tony and Patsy Gosling Children’sConcerts in Tunbridge Wells, Eva hashelped raise money and awareness forour work over the years. Concerts takeplace at least three times a year, and theyoung music pupils of Tony and PatsyGosling last performed in support ofY Care International during the summerof 2009.

Recalling the early days as a memberof a local support group for the MedicalFoundation for the Care of Victims ofTorture, Eva was naturally very concernedabout Terry Waite’s welfare during thehostage crisis in Lebanon in the 1980s.After his release, Eva attended a booksigning following the publication of

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A supporter’s storyTerry’s autobiography and heard himgive a talk. “I remember receiving a letterfrom Terry one day asking for my support,”she says, and that’s how she became achampion of Y Care International’s work.

Eva believes that every projectsupported by Y Care International isimportant. “I think that it’s reallyimportant that projects are carried out bylocal YMCAs and volunteers from the heartof their communities, instead of flying outstaff from overseas.” In particular, shestrongly supports our work to rehabilitatechild soldiers. She tells us that Y Caredeserves credit for getting these childrenout of the clutches of warlords and otherswho seek to exploit them; “...there are notmany who are prepared to give these youngpeople a second chance after what they havebeen forced to do.”

Whilst Eva is modest about hercontributions to Y Care Internationalover the years, we would like to thank her,and all of our supporters, who take thetime and energy to raise funds for theimportant work we do to improve thelives of the many forgotten children andyoung people around the world.

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Above: Eva collects money at Christmas time asthe ‘Women in Harmony’ choir perform.

An interview with David Bedford contd...

How did Terry Waite become involved?Terry didn’t have any formal link with the YMCA, but in 1983, hehad accompanied Dr Robert Runcie, then Archbishop of Canterbury,on a visit to the YMCA in Shanghai. They had just been given backthe YMCA building from the Chinese Government following theCultural Revolution. The leaders of the YMCA were beginningnew programmes, which inspired both Terry and the Archbishop.

John Naylor and I approached Terry to ask for his support toset up the organisation. He said he would seek permission fromthe Archbishop and he was a man of his word. He came back twoweeks later saying yes.

That dedication to Y Care remained during his time in captivityin Lebanon. When he first came out of captivity, within half anhour of landing back in the UK, he was on the phone asking howthings were going at Y Care.

What was the impact of Terry’s captivity on the organisation?Well, of course we all prayed for him and his family throughoutthat time. And in 1987, Archbishop Runcie suggested seekingsupport from Mother Teresa to call for Terry’s release. So in 1987, I visited her in Calcutta. I certainly felt like I was in the presence ofsomeone who felt close to God. Yet she was at the same time, verypragmatic in her approach and communicated like a politician.As things turned out, she never made the appeal because ofchanges in the political situation.

Dr Robert Runcie became Acting Chairman in Terry’s absence.It was incredible to think that someone with so many responsibilitieson his shoulders committed so whole-heartedly to YCI and henever missed a meeting in the four years he was chairman.

What were some of the key moments during your yearsas Director?I think a key moment during the years of Terry’s captivity wasin 1990 when we launched an emergency appeal for the Iranianearthquake. Thanks to the enormous generosity of oursupporters, we raised £1million. It was quite something thatwe were doing this at the very moment when it was believedour Chairman was being held by the pro-Iranian Hezbollah.

I also recall the first funding we received from the BritishGovernment, which was for Hyderabad YMCA in India. It wasfor a vocational training project, which included computers.This was very forward thinking for this time, when even in theUK, most people were not using computers.

What did your involvement with YCI mean for you personally?I was extremely privileged to have been around at the time andto have helped YCI get off the ground. It gave me the opportunityto work with some of the most motivated people all over the worldand be brought into contact with some of the world’s poorestpeople, whose grace and welcome was a very humbling experience.

What would you like to say about the future of YCI?I think that the YMCA is even more relevant today to the needs ofyoung people than it ever has been. The hope for the future is thatYCI will hold onto its core objective of working with young peoplethrough the infrastructure of the YMCA movement. !


