Religious Youth Service
UPF chapters organize Religious Youth Service projects that offer service-learning opportunities with a special focus on developing personal leadership and peacemaking skills. Through living together and providing altruistic service in a community, participants demonstrate that it is possible for our global human family to come together in peace for our mutual well being.
- Religious Youth Service
- Written by: Religious Youth Service - Nepal
Gorkha, Nepal - A Religious Youth Service Project was held in Gorkha, Nepal August 9-15, 2009 with participants from the Baha'i, Jain, Buddhist, Christian, Unificationist, Hindu, and Islamic traditions building a new community hall, visiting religious sites, playing in a friendly football match, and spending time building relationships with children and the elderly.
- Religious Youth Service
- Written by: RYS-Indonesia
Bali, Indonesia - RYS worked with the SOS Desa Taruna, a nongovernmental, social development organization for orphaned children, to renovate two fishponds, expected to provide a food source for SOS.
- Religious Youth Service
- Written by: RYS-Netherlands
Netherlands - RYS volunteers partnered with Thuis Op Straat (TOS), a local organization which offers afterschool programs for children. Participants set up a tent and some tables in a playground where they assisted the children in decorating pieces of cloth. The patches were sewn together into a beautiful cloth which was then given as a gift to the Stichting Marme, where it would serve as a tablecloth when regularly feeding the homeless.
- Religious Youth Service
- Written by: RYS - Philippines
Nabunturan, Compostela Valley, Philippines - A Religious Youth Service project in Compostela Valley Province May 23-26, 2009, included Muslim-Christian dialogue, visits to a mosque and a church, leadership and peacemaking skills training, daily reflections, a cultural program and community outreach.
- Religious Youth Service
- Written by: RYS-Jamaica
Portland, Jamaica – In Portland, Jamaica on May 1, 2009, RYS youth joined Father Francis in refurbishing his church, the St. Agnes Catholic Church. Young people from the community washed the outside of the church in preparation for future painting. Inside work continued with scrapping old wall covering, filling holes and rolling and brushing on a new coat of paint. The work materials were donated by the Archdiocese of Kingston and the members of St. Agnes Catholic Church.
- Religious Youth Service
- Written by: Religious Youth Service - India
Chennai, India - On April 26, 2009, Global Youth Service Day, alumni of Religious Youth Service-India volunteered at "Udhavum Ullangal," a free home taking care of more than 100 orphan children in Chennai.
- Religious Youth Service
- Written by: RYS - India
Tripura, India - Volunteers with a Religious Youth Service project worked with indigenous tribal people Dec. 2-8, 2008, to stage cultural programs and build a hall of friendship and goodwill.
- Religious Youth Service
- Written by: Religious Youth Service-India
Tripura, India - A Religious Youth Service participant speaks about their experience in Tripura, India.
- Religious Youth Service
- Written by: RYS-Nepal
Sunakothi, Lalitpu, Nepal – The Religious Youth Service hosted an eight day project in Sunakothi, Lalitpur, Nepal from November 20 - November 28, 2008. Participants from Nepal, India, Mauritius, and the United States came together to aid the village of Sunakothi with the installation of 2 much needed water tanks and the creation of a peace pond. The project was hosted at the Bauddha Jana Vihar, a Buddhist Community Center and Temple.
- Religious Youth Service
- Written by: RYS - Nepal
Sunakothi, Lalitpu, Nepal - Religious Youth Service hosted a project in Sunakothi, Lalitpur, Nepal from November 20 to 28, 2008. Participants from Nepal, India, Mauritius, and the United States came together to aid the village of Sunakothi with the installation of two much-needed water tanks and the creation of a peace pond. The project was hosted at the Bauddha Jana Vihar, a Buddhist Community Center and Temple.
- Religious Youth Service
- Written by: RYS-Guatemala
Guatemala City, Guatemala - Religious Youth Service representatives, in partnership with sports organizers, taught RYS's experiential education curriculum to participants in Guatemala City's Peace Vacation Oct. 27-30, 2008, during a six-week sports and character education program.
- Religious Youth Service
- Written by: RYS-India
Agartala, India – Christian-Hindu amity marked the International Day of Peace in Agartala on September 21, 2008. Even as reports of recent bomb blasts and Hindu-Christian conflicts continue to pour in from different parts of the country, the Northeast Indian capital town of Agartala witnessed a rare gesture of unity and friendship between Christians and Hindus. The program was organized by Sampari Hukumu Bodol Tripura, under the patronage of Universal Peace Federation (UPF), Peace Dream, and Religious Youth Service (RYS).