Building Centers for Positive Youth Development

Building Centers for Positive Youth Development ISNA is set to support communities help run robust youth development programs

BY FIYYAZ JAAT

Hope is more than just a feeling; at least it should be. It is a culture of norms that we, as a society, work toward in order to achieve a greater communal good. Hope should not just sit in our hearts; it should be felt by our neighbors, teammates, colleagues and by leaders who can bring about that for which their constituents’ hope. You see, hope in the hearts of some is a subtle cry for that which they wish to come to pass, to come to fruition.

Our great Caliph Umar ibn Al-Khattab (radi Allahu ‘anh) taught us to be concerned about other’s hopes — the hopes of people to be ruled with justice, the hopes of travelers to find their roads safe and the hopes of animals to find paths well made. Dawud ibn Ali reported: Umar ibn al-Khattab said, “If a lost sheep under my care were to die on the banks of the Euphrates, I would expect God, the Exalted, to question me about it on the Day of Resurrection” (“Hilyat al-Awliya’,” 137).

Hope in the eyes of our youth is no different — to have a safe space to grow, develop, identify one’s strengths and weaknesses, and to do so in an environment that allows one to grow up obeying God and serving society, beings and everything else that is created.

We all have a part to play in developing our youth’s hopes, and then continue to play a part in making those hopes a reality. In the most formative years of one’s life, one doesn’t simply take his or her foot off the gas pedal and attempt to coast through it, especially in today’s climate, where that road is uphill.

There are many wonderful examples of organizations — may they all be blessed — trying to do their part to realize this vision. One of them is ISNA’s very own Youth Development department (YouthDev), which is delving into this field passionately through its Center for Positive Youth Development (CPYD) program. ISNA’s YouthDev comprises a team of subject matter experts in youth work who are striving WE ALL HAVE A PART TO PLAY IN DEVELOPING OUR YOUTH’S HOPES, AND THEN CONTINUE TO PLAY A PART IN MAKING THOSE HOPES A REALITY. IN THE MOST FORMATIVE YEARS OF ONE’S LIFE, ONE DOESN’T SIMPLY TAKE HIS OR HER FOOT OFF THE GAS PEDAL AND ATTEMPT TO COAST THROUGH IT, ESPECIALLY IN TODAY’S CLIMATE, WHERE THAT ROAD IS UPHILL.

toward the goal of connecting, upskilling, resourcing and opening doors for communities in the realm of youth work.

For the most part, youth do not control the resources or their deployment to offset their own needs. God has placed that responsibility in their community’s elders and those who lead their mosques and/or Islamic centers. The current pandemic, as with the case of any major ripple or disturbance to our communities, has caused resources to be reassigned and re-envisioned based on the latest identified priority.

That focus, however, can cause us to lose sight of some members’ critical needs, such as those of our youth. The effect of this unintentional pivot may not be seen for four or five years, when it is either too late or difficult a task to resolve and more youth have left our spaces. In a time when many organizations and communities are seeking ways to adapt their programs, a strong focus must always be placed on our youth.

The CPYD program seeks to consult with and provide communities with the resources they need to kick-start or improve their youth development programs, to help them create the environment in which our youth can realize their hopes and thrive. This is not meant to be a plug, but rather a call for our communities and leaders to see what so many others see: the obligation to understand our youth’s reality and the important role we all play in their development.

Ensuring sound leadership tomorrow requires investing in those stewards today! Our communities should not find themselves alone in a climate and at a time when the ongoing global pandemic is showing us how deeply we are all connected.

CPYD’s program assesses community resources and involves a leveraging plan through ISNA’s nationwide reach. Charting a course for a community to become such a center, however, requires that CYPD know where that particular community is standing today. As such, this program’s first phase is a needs assessment. Interested leaders can reach out to the team — ISNA.net/cpyd — and help team members start formulating a relevant plan by providing the necessary data.

More information can be found there as well, so let’s work together on it. As every community can benefit from this program, let’s support our youth’s positive development, inspire and then help their hopes come to fruition. ih