When did you first hear about Y CareInternational? I first heard of Y Care whenI took part in their first ‘Changing your world’*course in 2004. I have been involved in lotsof global youth work programmes since then,including the Make Poverty History campaignand Youth Justice in Action campaign; I waspart of a group of young people who helpedto develop the original idea for the campaignand researched youth justice issues in Blackburn.I’ve been on the global youth work committee(a sub-committee of Y Care’s Board) for twoyears and have found the experience a trulybeneficial one. Being on the committee hastaught me how to organise events, work withpeople with different expertise and hasallowed me to act as an advocate for youngpeople. As I am currently becoming the newchairperson of the committee, being on it hasgiven me the opportunity to have a hands onrole in planning processes for young people.

In your experience, what do you see asthe benefit of a young person beinginvolved in global youth work? As youngpeople we benefit from global youth work inmany ways, most of all the educational sideof it. We learn about the different issues indifferent countries, as well as the issueswhich are the same. We are trained to learn

live Bailey and his fellow trustees at the Austin Bailey Foundation (ABF) have been supporting

Y Care International’s work since it wasfounded in 1984.

Clive recalls that the support began as aresult of ABF’s relationship with SwanseaYMCA. This then led on to support ofY Care’s work in Calcutta in the late 1980s.One of the major projects supported bythe Foundation back then was theconstruction of an orphanage in Ranchi,north of Calcutta. Clive visited theorphanage in 1995; his first visit with YCI.

Following that visit, Clive met withChris Beer (YCI’s former Director), whoproposed that the ABF may want toconsider supporting a new project tocombat the spread of HIV/AIDS in India.The India HIV/AIDS Network projectthen became the flagship internationalproject of the Foundation and Clive hasvisited the project on two occasions,first in 1999 and then again in 2005.

When asked the reason behind ABF’s

support for our work in India, Clive saysthat it stems from the fact that althoughthe country has seen rapid developmentin recent years, the scale of poverty andthe spread of HIV/AIDS is still a massiveproblem. However, with every visit, Cliveis amazed by the resilience of the peopleand their ability to cope with problemsand stay productive and busy despite thechallenges they face.

Clive expresses his admiration for thework of the YMCA in India, in particularthe fact that the YMCA benefits from a hugenetwork of over 600 branches: “What makesthe YMCA there so special is its potentialto reach so many vulnerable people.”

Clive is impressed by the way that YCIhas grown over the last 25 years: “Thepost-Tsunami work and the HIV/AIDSprevention work are just two examples of thegreat work that YCI has carried out throughits YMCA partners,” he says. “As for thefuture, I hope that YCI will continue togo from strength to strength.”

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25 YEARS OF SUPPORT FROMTHE AUSTIN BAILEY FOUNDATION

IN HER OWN WORDSY CARE INTERNATIONAL IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST PROVIDERS OF GLOBALYOUTH WORK IN THE UK AND IRELAND. HERE WE INTERVIEW LOLA UKANDUFROM BLACKBURN YMCA, AND HEAR ABOUT HER INVOLVEMENT IN THISWORK OVER THE YEARS.

problems like poverty and drought, but issuessuch as their legal systems and problems withgangs. Y Care has made me aware of youngpeople around the world all sharing the sameproblems and issues. It has shown me thatas a young person my voice does count andthat I can make a change. Most of all,Y Care has shown me that changes canbe made by young people when we unitetogether from all corners of the world, thatwe do have a voice and that our opinions docount; that we are the future and if we wantthings to change then we have to be theinnovators to make this change.

* Changing Your World Y Care International’s ‘Changing Your World’ course is a three-day residential event for young people from YMCAs across the UK and Ireland. The course teaches young peoplecampaigning and lobbying skills, which they can put into practise by running campaigns in their local communities or getting involved in YCI’s campaigns. (www.changingyourworld.org.uk)

GLOBAL YOUTH WORKGlobal youth work is a new and emerging youthwork discipline that helps young people makesense of a complex world and empowers themto take action for positive change.

