What Is Compassion’s Youth Development Initiative?

Every day, poverty prevents millions of young people from completing their education, getting the training they need or gaining the confidence necessary to succeed in life. Denied resources, skills and opportunities, they fall into unemployment or take low-paying jobs that leave them struggling to survive.

We are tackling this problem head-on through Compassion’s Youth Development Program. The support of our partners enables us to join with churches in 25 countries to ensure that every Compassion-assisted young person can develop his or her unique talents and abilities. By providing access to middle and high school, discipleship, vocational training and much more, young people are empowered to change their lives, their communities and their countries.

God blesses every young person with individual gifts and abilities. Youth Development initiatives are designed to enable young people to access, develop and use those gifts to benefit themselves and those around them. Because of this initiative:

20,390

university students are currently pursuing a third-level degree.

25,503

young people are currently involved in vocational training or apprenticeships, learning a marketable skill.

$10,740,476

was invested in programs to help thousands of teenagers and young adults build skills for their futures.

“So when a police recruitment officer came to my school, I decided to apply.”

Ramadhani was the only student from his school who was successful. He completed his 10-month training program and is now a proud officer with the Tanzanian Police Force. “Compassion made me the man I am today,” says Ramadhani. “I will always support the work they do with children like me. Now I go back to the center often, to help inspire the children to work hard and succeed.”

Church partners around the world have been hard at work, lighting a path to a successful and rewarding future for tens of thousands of young people. By providing education, training, discipleship and so much more, the Youth Development initiative is bringing the next generation an important step closer to escaping extreme poverty forever.