Youth Speak News

MISSISSAUGA, ONT.- An award-winning faith-based hip-hop dance crew, an eight-year-old singer, an improv comedy group and spoken word artists were some of the artistic talent that showed their stuff at ACCESS Charity’s Arts for Change July 14.

Arts for Change is all about promoting local, artistic talent to inspire others to get involved in their communities, said Daniel Francavilla, president of ACCESS Charity.

“It is important to express the talents and gifts you have been given,” said Francavilla.

“Some of the youth artists here never had their work displayed publicly or a couple of them had little experience performing, so this gave them that opportunity to use their gifts for good.”

About 200 people were in attendance at Mississauga’s Gateway Centre for New Canadians for the “Celebrate Community” event.

There were many rounds of applause evoked by the soft chords of Jarryd Fillmore’s guitar playing, the high-pitched soprano of Josephine Paul’s voice, improv Elbow Dragon drama troupe and dance crew I Rock With The One, among various others.

Canadian-Iranian poetry hobbyist Vanessa Azizan did not feel shy when she took the stage in front of unfamiliar faces.

“When I got on the stage, I just felt this energy rush through me looking at those faces,” said Azizan.

Her poem centred on the silent voices in Iran and their rights and she hopes it inspires people to be more informed about Iran and the censored information in that nation’s media.

She hopes it will inspire people to search for the truth behind these stories.

“The media is one-sided, it doesn’t show their side of the story. I was trying to show their voices,” she said.

“I always wanted to inspire people but I never knew how to do it (until) I attended the ACCESS Charity Youth Making a Difference Conference earlier this year. It inspired me to want to share my story.”

Adrienne Beaudry, program manager with partner organization Volunteer MBC, attended with daughter Emilie.

“At this stage, there’s no one telling you what you can or cannot do,” she said.

“You are able to explore without restrictions and ACCESS Charity promotes that by supporting local talent.”

The proceeds are being used to fund a “Youth Making a Difference” award that will be given to a youth in the community who have been committed to social justice and change coming next year, said Francavilla.

VAUGHAN, ONT. - It took Hannah Godefa almost half her life to collect 425,000 pencils for students in Ethiopia. Now, one year after sending the bulk of the load to her parent’s native country, Godefa is going to see what else the students in the impoverished African nation need.

“I cannot wait to see what needs to be done so that we can do an even better job next time,” said the 14-year-old who left on July 24 for a  five-week visit to the Horn of Africa, the northeast region of the continent where Ethiopia is located. “I’m just going to go and visit the schools that I sent pencils to. You know really get a sense of what there is still left that is needed to be done.”

This is Godefa’s fourth trip to Ethiopia where she’s been sending pencils, school supplies and letters from her Canadian classmates to students since 2006.

During her visit, Godefa, appointed the Youth and Goodwill Ambassador in 2011 by the Ethiopian government, will collaborate with students, school staff and Ethiopia’s minister of eduction to determine the next phase of her social justice activism.

The project, dubbed Pencil Mountain, began after Godefa’s parents brought her to Ethiopia to introduce her to her family, heritage and culture. During this initial visit to Axum, a northern city where her grandmother lives, Godefa befriended a local and wished to continue the friendship as pen pals — a request she was denied.

“I couldn’t understand why this happened,” said Godefa. “I approached my parents about the idea and they explained to me that, in the simplest way possible, because she didn’t have writing supplies or writing materials it wouldn’t be possible to communicate.”

But Godefa wouldn’t take no for an answer. Prior to stepping back onto Canadian soil, Godefa knew what she would do: collect and deliver 20,000 pencils to the Ethiopian students. 

With ambition burning and her parents’ support, the then Divine Mercy Catholic Elementary School student presented her idea to principal Opiyo Oloya who admitted to being hesitant at first. Luckily for the students in Ethiopia, Godefa’s enthusiasm was infectious and with a little persuasion her former principal agreed to support Pencil Mountain.

“Hannah was a very persistent young person and you just can’t say no to her,” Oloya, now a York Catholic District School Board superintendent of education, said. “Soon the pencils started coming in to the school by boxes, and it went on and on.”

Not only did support from her entire community pile up — including politicians, local media and residents — but so did the pencils, 5,000 more than her goal.

“So in 2006 I went back to Ethiopia and delivered the pencils there,” she said. “Then when I came back I wanted to do it again but I wanted to do even more than what I had done before because I knew that I had an amazing support system in Vaughan.”

She wanted to do more alright, 10 times more, setting her new quota at 200,000 pencils along with various other school supplies. An ambitious goal with an admirable quality surpassed only by the amount of support received. This included support from several schools in the York Catholic board that banded together to battle it out fundraiser style, starting the Pencil Collection Competition, one of the most significant sources for attaining the writing utensils but far from the only.

