Photo Caption: Photo taken by Oscar Leiva; Byron is one of the many youths who has been positively impacted by the CRS. Byron who is from El Salvador, started to receive training from the CRS which provided him the opportunity to work for a land restoration business. Byron oversees communications as well as the business relations for the company.
In todays world, there has been a significant increase in the amount of young people living. A lot of the younger people do not have the same benefits that previous generations had. Many of the youth currently are not enrolled in school and do not have a job. For those who do have a job, that are more than likely underemployed. A lot of the youth who fall in this predicament wrestle with insecurities and unrest. This can lead to some of them turning to things that are illegal such as exploitation and human trafficking. Without having something to keep the younger generation from being busy, they are more susceptible to get caught into trouble. The Catholic Relief Services (CRS) knows how important it is for the next generation to succeed. Over the next ten years, the Catholic Relief Services will work with communities to enable up to 5 million young people to succeed in life.
The CRS will serve young men and women who are in the age range of 15-29. All the men and women will be from communities from Latin America to Africa. Target countries will be Rwanda, Senegal, Uganda, Kenya, El Salvador, and Madagascar. CRS will change government and private-sector employment systems to match them with local markets. In addition, the CRS will push youth programs that have activities such as agricultural training. This will provide young people with the right skills to become leaders, which will lead to employment. The goal is to get 70% of the youth to have a job, start a business, start school again, and to have an overall better life.
To find out more about CRS Empowering Youth, please visit their website.