Youth development and youth leadership opportunities can be essential supplements to formal education

Formal education alone does not prepare youths for most of the challenges of adolescence and adulthood – this is the truth. Extracurricular youth development and leadership opportunities are necessary to fill this gap.

“Youth development is a process which prepares young people to meet the challenges of adolescence and adulthood through a coordinated, progressive series of activities and experiences which help them to become socially, morally, emotionally, physically, and cognitively competent”. At the same time, youth leadership is the ability for youths to lead self and others, in order to work toward a particular goal or vision.

Especially in the current global and digital economy, youths face more challenges of finding their voice, their identity and leading a purposeful life. Such challenges are potential causes of mental distress, hopelessness and despair.

I had the privilege of spending several months with a young lady from the USA, and learnt from her about the USA’s National Honor Society. This lady is pursuing her Master's degree in a foreign country and spends some of her spare time to volunteer in community service, teaching language to refugees. I was curious to know what influenced such values in her. During a conversation, she pointed out that she went to a high school where it was a requirement for students to accomplish some community service in order to graduate. Community service hours were in turn one of the conditions for joining the wider National Honor Society (NHS). This organization selects members based on four criteria: academic achievement, leadership, service, and character; and in turn connect youths with opportunities such as study scholarships and more community service.

Over one million students are estimated to participate in this organization, whose main message to youths is: “whoever claims to be noble must conduct himself nobly”. Important to emphasize here is the engraving of values among youths by giving them a sense of purpose, belonging, and impact – which is aligned with the youth generation’s intrinsic characteristics. I believe this could be a wonderful opportunity for youth's in Tanzania, especially if driven from a national level.

The truth is that the world needs people with life skills and values as much as, and sometimes even more than the skills from formal education. We for instance have the Youth of United Nations Association of Tanzania (YUNA) which works towards the same goal, but this and the several others are just a drop of sand in the desert. Many youths in Tanzania are left out from such opportunities and unless the efforts are spread and synergized, we will not have achieved “leaving no one behind”, the goal of the current global development agenda. We need to reach more youths by nationwide programs especially across public schools.

For example, we are used to the narrative that only those who are privileged can give to the underprivileged. Or only the people in formal leadership roles have to lead. But no. We must build a sense of purpose and leadership especially for youths growing up in underprivileged communities. By letting them know that despite lacking money, they can give time or talent to help those more in need, for instance in hospitals, prisons, elderly homes, etc. Some key goals for such initiatives can be leadership development opportunities, adult and peer mentoring, guidance and counselling, etc.

Research shows that the benefits of such initiative are many, including; increased self-esteem, ability to make decisions and speak in public, dependability and job responsibility. It may also lead to fewer psychosocial problems, such as loneliness, shyness, and hopelessness; and decrease involvement in risky behaviors such as drug use.

Indeed, youths are the leaders of today and tomorrow. We must harness their potential through more extensive and targeted interventions.

This article was originally published by The Citizen Tanzania