"So you're not in school? Are you?" I asked the teenager who works for a small coffee shop. "Nah, tenth grade was enough. Besides, school isn't really for me." He expressed his personal opinion. Wish I could prove him wrong, but he is earning and sends money back home. Unlike many schooled teens I know who can't even tell diligence and laziness apart-all they do is waste time. Part of the program we do here in empowering young people including dropouts and marginalized is highlight alternative learning. Find things they are good at or want to explore so that they have something to use to put food on the table. House keeping, receptionist, agriculture, tutorials, cooking, translator, and tourist guide are only few of the examples.
"I want to be a doctor or a scientist or a teacher or la lawyer or an engineer. And I want to be an agent of change.'' They say. "Yeah, right, but changes begin a home. Start with simple things like make your bed before leaving for school, put back the stuff where they belong after use, flush the toilet bowl, wash your own dishes perhaps, clean your surrounding, tidy up your room-these are essentials too aside from holding books and pen." I say. How can you change the world when you couldn't even change your home including yourself? Transformation occurs when your are able to handle booth small and big responsibilities. Again it starts in you, at home.
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