Youth and Service
ChunAn, Asan, DMZ, South Korea—The Interreligious Peace Sports Festival (IPSF), a unique and exciting project that has developed as an outgrowth of the Religious Youth Service (RYS). The program utilizes sports as a vehicle to promote interreligious interaction and understanding.
Tenaru, Solomon Islands—The RYS held its first project in the Solomon Islands from June 30 to July 6. The work was spread out over four worksites where participants were involved in construction, furniture assembly, painting and restoration.
Bethany House, Perale, Malaysia—The 8th RYS project to be hosted in Malaysia was held on May 5-9 at Bethay Home in Perak, Malaysia. The theme, which was “Service to Humanity – the Path to Peace and Unity” was expressed through a program of education and action that was guided by Ms. Sharifah Shakirah.
Bambarabedda, Sri Lanka—RYS participants were eager to take on the task of providing the children of the countryside a library as part of the local Buddhist monastery and community school. Technicians guided the volunteers through the different stages of construction.
When I close my eyes, I can still smell the air of Colombo. It was a fantastic experience. I’m so honored to represent all the delegates from Mr. and Miss University and participate in the service project held by Religious Youth Service (RYS) in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka is one of the places where Religious Youth Service has invested heavily since 1992. Having embarked on peacebuilding initiatives during the civil war period, we could not attract any youth from the North or East for the first project because of the fierce fighting that had been going on between Tamil militant groups and the government forces for almost two decades.
Klongtomtai, Krabi, Thailand—Seven RYS alumni organized a 3-day local RYS project in Klongtomtai, Krabi on March 21-24, 2004. The main project was Tree Planting co-hosted by Klongtomtai Sub District Local Government in Krabi Province and WFWP-Thailand.
The Religious Youth Service has been active in Ghana since 1992, so during the January 13 –25, 2004 project the focus was on participants from Accra, the capital. Thirty-five participants from four nations id cleaning and offered personal care to hospital patients.
Accra, Ghana—This interreligious youth community bonded during their daily experiences of eating together, serving the needs of patients at the Pantang Psychiatric Hospital Adecta, cleaning the environment and meeting with patients.
RYS Annual Report 2004—The Religious Youth Service (RYS) in its nearly 20-year history has built strong bonds of cooperation between young adults of each religion and culture, many of whom are presently working in fields of ecumenical and interreligious cooperation today. In 2004, RYS was able to educate youth through 15 service projects worldwide, including its first project in the Middle East and its 2nd annual Interreligious Peace Sports Festival.
In Bethlehem, a father had been without work for the last five years, and unable to fully support the family's needs because of the political and social circumstances in the region. Previously, he was working in Israel with a construction company, but with the closing of the border between the two areas, it became more and more difficult to find employment.
New Delhi, India—Hosted by Chetanalaya, a social action NGO of the Catholic Diocese of New Delhi, RYS volunteers offered their labor in building a community center which served both the Muslim and Hindu Residents of Janta Colony in Jaffarabad. The efforts drew the cooperation from both communities in laying the foundation stones and stimulated further work together for community improvements.