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how to get messages across to the rightpeople (decision makers) in an appropriateway. We get opportunities to go to thecountries and speak to the people who haveexperienced such issues. Global youth workis such an eye opener to many things and I amgrateful for being involved in it and workingwith Y Care for all these years.

You were also involved in the YMCAEurope festival (bringing together 6,000young people from YMCAs around theworld) in 2008, how did you find that?Being involved in the YMCA youth festival inPrague was truly a highlight to my year. Theexperience was just something else! I got tomeet people from all over the world who I amstill in contact with. I also got to boost myconfidence and skills by presenting on thestage and organising and running workshops.The whole experience was great and I amlooking forward to hearing about when thenext festival will take place.

How do you think your work with Y Carehas affected you? My work with Y Carehas truly changed me as an individual. I havelearnt about issues that many of my peersonly briefly know about, such as problemsin other countries; and not just general

Above: Clive pictured far left visiting MangaloreYMCA in India.


We start making our way through the village, along sandy pathssurrounded by bush to the community centre, where crowds ofwomen and children are waiting for us.

The strain of war

The head of Youtou’s womens committee talks about how deeplythe effects of the conflict have been felt here. In 1992 she was leftalone when her husband went away to fight in the war. Six yearslater, she was forced to flee with her children and grandchildrenwhen the violence escalated. She only felt able to return in 2002,but without a husband and no means of earning an income, lifehas been incredibly hard.

There are few men here in Youtou as so many of them left tofight in the conflict and never returned. The women tell me thatmany families have still not returned to the village, both becausethey are afraid, but also because there is little left of their homesor livelihoods. Many are living as refugees over the border inneighbouring Guinea-Bissau.

The women describe the enormous strain that the war hasput on them and their community. Most of them have little or no means of earning an income, yet are now responsible notonly for their grandchildren but for a large number of childrenorphaned through the war.

Peace and Health Ambassadors

We take a tour of the village and I am introduced to a group ofbright, smiling young people who tell me that they are YMCAPeace and Health Ambassadors. They are aged between 13 and18 years old and have been learning about health and peace issuesfrom their YMCA youth leader, Emile. They tell me that they havelearnt about teenage pregnancy, malaria, sexual and reproductivehealth and HIV/AIDS. They have also learnt about the ongoingconflict in Casamance and the importance of peace andreconciliation. Jacque, who’s 15, tells me that this has helped himto discuss his experiences of the conflict and has taught him howto diffuse fights among his friends and adults in the community.

After 27 years of conflict, the people of the Casamance region of Senegal were facing a bleak future.After the war, many returned to their villages to find nothing left of their homes. But thanks to the helpof supporters like you, they are rebuilding their lives and looking ahead with hope.

Healing the scars of conflictW

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x he war in Casamance may be over, but the scars of conflict are obvious everywhere you look. The conflict left the area’s infrastructure in tatters. It destroyed roads,clinics, community centres and schools. Most villages

do not have access to clean drinking water or electricity andhealthcare is almost non-existent, leaving people vulnerableto preventable diseases such as malaria. Together with SenegalYMCA, Y Care International has been working to improve thequality of life for children, young people and their communitiesin 10 villages across the region. Through the four-year project,which comes to an end in June 2010, whole communities are beingreconstructed. As well as rebuilding houses, schools and clinics,we are also giving villagers access to clean drinking water, andproviding mosquito nets to prevent malaria.

Sophie Willmington, International ProgrammesIntern, reflects on a visit to Youtou

Our journey begins with a 45-minute drive over rough, potholedroads through the outskirts of the town of Ziguinchor (capital ofthe Casamance region). We make our way towards the banks ofthe River Casamance, where we join a queue of people waitingto get on board one of the motorised wooden ‘pirogues’ (canoes)to take them down river to one of the villages situated in the bush.We are heading for the village of Youtou, just one of the 10 villageswhich Y Care International is supporting.We climb into a smallcanoe and sit down on top of the sacks of rice and groundnutswhich have just been loaded on.

