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: RYS-India
Chennai, India – As a prelude to the International Day for Peace, which fell on Sept. 21, the RYS – Chennai, India, in association with Gandhian Institutions initiated a Signature Campaign for Peace (September 8 – 19). Nearly 100,000 signatures were collected on the Peace Banners displayed in various universities and institutions as an ushering-in of a new world of peace and, in this way emphasizing altruism as the new paradigm for fomenting peace.
- Religious Youth Service
- Written by: RYS-UK
Luxembourg, UK – The Religious Youth Service (RYS) UK, Service for Peace (SFP) Luxembourg and A Taste of Our Culture based in the UK, planned and carried out this exciting one-day project on September 11, 2007 to launch the Global Peace Festival in the UK.
- Religious Youth Service
- Written by: RYS-Honduras
Colonia Nueva Suyapa, Honduras – RYS participants undertook a project including landscaping, construction, painting and furnishing of a new kitchen in a community center, as well as supervising free-time activities for the children of the community of Colonia Nueva Suyapa, in the suburbs of Tegucigalpa. The kitchen will be used by an education center for local children.
- Religious Youth Service
- Written by: Daniel Bessell, Religious Youth Service
Paramaribo, Suriname - Participants in a Religious Youth Service project in Suriname Aug. 18-30, 2007, immersed themselves in the Muslim and Christian communities as they cleaned and cared for animals at a zoo and did landscaping and made new friends at a home for the elderly.
- Religious Youth Service
- Written by: RYS-Sri Lanka
Ratnapura, Sri Lanka – RYS participants built a study hall and repaired and upgrade the existing play area of the local orphanage which houses 22 boys, all less than 12 years old.
- Religious Youth Service
- Written by: Daniel Bessell
RATNAPURA, SRI LANKA - A Religious Youth Service project in Ratnapura, Aug. 18-24, 2007, helped improve the lives of Tamil and Sinhalese children whose parents abandoned them or are in jail are sent by the government to the local orphanage.
- Religious Youth Service
- Written by: RYS-USA
Newark, New Jersey, USA – RYS partnered with numerous non-profit and government organizations to street/sidewalk clean up (Olivier Street area, Broad Street area, Avon Avenue area), filling over 50 trash bags, totaling over 2000 gallons of trash. Participants also completed three peace/diversity mosaics that were donated to the City of Newark.
- Religious Youth Service
- Written by: Daniel Bessell
Utrecht, The Netherlands - Young people from different cultures and faiths joined in Utrecht, The Netherlands, for an interfaith service project July 28-Aug 6, 2007 to create peace mosaics at a playground and at a center for handicapped people.
- Religious Youth Service
- Written by: RYS-Netherlands
Utrecht, The Netherlands – 20 young people from different cultures and faiths gathered for a 10-day project to create a peace mosaic at a playground in Kanaleneiland, a neighborhood with a bad reputation in Utrecht, and also at De Paraplu, a center for handicapped people.
- Religious Youth Service
- Written by: RYS-Australia
Sydney, Australia – RYS Global Management team member, Fazida Razak was invited with Sister Margaret Finlay and Sister Marie Theresa (both RYS alumni) to share at a conference attended by approximately 300 people from various ecumenical backgrounds and all walks of life including students, missionaries and NGOs.
- Religious Youth Service
- Written by: RYS-Guatemala
Guatemala – Seventy-three representatives from various volunteer and service organizations, gathered together with Guatemalan academics and two speakers from the United States in the Embassy for Peace of Guatemala on April 30th, 2007. The 3½-hour conference, structured in Panel-Forum style was sponsored by Guatemala Pro Peace Association (APPG), Religious Youth Service (RYS), and Service for Peace (SFP).
- Religious Youth Service
- Written by: RYS - India
Chennai, India - Religious Youth Service organized an interreligious program for young people and professors from Loyola College in Chennai on April 14, 2007 to inspire them to take up the challenge of bringing together youth across communal and racial barriers.