“The support came from people from all walks of life,” said Godefa, who also received a transportation-cost sponsorship from Ethiopian Airlines. “I really like to put emphasis on young students and the schools in my community because they are really the ones who got everything going.”

Upon her return to Vaughan’s St. Elizabeth Catholic High School this September, they’ll be the ones she’s calling upon again as Pencil Mountain enters its third phase.

“It’s really important to have youth involved in these type of projects because obviously, as we’ve heard many times before, the youth are the leaders of tomorrow. But what’s really important to understand is that youth are leaders of today,” said Godefa. “If you give children the opportunities that they need, I’m telling you they are going to change the world.”

For information on Pencil Mountain and Godefa, visit www.hannahgodefa.org.

TORONTO - Peter Grbac heads to Oxford University in October, leaving behind a legacy of volunteerism at his alma mater Harvard University.

A former St. Michael’s College School student, Grbac took part in The Catholic Register’s Youth Speak News program during his high-school years. His faith followed him to Harvard University in Boston where he just graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Social Studies. At commencement, Grbac was a nominee for the prestigious Ames Award for helping others in the community and inspiring leadership. 

“Harvard is an interesting place,” he said. “It’s a place where you are exposed to very different people and very different ideas, and it’s easy to lose track of your faith. If there (was) one constant in (my) four years and going forward it would be my faith community,” referring to St. Paul Catholic Church in Harvard Square.

“Why do I need to go to Mass?” Every Catholic has heard that line before, especially when uttered by teenagers and young adults. We’ve also heard virtually every excuse on why not to go to Mass. But how do we convince sceptics of the Mass’ importance and contemporary relevance?

In Talking to Teens About the Mass: A User’s Guide, Fr. John C. Yake seeks to tackle this loaded question, offering rebuttals against the common alibis for not attending Mass regularly. In the process, he demonstrates that contrary to the misperception of the Mass as an outdated, old-fashioned and boring ritual, the Eucharist and the Catholic Church are still very relevant to the contemporary struggles of teenagers.

I decided to try a weightlifting routine a few months ago. I wasn’t sure what I was doing, but sweating and struggling on bicep curls was easily the coolest thing I did in awhile. The feeling intensified when I looked at the mirror a few weeks later and noticed a subtle but definite improvement. 

Within two weeks, however, I fell out of my routine. After doing the exact same thing repeatedly, anything — no matter how exciting it is — can become a chore. I’m pretty sure that we can remember at least one homily where the priest inspired us, making us feel like our lives would never feel the same afterwards. Yet I’m also certain there are many times when we just don’t feel like going to church on Sundays. Since Jesus died for our sins, we’re supposed to feel free, liberated and unbound. So why does service sometimes feel like a tedious obligation? For a concept that’s supposed to provide salvation, religion can sometimes feel more like a chain than a key.

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - Arriving in Rio de Janeiro on June 14, the nine young women and two staff of the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace delegation, weren’t sure what to expect. We had prepared for more than six months for our journey to the People’s Summit, which ran parallel to the United Nations Conference on Environmental Sustainability known as Rio+20. We experienced inspiring events, insightful workshops, peaceful community and so much more.

It’s hard to confine our experience to just a few moments, but when we all came together on the beach one day, nestled at the foot of the famous Sugarloaf Mountain, to review our experiences, a few key stories and sentiments resonated with the group.

The People’s Summit in Rio de Janeiro provided a space for people from all over the world to exchange ideas, tell their stories, form alliances and share their hopes for the future, including nine women representing the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace.

From June 15-23, the young women — all under 30 — from the D&P delegation brought the Canadian voice to the ecologically themed workshops and presentations.

We can practise our faith in a variety of ways. While some people may pray before they go to bed or meditate for an hour each day, others may choose to attend a religious summer camp.

I did the latter every summer for 11 years. The final year, I was a counsellor.

Attending the camp not only allowed me to make friends and learn about myself, it also allowed me to develop a stronger relationship with God.

One of the many benefits of service volunteer trips is professional growth, said Friar Rick Riccioli, director of Francis Corps, a Catholic organization that places volunteers in Syracuse, New York, and Costa Rica.

Every year, thousands of high school and university students make the trek to different volunteering opportunities overseas — or across the border — to donate their time and services to those in need.

“We had one young woman who wanted to be a surgeon and then decided to go into public health because (she saw) the need for policy,” Riccioli said.

When thinking about long journeys, a few specific examples may spring to mind. Some will think of Homer’s great Odyssey, others of Frodo’s quest to destroy the ring. Many of us will recall Jesus’ travels as He went from place to place proclaiming the Word of God. 

I, too, think of Jesus when it comes to travelling, but in a slightly different form. The Jesus I think of is a small carved pendant attached to a dusty black string. Though modest in appearance, this pendant of Christ has gone through quite the journey and has come to mean a great deal to me.