After three quarters of an hour, the boat finally slows down andcomes to a stop on a sandy bank. I am surprised to see two soldiersarmed with large guns guarding the entrance to the village. I hadnot seen this in any of the other villages that I had visited so far,but Youtou is one of the villages that has been most affected bythe conflict in this region.

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Above: Celiné, one of the Peace and Health ambassadors.

Far right: YMCA youth worker Emile pictured with a widow and her children.


The young people tell me that as ambassadors, their role is toeducate their peers by spreading what they have learnt. They dothis by organising activities and events in the village. They tell methat they have been particularly successful at informing peopleabout how to protect themselves from malaria, such as by sleepingunder an impregnated net, clearing the areas around their housesof stagnant water and staying indoors after dark. They haveobviously had a huge impact as reported cases of malaria amongthose most vulnerable - pregnant women and children underfive - have fallen significantly. Emile tells me: “The training of thePeace and Health Ambassadors has allowed us to see the youngpeople dare to speak openly about subjects that people never daredto talk about before.”

I am particularly struck by how lively, intelligent and confidentthese young people are and how, as we walk for hours aroundthe village (which in size is more like a small town – it has apopulation of over 1,300), they can tell me the names of everyonewe come across.

Meeting the women of Youtou

The first house we come to belongs to Julienne – an elderly widowof around 70. I am told that she looks after 10 young children,some of which are her grandchildren and others who are orphans.She was forced to flee to Guinea-Bissau as a refugee when thefighting was at its worst in the mid-1990s, where she stayed forfive years. She tells me that the land in Youtou is still littered withlandmines and that there are many areas where it is unsafe for people to go. This has meant that people have not been able tofarm the land to feed themselves, contributing to extreme povertyand suffering in this community.

Julienne tells me that before the YMCA came, she had torebuild the straw roof of her house every two years due to damagein the heavy rainy seasons. She would travel across the border toGuinea-Bissau in a canoe to collect the straw she needed and itwould take up to six months to build the roof. She proudly showsme her new shiny, sturdy aluminum roof which the YMCA hasbuilt. The YMCA has also provided the children she cares for with

school materials and books and covers their school fees. She tellsme how much the support she has received from the YMCA haschanged her life and the lives of the children, who are now doingwell at school.

I also meet another widow who introduces herself as Sadio.We join her on a wooden bench under a simple low thatched roof,where the embers of a fire from a cooking pot still burn. I ask herhow the project has helped her. She tells me that the YMCA haschanged her life as her husband died in the conflict, leaving herwith eight children to bring up on her own.

“When I returned here to Youtou from Guinea no one helped meto rebuild my house. So I was forced to use every last ounce of energythat I had in me to rebuild the walls of the house using bricks andmud, and straw. It was such an enormous effort for me that it mademe very ill in the process. I just wanted to be able to sleep at nightwith a roof over my children’s heads.”

“The help that the YMCA has given me has completely transformedmy situation. It is one huge worry taken from my mind. It has enabledme to concentrate on other things, such as my health, growingvegetables and trying to earn money to feed my children.”

As we are preparing to leave the village, Emile tells me thathe has seen a huge difference in the people of Youtou: “Theirhappiness to be alive has returned.” Yet he also reminds me thatthere is still much to do in Youtou and in Casamance. As we walkback towards the river to board the waiting canoe, I ponder onhow right he is; there are army personnel positioned at each ofthe entry points to the village – a stark reminder that the conflictis ever present and that life in Youtou is far from returningto normal.

Without Y Care International’s supporters, none of the work in Youtouand in the other nine communities in Casamance would have beenpossible. But there is still much more to be done and there are still otherchildren who desperately need our help. If you would like to donate toour Senegal appeal, please call our fundraising team on: 020 7549 3175or you can donate online at: www.ycareinternational.org. Thank youto those who have already made a donation to the appeal.

