It’s almost one and half years that I am animating the youth group of Piriaponch Parish in the state of Jharkhand in India. As I continue this mission, I feel it’s a life-giving experience for me and for the young people as well.
In our parish there are many young people. They come from a humble background, sometimes lacking resources to lead a meaningful life. Some of them are drop outs from schools, some are uneducated and therefore unemployed, some of them help in the family and some of them are migrated to different places for work. Some of them are so poor that they cannot afford the expense of their studies and hence they give up their studies. Many of those who are studying in high school, study well but they are faced with the problems of growing age. It is very difficult sometimes to make them understand the importance of education and not to spend time in doing things that are not helpful.
We conduct various activities for these young people in order to respond to these challenges. We conduct a meeting once a month where they share their joys, difficulties and challenges. We also plan the activities of the month during this meeting. We make the youth aware of job opportunities available, or inform them about training given by the government which would help them to get employment. They participate actively in the animation of the liturgy in the church. They animate the Sunday liturgy. We encourage them to keep up their tribal culture through dance and small dramas. We organise picnic once a year to build the communion among the youth. There are also rallies arranged at dioceses or denary level to bring the youth together. It gives them opportunity to meet young people of many parishes and have dialogue with them which in turn helps them to be more open to the realities of their diocese.
Our youth is very active. They themselves manage all the activities of the group. They take initiative to conduct some income generating programs such as bringing clothes from wholesale market and selling them in the parish during Christmas, conducting hockey tournaments etc. They are very sensitive to the needs of the people in the parish. They help the families in the replanting and harvesting of crops. Once they know something has to be done, all of them give helping hand. I have attended almost all the youth conventions and I found that the young people are very free and cooperative specially the girls.
It’s almost one and a half year that I am animating this youth group and I see them growing very well. From my experience of being with the young people, I realised that those young people who are very courageous always go ahead but those who are not educated need a lot of guidance to become aware of their life situations and to move with confidence towards future. What touches me the most is that amidst all the challenges they face they are always happy. There is no grumbling on account of the poverty. They live life without any tension. When one is with them one never feels that they are going through difficulties. They are always with a smile on their faces. It’s a learning experience for me. Being with young people is really an experience of inner joy for me.
Sr. Suchita Kerketta