Developing
the capacities of Red Cross and Red Crescent Youth volunteers
can be done through an array of methods. The Norwegian Red Cross
(NRC) has found that one successful way to do this is through
its Youth Delegate programme. This programme involves the exchange
of two Red Cross (RC) Youth volunteers from Norway to each of
the other participating National Societies (NS) and vice versa.
The youth volunteers who participate in the programme develop
their skills, and at the same time the programme builds the
general capacities of RC Youth in all the participating NSs,
making youth effective partners in the Movement.
Living and working abroad with the Red Cross
Currently, five partner NSs are involved in the exchange together
with NRC: Armenian, Colombian, Kenya, Lebanese and Nepal Red
Cross Societies. The youth delegates started their training
in August and are now halfway through their period. Shadrack
Musyoka, a Kenya Red Cross Youth volunteer, is currently working
in Norway as a Youth Delegate. He says that living and working
abroad in a country with different culture, food and climate
is great but challenging. “I’ll tell you that this is not only
a geographical travel, but a journey within yourself,” Shadrack
says. “As a youth delegate, you will experience both positive
and negative challenges, and it really requires a lot from you.”
After being recruited, the youth delegates are given one month
of training together in Norway, before the Norwegian youth volunteers
go to the different countries and the others go to the various
branches of NRC where they live and work for nine months. This
is followed by at least two months of information work in their
home countries, mainly involving the sharing of cross-cultural
experiences and best practices from the country they have worked
in.
Halfway through his exchange, Shadrack is starting to identify
what he is learning and what he is contributing. “To me, this
is a lifetime experience,” he says. “I get to exploit my potential
through contributing to the recruitment of new youth volunteers
and spreading more knowledge about the Movement to young people.”
Shadrack and his fellow youth delegate from Kenya, Janet, are
working to strengthen youth work in one branch of the Norwegian
Red Cross. The organizational development work they do is similar
to the work of the other youth delegates in Norway and in the
other countries, although there are always cultural differences.
“I learn a lot from people with different lifestyles and stories
than my own,” Shadrack says. “This is a valuable experience
in humanitarian work.”
Individual and collective goals
One the objective of Youth Delegate programme is, of course,
to offer youth members the possibility to live and work in another
country and another NS and to allow them to exchange experience,
knowledge and skills with others. However, the programme also
aims much wider, working to promote cross-cultural learning
and international understanding, to enhance the voluntary spirit
and RC knowledge among RC youth, and to strengthen the capacities
and cooperation of the participating NSs.
As the objectives, the outcomes can also be seen at various
levels. The youth delegates get the opportunity to learn new
skills and share what they already know, and to be exposed to
other cultures. This greatly benefits their future work, both
within the Movement and otherwise. The programme also motivates
all youth volunteers and increases their cultural awareness
and understanding of international work. Furthermore, within
the NSs there is improved recruitment and development of youth
activities at branch level, better flow of information and increased
capacities in the youth sections. The programme also strengthens
the cooperation among the participating NSs.
Shadrack says he is grateful for the NRC involvement in this
programme. “I challenge other NSs to start working on youth
exchange programmes, because they are eye openers to many youths
and develop more competent and informed volunteers,” he says.
He tells that there are already specific examples in the NSs
who participate in the programme where former youth delegates
take leading roles in the development and implementation of
youth activities.
In Kenya, Shadrack tells us that many of the former youth delegates
are currently involved in the RC Youth work at different levels.
One works as the national youth coordinator, two who are working
at branch level and others are contributing their experiences
through volunteering at national and local level. This is also
the case in the other NSs involved in the programme.
In addition to developing skilled volunteers and staff for the
NS, activities are also transferred from on NS to another through
the youth delegates. Several of the main activities of NRC youth
are imported this way, such as ‘When disaster strikes’ from
Kenya and ‘Active choice’, a HIV prevention programme from Jamaica.
The little things
The youth delegate programme strengthens the NSs and has very
good results. Still, whilst in the middle of it all, it is the
small things that count, and when Shadrack speaks about all
the new things he encounters and what he learns, he also mentions
getting used to Norway. Norwegians has a lot of culture and
tradition, he says. They are “born with skis on their feet”,
normally don’t speak to strangers, and they like cold food,
bread and fish. This is a very different society from the one
he is used to, but he is becoming acclimatized. “Although I
don’t necessarily agree with everything, I respect the cultural
differences,” he says. “Norwegians are open and hospitable people
once you get to know them, and I will always have fond memories
of this life experience.”
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| Shadrack Musyoka is currently working as Kenya Red Cross youth delegate with the Norwegian Red Cross. In this article he tells us about the programme and his experiences so far. |
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| The objectives
and outcomes of the youth delegate programme span from
the very individual ones, such as allowing youth to live
and work in another country; to the very general, such
as strengthen the capacities of the participating National
Societies. |
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| The youth
delegate programme is not only about working for another
Red Cross Society for nine months, it is also about adjusting
to a completely different culture, cuisine and climate. |
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