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<h1>Young People Build Hope in Sudan</h1>
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<p><img src="/uploads/552cd9ce1630a.jpg" style="width: 107px; background-color: initial;"> <em style="background-color: initial;">By Tilal Ahmed (oversees UMCOR’s peace building work in Sudan)</em></p><p>With a big smile, Bakhet Ibrahim entered
the field office of the <a href="http://www.umcor.org/">United Methodist
Committee on Relief (UMCOR)</a>, in East Darfur State, Sudan, greeting the staff.
Bakhet is a community mobilizer
and a member of Youth Bank in East Darfur—and most of the staff knows him.<br>“I was very happy when the community
recommended me for this project,” said Bakhet, 23, a resident of El Neem, a camp
for internally displaced persons. Over the course of his participation, he and
the 11 other members of the local chapter have learned, grown and made a
difference in their communities.<br>Umelhassan, also from El Neem, said Youth
Bank gave her the opportunity to meet and work with new people. “For me, it was
something new to work alongside men” she added, given the strict gender roles
and cultural expectations of Sudan.<br>With its umbrella body headquartered in Northern
Ireland (YouthBank International), the network of YouthBanks is run by and for young people.
Local chapters around the world, like the one in East Darfur, identify projects
they consider meaningful for young people in their local communities, and seek
to support them.<br>The chapters raise or solicit funds, review
proposals, award grants, and monitor progress. Each project they fund aims to “build
young people's self-esteem and confidence and provide them with opportunities
to learn new skills” such as leadership and team work, according to the organization’s <a href="http://www.youthbankinternational.org">website</a>.<br>In East Darfur State, the YouthBank received
financial support from <a href="http://ginghamsburg.org/">Ginghamsburg United
Methodist Church in Ohio</a>. UMCOR provided the chapter with training in
grant-making and other skills.<br>Over a few months, YouthBank members surveyed
needs in communities around the state capital, El Daein, and awarded five
grants for sports and environmental-health projects. </p><p><img src="/uploads/552cdb15055c1.jpg" style="width: 243px;"> <br><em style="background-color: initial;">Bakhet l</em><em style="background-color: initial;">ives in El Neem IDPs camp attached to Eddaein town.</em><i style="background-color: initial;"> He shows great skills in communicating and implementing YouthBank in East Darfur. </i></p><p><strong>Building
rapport, fostering peace<br></strong>Bakhet said he was particularly happy to
see young people from different tribes come together as project implementers, since
intertribal tensions are a source of violence throughout the Darfur region.<br>YouthBank participation builds rapport
among its diverse members. It gives young people space in which to work
together for the good of all their communities. And while it fosters peace, it
also helps young people to build self-confidence.<br>“One of the projects was a football (soccer) competition. It gave me the opportunity to communicate with officials and become
known in the town,” Bakhet said.
“I shared with the Youth and Sport minister, the football association—and even
the governor—all of our success with the competition!”<br><br>Reem (main picture), who at 21 is the youngest member of
the East Darfur chapter, also found participation in YouthBank empowering.
Though born with a shorter right leg, Reem moved deftly from house to house,
talking with families and mobilizing her peers to participate in neighborhood
cleanup days.<br>“I am proud of what I did,” she said. “And
I’m happy that I showed people that having a disability is no impediment to
being active and of value in any community.”<br>YouthBank in East Darfur now has a firm
foundation. It is bringing young people together, and all - whatever their
tribe, both young men and young women - are working as one.</p><p><strong>UMCOR Sudan
Development, Advance #184385, supports projects
that promote peace and development in Sudan.</strong></p>
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