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"Never be lacking in zeal but keep your spiritual fervor,
serving the Lord...Share with God's people who are in
need. Practice hospitality."
Romans 12:11,13

Peace in our Hands: The Manifesto 2000 Proposals
In the Context of Economic Globalization - PART 2
by Dr. Mina Ramirez

Respect for Youth means for these young people of various sectors --- coming together to share their problems, researching on their problems and building a sense of solidarity when it comes to care for the planet earth, promoting the well-being of all, advocacy in relation to fulfilling their aspirations in life, educating themselves to the complexity of the current situation, acting in concert in various activities like planting trees, solidarity-building in assisting indigent families, setting up livelihood programs, teaching computer technology to all sectors and communication arts and skills for development.

The following have been their activities as narrated by the full time coordinator of KKK, Mr. Delan Ajero in his article in THE ASI OPTION, Vol 19, nos 3 & 4, "Youth, Living Up to the Holy Father's Challenge Till the Next Millennium."

1. Realizing that one basic problem in the rural area is illiteracy, the original group of five of KKK started the making of value-oriented children's book that is suited to the needs of the Filipino child, "Pamanang Pambata". The book is made of stories poems, games, prayers and art works done by fellow youth for children especially in the rural areas. "Pamanang Pambata" focuses on Nationalism, Love for Nature, Family and God. 

   They produced their book first from their own and relatives' funds. Later, for the 2nd and 3rd book, they were able to be funded by the National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and Metrobank Foundation. They launched the book in the Museo Pambata; Asian Social Institute helped to disseminate the book among children of a national fisherfolk organization and also in an urban community in Leveriza.

   Being an inter-university youth in the beginning, the youth with their collaborators did work on week-ends and on summer vacation with activities such as story telling sessions with street children, attending youth conferences, giving artist' and writers' workshops, doing exhibits on children's rights and other ecological and youth oriented projects.

   Today KKK is registered under the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and recognized by the National Youth Commission (NYC).

2. KKK and ASI financially assisted by a youth organization in Austria had a multi-sectoral youth consultation participated in by the university students, a young professional, farmers youth, fisherfolk and urban poor youth and a Mangyan indigenous youth. The features of this program were exposure to nature in Mt. Makiling, exposure to fisherfolk, a sharing of problems of youth from different sectors, a reflection on the EDSA experience of 1986, workshops in poster-making session, drama and poetry -- expressive of messages with regard to youth and globalization; a planning for further activities and a discussion on the proposal that inter-university KKK will expand to include the other sectors. This in effect is bridging the gap between the rich and the poor, between the highly schooled and the lowly-schooled - with youth learning from each other's knowledge and/or wisdom.


3. Today KKK is being accompanied by the Asian Social Institute (ASI). As ASI's youth arm, "KKK's projects have gone full swing, fast tracked and ...mostly concentrated with and at the grassroots."
4. In a span of two months, it has been involved in activities such as
• participating in a forum on "Social Dimension of Globalization and Christian Social Teachings" attended by a microcosm of Civil Society (diplomatic corps, businessmen, media, government representatives, academe, NGOs, other base groups and church and religious leaders in justice and peace work.
• Co-sponsoring a major youth forum on the topic of "Globalization" with 300 multi-sectoral youth in attendance, a significant number of which are industrial youth who suffer from casualization of labor.
• Advocacy for the youth - youth presenting their problems to adult leaders of various sectors
• Attendance in a cultural festival by the National Youth Commission and youth conferences
• Tree-planting projects
• Scholarship programs
• Giving seminars, exhibits and film showing

 

5. In December of 1999, the youth mobilized university youth from De La Salle, St. Scholastica, Centro Escolar, UST and ASI to contribute for gifts and a cultural festival for 180 indigent families identified by fisherfok youth in Cardona, Rizal. In effect, the youth raised P60,000 for this event. This event had the cooperation of the Parish Priest, the Mayor and Vice-Mayor of Cardona, Rizal.
6. Immersion of the Youth Coordinator among the youth of the Mangyans have birthed into several seminar workshops in Community-Development, livelihood projects.
7. As full-fledged members of KKK, fisherfolk youth after a series of seminars had a graduation with representatives from the local government and the National Youth Commission.

What other future activities does KKK dream about? They have already a design for a website. They intend to have a newsletter to feature up-coming activities with commentaries of youth from different sectors. It hopes to continue raising the awareness levels of the youth to global and national situations within which perspectives they will see the direction of their activities. Plans are being laid for the creation of the first federation in Rizal. Mindoro Mangyan Youth will follow. Another children's book is coming up with contributions of youth of different sectors. According to Mr. Delan Ajero, full-time coordinator of Kilusan para sa Kinabukasan ng Kabataan (KKK) - the movement ASI as its youth arm is currently accompanying "the future looks bright for these young individuals that started out as a simple get-together of students who wanted to do alternative steps towards alternative institutions responding to youth's basic needs in a complex global world." 

If one would go over the activities of this youth group, one can glean the value underpinnings of their activities. University youth in KKK do not make grassroots youth as mere beneficiaries of their services. They respect them as their partners in a growth process that prepares them for the 21st century. There is respect, sharing of resources, harnessing the cultural resources and wisdom of grassroots communities while information is given to them with regards to global and national situations. In other words, their program of activities presumes that youth of various sectors can mutually self-empower each other if they see themselves as parts of a bigger whole to which they can contribute and share accountability as well. It is this youth who is they become adult leaders will be grounded in the reality at the base and will in the future be able to communicate well with all sectors of our population, create policies that will be for the common good, will be able to organize care and lessen organized crime and violence. Peace in our hands...this should mean reality assessment, action, reflection and celebration of the collectivity of youth in movement towards well-being of their fellow youth and children focused on the wholeness of live and all life-forms. With this mindset, peace will mean justice and solidarity in promotion of organized care and well-being of all humankind. 

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