Cecilia (6) and David (9) (left) are brother and sister.They are orphans who have lost both their parents.Their father died after stepping on a landmine in theirvillage in 2002 and their mother died two years later.They both now live with their aunt who is too poor tofeed or clothe them or send them to school. The YMCA ispaying their school fees so they can go to school andis providing them with uniforms, shoes, school bagsand exercise books. David’s favourite subject is Mathsand Cecilia loves to write. Their t-shirts read: ‘DemineCasamance so that in place of mines, rice will grow’.

Healing the scars of conflict

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his is the 57th graduation ceremonyof the Vocational Training Centre (VTC)in Jericho in the West Bank, and at least

200 parents, siblings and other family membershave turned up. As their names are called, the114 young men and women go up to receivetheir certificate from Ismail Hamdan, Directorof the VTC, who grins from ear to ear with pride.

Despite the current economic situation in theWest Bank, many of these young men and womenare lucky enough to have secured jobs (80% ofstudents at the centre successfully find work).For the past year and a half, they have been trainedin skills such as carpentry, mechanics and metalwork, others in graphic design and computermaintenance. Like so many before them, theyhave spent 11 months in training at the centre,followed by a seven month work placement.

Graduation day

The day after the graduation, I visit some of theemployers around Jericho who have taken ongraduates as apprentices. Talking to them, it’sclear to see that the centre is well respectedwithin the community. Many of the employersare themselves graduates of the training centreand tell me that they prefer to take on studentsfrom the YMCA, rather than any other centre,because of the high standards of teaching.

On Saturday 13th June 2009, over 100 young men and women fromthe East Jerusalem YMCA’s Vocational Training Centre are graduating.All the stops have been pulled out for the ceremony, with local andnational dignitaries, the media and proud parents gathered undera large canopy, which provides relative shade from Jericho’s 40degree heat.

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I MEET AHMED, who was a student of the VTCmany years ago, before setting up his ownbusiness. He has been taking on students fromthe VTC for the past ten years. He currently hastwo apprentices at his car mechanics workshop,including Hassan (19) who lives in Aqabat refugeecamp in Jericho. Hassan was one of Saturday’sgraduates. He says: “I went to the VTC becausecars were always my hobby and ever since I waslittle, I’ve wanted to be a car mechanic.” Hassansays that in the future, he wants to own his ownbusiness: “I want to manage my own work andmanage other people.” Ahmed is very happy withHassan’s work and he says he can trust him towork on his own when he’s away from the workshop.

Back at the VTC, as the bell rings to signal the endof the day, I take refuge from the afternoon sunin Ismail Hamdan’s office. Along the walls of hisoffice, pictures tell the story of the early days ofthe centre, which dates back to 1948. Ismailproudly tells me how the VTC started life in theAqabat refugee camp in Jericho, one of the manyrefugee camps established to deal with thePalestinian refugee crisis. At that time, 125,000Palestinians were living in the camp. It is still theretoday, although concrete houses have replacedtents and fewer people (8,000) live there now.

For the first four years after 1948, the YMCAprovided emergency relief to refugees. In 1952,it become clear that there was a need for youngpeople to be trained in new skills; because theyhad lost their land, many of them would not beable to follow in their family’s footsteps and carvea living out of agriculture. And so the VocationalTraining Centre was born.

It was only in 1989 that the YMCA rebuilt theoriginal buildings from 1948. This is the site whichis still in use today. Ismail has been with the VTCsince 1985. In the 1990s, the centre took the

decision to take in girls. Ismail tells me how thiswas not an easy task for an institution rooted ina conservative community. “I was thinking whathave I done!” The first girls arrived in 1996. Theystarted a few days after the boys. Ismail remembersthat day vividly. He recalls sitting on the steps ofthe centre at break time to see how the new intakehad been received and was surprised to see thatthe boys became polite and timid, whilst it wasthe girls who started pushing each other around.

