Recently, some of our youth successfully graduated from the StepUP Cooking and Baking program, moving on to our Youth for Youth initiative. In the program, the youth discovered their love for cooking and/or baking and came up with the idea of making meals for their peers.
With the Youth for Youth initiative, we inspire youth to hope for a new and better life and show them that this life can become a reality. It all comes down to discovering interests and skills, building self-esteem, dreaming big, and taking the initiative to make it happen.
For many, this is a normal thing, but for those who are homeless, enduring long hardship, trauma, extreme poverty, rejection, and addiction, many have lost the ability to dream and desire a better life.
The StepUP program is all about boosting the self-esteem of OIM's youth through activities, like one-on-ones, where we encourage them and help them discover their talents. These activities help them regain their ability to dream. Until they start dreaming, it will be almost impossible to guide them on a path of hope that can break the cycle of homelessness and poverty.
Please pray that doors will open for these youth and young adults so they can walk the adulthood path with pride and accomplishment.
~ Ellen Niekoop, Office Adminstrator
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