July 22, 2016
WPDI’s youth peacemakers in Tijuana, Mexico are busy working tirelessly on the implementation of their six community-building projects in their neighborhoods that take a wide range of approaches to fostering civic involvement and responsibility among youth from leading anti-bullying classes at local schools, to starting a community garden, to working with teens at a local drug-rehabilitation center.
This month, our youth peacemakers came together, taking time away from their own initiatives, to volunteer at Padre Chava Soup Kitchen, an organization that serves daily breakfast to over 1000 homeless and impoverished people. Padre Chava has a staff of only about 10 individuals, so in order to accommodate such a large group of individuals every day, they operate thanks to the support and generosity of volunteers, who donate their time and resources. On this occasion, WPDI provided most of the ingredients for the breakfast ourselves.
Fifteen youth peacemakers arrived at Padre Chava early in the morning to sweep the floors, arrange tables and chairs, and prepare the meal. Over the course of the morning, they served breakfast to over 1100 people in need. The youth peacemakers also helped distributed clean clothes and shoes that had been donated to Padre Chava.
During a follow-up discussion after the meal, the youth peacemakers were very positive about the experience. Several commented that they were glad to have had the opportunity to engage with their community during the summer, as many of their projects focus on schools, which have been on break this month.
The youth peacemakers are excited to continue re-engaging with their own projects soon, but found this to be a worthwhile and valuable experience in the interim.