Pope Francis before a huge crowd of young people in Portugal said, “Dear young friends, today we too need something of this burst of light, so that it can fill us with hope as we face the many failures of each day and the darkness that assails us in life, and respond to them with the light of the resurrection of Jesus. For he is the light that never sets, the light that shines even in the dead of night.” Pope Francis spoke about the moment Jesus took three of his disciples to the mountain where he “transfigured.” Through this brilliant burst of light, Jesus draped the disciples for the dark night of the Passion.
On August 15th, 2022 on the feast of the Assumption of Mary and nine days after the feast of the Transfiguration of Jesus, we opened the Student Learning Resources Centre at the St. Patrick’s Church compound in Shatapru, Myitkyina, Kachin State. The parish priest allowed us to used an abandoned house which we modified into classrooms, computer room, an office, a library and a counselling room.
Through your generous contributions, we provided basic English and Computer classes. The main program of the centre is the 9-month long Positive Youth Development Program (PYDP) which is grounded on the Positive Youth Development framework that actively acknowledges and promotes the assets and strengths that young people possess. We do not focus on factors that may create negative outcomes but focus on building protective factors that help young persons to succeed in life. These positive assets for young people exist within themselves, in their culture and community. Once they complete the 9-month program, the students will then continue with the internship program where they are given the opportunity to work with our partner organizations for two months.
The vision of the centre is to produce “resilient and work-ready young adults that actively participate in the life of their local communities and nation by being transformational leaders, contributing to social and economic development, promoting peace and harmony, and serving those in need.” From 25 students in the first semester, only 7 students of the Positive Youth Development Program (Batch1) are now in our internship program. Last year we had a maximum of 40-45 students attending our different programs. This year for the foundational English and Computer classes we have a total of 18 students and the more advanced PYDP class has 15 students.
We spoke to our intern students. Zsofi Khaung Nywel (23 year-old) believes that SLRC is special for the youth in Kachin State because it gives them the chance to learn necessary knowledge and skills to help them find good jobs. She joined the centre to build herself a good network. She believes that education is the key to success and only education can fulfil all her ambitions. She reminds the youth, “Let us be strong and flexible together… Be smart, be stable, and try to learn something new each day. The more you learn the more you will improve in both the present and in the future. She wants to tell the world that the young people in Myanmar are starving for quality education.”
Another student, Maria Lamawn Ja Seng Lung (25 year-old university graduate) is a volunteer at a local youth organization. She believes that SLRC is “a centre full of opportunities” to help her upgrade her skills and life. She is a university graduate student but does not have enough certificates and qualifications which is why she has joined the centre. She hopes that after completing the program she will get a stable job. She wants to tell the young people, “… don’t give up and one day we will get a great future and your dreams will come true.”
Kareng Sut Chying Htoi Hkawng is 22 year-old and wants to be an English language trainer and help children complete their studies. He joined this centre to get more opportunities and chances to continue his studies. Education is extremely important for him because it is not easy to survive unless he is educated. In other words, in order to earn decent money you have to be well-educated in Myanmar. He wants to say that even though we are facing many difficulties and very few people are enthusiastic to help us – we just have to try ourselves to build our future and survive. He also calls on the world to give young people of Myanmar more opportunities to get quality education.
Lastly, an internally-displaced youth Sut Mai Naw (18 years old and who resides at the Palana IDP Camp) mentioned that “SLRC for me is my future. I expect to learn more to increase my qualifications to be able to work. That is why I joined the centre. Education is life for me because it is quite important. I want to tell the young people of Myanmar to put education first in our priorities.”
The centre is also very youthful. Most of our staff have not completed their university degree programs. The centre provides employment opportunities but also skills training for professional development. The mission of the centre is “SLRC aims to be an inclusive, youth-centred and youth-led institution that provides integrated and holistic formation programs and activities for and with young adults.”
For many young people in Myanmar, the world around them is dark, literally and figuratively. We experience more than 12 hours of power blackouts. The whole country is under a sense of hopelessness, helplessness and restlessness – in many places it is darkness. Many young people are experiencing mental health issues and there has been an increase in suicide among young people. Many young people are lost.
Pope Francis invites us all to be a “burst of light” to others. He explained that we do not radiate our own light but “we radiate light – we shine – by welcoming Jesus into our hearts and learning to love as he does. To love like Jesus: that is what makes us shine, makes us do works of love. Friends, I am telling you the truth: whenever you do works of love, you become light. But the moment you stop loving others and become self-centred, you extinguish your light.”
Please help us help more young people. Be that much needed “burst of light” for our young people here in Myanmar.