It didn’t take long for the girls to settle down andfind their feet and it soon became evident thatthey would be a strong force for change. It was thefemale students who asked to be trained in newcourses such as computer maintenance andgraphic design, rather than traditional trades suchas hairdressing and tailoring. They realised thatthey could earn more money with such skillsin the larger West Bank cities of Nablus andRamallah. Rana is one young woman who hasbenefited from such courses. She’s fromTulkarem in the north of the West Bank. Shefinished high school, but got low grades sodecided to enroll at the VTC. She graduated lastyear in graphic design and electronics and is nowworking for a telecommunications company inRamallah. Rana tells me that the course has givenher financial independence and means that sheis able to help her mother, who brings up thefamily on her own.

Attitudes towards education and training for womenin the Occupied Palestinian Territories have clearlychanged dramatically in recent years, althoughthe environment in which the VTC operates isstill challenging. Yet it’s clear to any observer thatthe YMCA has adapted and responded to thesechallenges, and in doing so has remained trueto its mission of responding to the needs ofdisadvantaged young people; a mission whichis as relevant today as it was in 1948.

The East Jerusalem YMCA was oneof Y Care International’s first partners in1984. Since then we have supported boththe Jericho Vocational Training Centreand a post-conflict rehabilitation projectfor disabled young people in Beit Sahournear Bethlehem.

Above: Female studentsduring an office equipmentmaintenance class.

Left: The class of 2009on graduation day.

Far right: Rana, whohas found a job ata telecommunicationscompany.

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oth Sierra Leone and Liberia have experienced violent civil wars, which claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of

people, left thousands displaced anddestroyed the economy and infrastructurein both countries. A generation of youngpeople have grown up knowing nothingbut war, emerging into the adult worldwith little or no direction or support.

In the immediate aftermath of theconflict in Liberia, which ended in 2003,Y Care International supported YMCALiberia to help young people cope withthe trauma of war and rebuild their lives.This included psychosocial counselling,vocational skills training, HIV/AIDSeducation and support, peace-buildinginitiatives and youth leadership programmes.

Working in post-conflict Liberia

The most recent project in Liberia, whichran from 2005-2008, reached over 55,000young people and had staggering results.In the wake of a contested election in 2005,the YMCA undertook large-scale civiceducation activities, which helped tostabilise the political situation. They alsotook a major role in helping to deal witha spate of youth violence which eruptedin many cities.

In 2006, the YMCA initiated an anti-violence month involving 10,000 youngpeople from YMCA branches aroundLiberia. This event is now an integralpart of the YMCA calendar. They also

organised a ‘Back to School’ march toencourage parents to send their childrento school. In 2008, young people drafteda statement of non-violence, which waspresented to the President of Liberia. Thiswas the first declaration of its kind fromyoung people in Liberia and it receivednational publicity. It has reinforced theYMCA’s belief in young people as positiverole models who have a vital part to playin the country’s future.

In the immediate aftermath of theconflict, the YMCA set up five radiostations around the country andtrained children and young people asbroadcasters. They air programmes onissues such as sexual health, non-violenceand youth participation. These broadcastsreach over 20,000 listeners a day and,as many people are illiterate, they havebecome a lifeline for the communitiesthey reach.

Obstacles remain

However, despite these giant leapsforward, there are still huge challengesfacing young people in Liberia and SierraLeone. Young people are confronted withpersistent barriers to becoming economicallystable. Liberia has one of the highest ratesof unemployment in the world and inSierra Leone, over 70% of young peopleare either unemployed or underemployed.Such high rates of youth unemploymentare seen as major threats to stability anddevelopment in both countries.

Y Care International has worked in Liberia since 1992 and SierraLeone since 1996. Last year, we began a new four-year project withour partner YMCAs in both West African countries, to improve theeconomic prospects of disadvantaged young people.

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Right: Charles receivedbusiness managementtraining and a small loanfrom Liberia YMCA to setup a unisex barber shopin Ganta, northern Liberia.

Above right: Young peoplefrom the YMCA taking partin the ‘Back to school’ marchin 2007 to encourage parentsto send their children to schooland the government to providefree education for all.

