Khabar Khair (Only Good News) – Fatima Rashad

    The number of youth initiatives has increased in many governorates. Some of them raise societal issues and others address and seeking solutions. Initiatives are the voice of the voiceless, and they raise the problem to interact with it and deliver the message properly through multiple modes, including social media, through hashtags that help highlight many issues and develop solutions accordingly.

      There are a number of initiatives that have been established in the country, including awareness-raising initiatives, aesthetic initiatives concerned with ornamentation and afforestation, and hygiene campaigns that are always launched by young people and they cooperate to achieve them in partnership with civil society organizations, in addition to a number of youth initiatives that deal with societal issues.

    The initiatives are characterized by the diversity of their subjects and trends, and they are launched at a specific time and end at a specific time for them.

    The (Together We Can) initiative led by Fahmy Zaid (President of the Bodybuilding Federation) and whose initiative includes 50 members, through which he was able to provide quality services to his community.

    Fahmy Zaid says: “The Together We Can Initiative was established in 2016 with the aim of helping young people, developing their capabilities, instilling the idea of ​​initiative and cooperation in charitable work, and cleaning some centers and places of service and rehabilitate them, such as Al-Sadaqah hospital and the Mental Hospital in the vicinity of the initiative in Sheikh Othman and its environs, in cooperation and support of ADRA Organization and Mercy Corps.

   Fahmy added to ” Khabar Khair (Only Good News)“: “The initiative provides psychological support to those who were injured during the conflict, in addition to setting up charitable dishes aimed at buying toys for kids and buying some foodstuffs for families most in need. In coordination with a number of organizations, training courses were held for the “ Together we can.” Initiative members.

     Regarding the support provided by Mercy Corps, one of the women working for the organization says: “We have supported many initiatives offered by youth, and we have made things easier for them, so that they can start their initiative. As for the level of support, the amounts provided are not significant.”

Experience working with initiatives

     Shuaib Al-Afif has more than one initiative in Taiz, Aden and Sana’a. He says: “I worked with youth initiatives and work teams in more than one governorate. In Taiz we introduced the (Youth for Environmental Awareness) initiative and we were implementing the Japanese experience project in dealing with waste, and in Sana’a I worked with the (Wake Up Youth Team) ) to address community issues through art and media, and in Aden I worked with initiatives (peace and coexistence) between Yemenis and Somalians.

    Shuaib added to ” Khabar Khair (Only Good News)“: “I worked with youth initiatives to implement the United Nations Millennium Project to raise awareness of AIDS, and I also worked with many youth initiatives to produce silent expressive panels and plays that discuss community issues. Initiatives have an important role in shedding light on society’s problems and contributing to solving them, most countries rely on initiatives and the role of youth teams in order to solve society’s problems.”

    Muhammad Khaled Al-Sabaq (one of the young people who was keen to attend the events of the initiatives launched on the sites, and which work on the ground) raised his objection to some initiatives in Aden, saying: “The initiatives in Aden do not go beyond being a luxury for some people. Young people come out with an initiative, and their goals are the same.”

     For her part, Amat al-Rahman al-Afari (the initiator of the initiative “sharing is caring” says): “Youth initiatives are usually based on supporting the orientation to serve the humanitarian aspect.”

     She added to ” Khabar Khair (Only Good News)“: “I had several works as the chairwoman of the (Tarabut Development) initiative and a participant in many youth initiatives that brought about societal change and helped alleviate the burdens of society by helping families to provide food baskets, as well as economic empowerment for women, And drawing smiles on children’s faces by distributing clothes to them and participating in recreational activities, in addition to raising awareness about the Corona pandemic.

     The role of youth initiatives is complementary to what civil society organizations do. There are works that needs us to act quickly for free. Those who do it are mostly volunteer youth who love volunteer work, and it is not a requirement that the initiative starts by several people, but it is possible for the initiative to be carried out by two people.

    Anda Al-Salahi (Chairman of the Ensan Developmental Foundation) explains to us the reasons for the existence of such initiatives in the arena and says: “In the absence of the role of the competent authorities, and as a result of the deterioration of people’s conditions, community initiatives have contributed to carrying out their duty towards society.”

     Anda adds to “ Khabar Khair (Only Good News)”: “The initiatives helped in detecting the conditions and needs of people and the displaced, and cooperated in delivering them to the supporting organizations, and in the search for emergency solutions for emergency situations. Among the works provided by the community initiatives are providing emergency needs for food and clothing, raising statistics, raising development capabilities and economic empowerment.”.

     She continued, “We introduced two voluntary initiatives, the (Networking for Community Development) initiative and the (Community Pioneers for Abyan) initiative, with charitable support from businessmen, members’ contributions and some charity workers. Our initiatives were directed towards human development, which is represented in training and qualification of human potential towards empowerment that improves family income. and society.”

    According to preliminary statistics obtained by ” Khabar Khair (Only Good News)”website, 125 youth initiatives were launched from Aden Governorate by a group of initiating youth who contributed to the process of finding common solutions between the state and society. There are many problems and great challenges facing most initiatives, including the fact that they do not have a supporter that would enable them to implement the initiative properly, and make things easier for the youth and activists who implement them.

   One of the participants in the youth initiatives says: “When we start any initiative, we try to look for a supporter first, because we cannot do anything unless we find the tools that enable us to implement this initiative. For example, we need posters, papers on whether the initiative is for awareness, and all this must have comprehensive budget, especially if the initiative is concerned with the aesthetic aspect, such as decorating streets, afforestation, and painting, and here comes the role of organizations supporting these initiatives.”

     Elham Al-Akhali (chairwoman of the Somoud Alhalema Development Initiative) told “Khabar Khair”: “The initiative is important because it was created from the depth of suffering, and it was brought up and nurtured among the different spectrums and segments of society, and it is able to know the pain of all people.”

     Al-Akhali added: “The initiative’s role is significant in the community, as it provides data on the state of the community to the local council and the supporting organizations, and serves as a link between the community, the organizations and the competent authorities.”

    With the many names of the initiatives, their first goal and main role is to create a community partnership to reach interpretive solutions, interact and contribute effectively.