Published.

Last night, I received a text from my great friend Angela - "Lynn! Did you read the new PC Times yet? You're in it! Yeah! So exciting." And so it turns out, an article that I had been asked to write about six months ago has finally surfaced and is floating around in the world of Peace Corps Volunteers. The PC Times is published four times per year and serves as one way to get news out about big changes in PC or about what other Volunteers are doing. In April, I had received an email asking me to write something about my experience in the Master's International program and doing youth work here in the Philippines. Always willing to write about my experiences, I gladly obliged. While the current edition of the paper has not been uploaded on the Peace Corps website yet, I'll share with you the text of the article...

Working with Youth and (Hopefully) Changing the World

While riding through the Philippines in a jeepney, it is impossible not to notice the overwhelming presence of children here. The population in the Philippines has been and continues to grow at a significant rate, which means that more and more children are flowing into the basic family unit, school systems, clinics, and the streets. Just taking a walk through larger cities, the presence of children living or working in the streets is a heartbreaking reality.

As a Children, Youth, and Families Volunteer, I have to constantly remind myself that I may not be able to change the world as a whole, but I can have a part in changing the world of a child. The same is true, though, for all Volunteers, whether you are working in Coastal Resource Management, Education, Agriculture, or Health. No matter what we are all doing on a day-to-day basis, we are ultimately hoping to make the world a better place for the next generation.

During my graduate studies at The University of Montana in Intercultural Youth and Family Development (a Master’s International program), we talked endlessly of the issues that children and youth face around the world. In our coursework, we analyzed existing programs targeting specific populations, discussed the psycho-social ramifications on children due to traumatic events, researched different strategies of sustainability, looked at various models of youth development that are successful, and on and on. We asked questions that brought out emotions and personal values about such issues that, in the end, resulted in no exact right or wrong answers at all.

What I have learned outside of the classroom, though, is that in the day-to-day business of CYF work, it does not matter if you know the best and most comprehensive way to conduct a needs assessment, or if you have studied endlessly about children who have been trafficked, or if you have the skills to develop an annual fundraising plan for an nongovernmental organization. It does indeed help, but as Volunteers, we all have access to such resources. What matters is that you are willing to get your hands dirty in the messy job of a youth worker—put your heart into it and jump right in. In the end, it’s those relationships, smiles, and moments of connection that may ultimately make a larger impact than anything else.

Debilzen is participating in the Master's International program. She is from Francis Creek, Wisconsin, and is serving as a youth, children, and family services Volunteer. She is scheduled to complete her service in November 2010.