The Junior Youth Spiritual Empowerment Program (JYSEP) engages teens and young adults as mentors for their younger peers, ages 11-15. Mentors empower junior youth to develop strong moral reasoning, to resist negative social forces, to express themselves with eloquence, and to work together for a better world.
A global program implemented at the grassroots level, the JYSEP aids junior youth from diverse backgrounds to navigate the transition from childhood to adulthood through spiritual empowerment—nurturing within young people inherent spiritual qualities of kindness, justice, honesty, and generosity. In developing their character at this critical juncture of their lives, they become protagonists of positive change.
What a Junior Youth Group Does
- Service - Junior youth hone their talents and spiritual qualities through identifying, planning, and implementing service projects in their communities
- Study - Junior youth study and discuss moral concepts relevant to their age and learn to listen, to reflect, to analyze, and to make decisions and act on them.
- Arts - They engage in arts and cultural activities, based on their interests and diverse backgrounds, including theater, music, creative writing, and visual arts
- Recreation - Junior youth participate in sports, field trips, games, and day camps to build strong bonds of friendship and team work
Mentors are given training and then assisted to form a group of their own, often with young people from their neighborhood. Both the training and the meeting time of the junior youth group are scheduled according to the volunteer's availability.
