Junior Youth Groups

For boys and girls of middle school age, junior youth groups of the Junior Youth Spiritual Empowerment Program enable youth to learn the life skills they so urgently need to maintain their individual identity and withstand the onslaught of materialism and peer pressure. While these groups have a written curriculum, a significant portion of the time is spent engaged in group activities involving the arts, sports and recreation, service projects, and the exploration of different cultures through crafts, history, music and cuisine. Junior youth groups are guided by trained 'animators,' usually older youth or young adults who mentor the group, facilitate consultation among its members, and help organize its various activities. All activities are designed to foster the spiritual identity of the members in the group, empower them to serve humanity, develop their powers of expression, enhance their spiritual and intellectual capacities, help create a moral structure in their lives, and prepare them to participate effectively in the affairs of their community.