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Research by the YMCA, which targetedover 1,400 young people across Liberiaand Sierra Leone, shows that manyunemployed young people feel increasinglydisconnected from their communities anddisillusioned with what they see as the slowpace of development. For many vulnerableyoung people, escaping a life of povertyand social exclusion feels as remote nowas when the conflicts first ended.

Addressing the issues

To address these issues, we secured partfunding from the European Union in 2008for a new four-year project focussing ongiving marginalised young people theskills and opportunities to build a betterfuture for themselves. The YMCAs ofLiberia and Sierra Leone will providetraining and support to help young peoplefind a living and enable them to take partin decision-making processes on issuesthat affect them.

The project targets young people whohave been most affected by war – thosewho dropped out of school during theconflict and are now unemployed, formerchild soldiers and physically disabledyoung people, including those injuredduring the conflicts. By providingvocational training and support tofind a job, building the confidence andself-esteem of young people, and teachingthem valuable life skills, the project willensure these young people face a morestable future and will play a vital role inthe enormous task of rebuilding theircommunities and countries.

MATTHEW’S STORY BY DYLAN MATHEWS,DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMMES

Matthew is a former child soldier from Ganta in north-east Liberia, whichwas completely obliterated during the war. When he heard about a YMCAradio station which was being set up in 2004, he decided he wanted toget involved, but was afraid that people would label him and not allowhim on the air.

However, when Matthew built up the courage to approach the YMCA,he was spurred on by the reception he received.

He started working as a volunteer and is now a Programme Directoron the station: “Now I wake up early every morning to ensure the stationcomes on air. Broadcasting is my job, my passion and my life.”

Matthew does not say much about the war, but the images still haunthim, like many young people in Liberia. He tries to focus on the presentand the work that must be done to build a stable country. Following thewar, the YMCA radio stations encouraged people to return to their villages,take part in the disarmament and reconstruction process and begin acountrywide process of psychological recovery. Matthew usedhis experiences to reach out to others who were forced to fight as children.He motivated them to turn in their weapons and take part in skillsdevelopment programmes. He tells me of many former child soldierswho, after listening to his messages on air, signed up for YMCA trainingprogrammes and are now earning a living.

“Many of my friends who took part in the war say my broadcasts arehelping them to transform their lives and work towards a more productivefuture. Sometimes I look back on the horrors of my experiences, but I’mhappy that I’ve had the opportunity to rebuild my life.”

If you would like to talk to someone about leaving a legacy,please call Zoë Wilson-Young on 020 7549 3175 or email:[email protected]

We respect the personal nature of making legacy decisions.Your call will always be treated confidentially and you will not be put under any obligation.

You can help provide a lastinggift to a vulnerable young personin West Africa.Leaving a legacy to Y Care International is your way of making a lastinggift to some of the world’s most deprived and marginalised children andyoung people. The late Stephen Graham Mitchell, a supporter of Y CareInternational for over 20 years, left a very generous legacy of £196,054.This kind gift will help to fund our work in Sierra Leone and Liberia, helpingdisadvantaged young people to take control of their lives and their futures.

Making up one tenth of our donations, legacies are a vital part of our funds.Much of our work is only possible because of our supporters who chose to givein this special way. Deciding to leave a legacy in your will to Y Care Internationalcan be one of the most important personal decisions you can make to protectfuture generations and to give young people the start in life that they deserve.

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If you have been inspired by some of the stories in this magazine, perhaps you would like to make adonation to support our work with vulnerable children and young people around the world. Please fillin the attached donation form and send it to us at the address below.

Y Care International is a registered charity and a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and WalesCharity no: 1109789. Company no: 3997006. Registered office: Kemp House, 152-160 City Road, London EC1V 2NP. www.ycareinternational.org

Are you new to Y Care International? Is this the first time you’ve heard about us?To find out more, please visit our website at: www.ycareinternational.orgor contact us at the postal address above.Email: [email protected]. Tel: 020 7549 3150

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•yci insight aug 09 final•...jessica hardaway, harriet knox, mickella lewis, dylan mathews,...

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