7 News Belize

Youth Day, Forward To the Future
posted (August 12, 2019)
The Department of Youth services, in honor of International Youth day, today hosted an open day at all of its youth centers countrywide.

The theme for this year's International youth day is "Transforming Education."

It's fitting as the department highlights the ways in which they are using technology to do just that.

The occasion was highlighted by the roll out of the Department's official website and the Belize Youth directory app.

Renata Samuels, Communications Officer, Department of Youth services
"So the department of youth services is the central hub and the central agency for young people. We create an ensuring, enabling, and empowering environment so young people can be able to strive and go out into the world of work and just go out into life and be productive citizens of Belize."

"We're having the open today in light of international youth day so that is we're signed on with the United Nations and the theme this year is transforming education. So we have all the different summer programs that we normally offer everyone has a booth that they can actually showcase what they've learned."

"A big launch that we're having today is for our website as well as our youth directory where we can have young people register their youth group and it's gonna be an easy access for young people to find out what all different youth groups they have so they can join different youth groups and be a part more of something bigger than themselves. But we also engage in partnerships like with the rising entrepreurship gala where we're partnering with somebody that actually won one of our international youth awards before. so it's really cool to see what all we're doing."

"So we're launching our official department of youth services website where you can access every single service, contact us, you can see all the past events that we have all the important documents like our strategic plan that governs us. The national youth policy or the mahogany declaration. Every single thing that has to do with the department can be accessed through our website so what we're doing is we just have young people come on and they can sign on to see exactly what we have to offer."

Chris Miller, CARICOM Youth Ambassador for Belize
"On the website at this moment when you click the youth directory link it would give you to a youth registration for all youth groups that haven't registered as yet and what this will do is that when you put in your information it will go directly to the app now the app is an app that could host all the youth groups in Belize. We do this because young people say at home in your neighborhood want to know if there is a youth group in my neighborhood you can go on the app and if you put in your area code Belize it tell you exactly how many groups there are in belize if it's an advocacy group and arts group so it would set up with different icons for different legends that tell you different stuff for different youth groups to it gives you who is in charge of the youth group a little information on the youth group and how to contact them."

"You can find them directions it's kind of set up like a google maps so if you find a youth group you want to go you can set for direction it will give you how long it takes to reach the youth group and all of that it also can allow you to print that out, say you don't have data when you walk around you can print that information on exactly where you want to go . It also has different base maps so for example like for your direction the base map for streets will be perfect because it will give you a street by street how to get to the youth group."

"It's just to maximize awareness for example you have organizations who give funding to different youth groups and so maybe your youth group deals with environmental maybe your youth group is not a big youth group that everyone knows so by accessing the new directory that organization can click on youth groups that deal with the environment and all the enviornmetal youth groups will pop up and maybe they can find you and be like oh i didn't know about this youth group its right in my area and you can join them or for you guys to get new recruitment."

Bryan Guardado, Founder, We walk as one Foundation
"I founded the foundation in January of 2019 just a couple months away from my dad's death anniversary whom was murdered on the 5th of May 2018 on Partridge Street Daniel Guardado whom was my father."

"After my Dad's murder I mean I found out in a hard way because I found out througth facebook the sunday morning after his murder it was hard for me to understand why it had happened knowing that I was waiting for him the saturday for him to reach to me for us to go somewhere and I was waiting for him and he didn't show up and a couple months after that as I went on living with the fact that he's no longer here I decided to establish a foundation which is registered as a youth group at the department of youth services to help people who are in need to bring a change to the country to make a difference."

"Today what we're doing we're having a back to school funday in partnership with the department of youth services as well as the youth ambassador for CARICOM the belize electricity board, SLINGSHOT. We are catering to 53 students today we are giving them a school bag with school supplies. They are taking home a lunch as well as a free haircut and so what we are trying to implement with this. as a christian I tend to want to see Belize change after my dads murder. God has been faithful to me in many ways and so I want to see Belize in that situation in that position of transformation. Because on a daily basis we hear about crime, crime, crime and so we want to change that and so what we're implementing with these students we are bringing them the word of God we are sharing with them the gospel songs and teaching them that they have to work for something to get something and so that's what we're trying to implement today as well as having them see everything on a different level that they could be a part of the change in Belize as well."

Reporter
"If our viewers want to help your NGO how can they do that?"

Bryan Guardado
"We have donation kettles set out a three publix pharmacies in the city. So, they could stop by and drop off their donations there. Or you could just contact me at 620-1498 and you could talk to me and we receive your donations. However just to make it clear no donation stays with us that donation goes straight to the foundations account because then all the funds that we receive we use to cater to students."

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