Religious Youth Service
First Religious Youth Service Project Held in Albania
Tirana, Albania - Young people from six nations took part in the first Religious Youth Service project in Tirana, Albania, Aug. 20-26, 2012, where they planted trees and learned world religions from religious leaders and scholars.
Religious Youth Service Project Renovates Sites in Pilistvere, Estonia
Twenty-eight youth from 13 nations assembled in Pilistvere, Estonia, Aug. 13-22, 2012, where they renovated a monument to the victims of communist repression and made improvements at the Lutheran church's summer café.
Religious Youth Service Gives Jamaica School a Facelift
Portland Parish, Jamaica - Youth from six nations assembled on Aug. 3, 2012 for a 13-day Religious Youth Service project on Jamaica's northeast coast, where they cleaned classrooms, repaired a fence and did landscaping at an elementary school.
Religious Youth Service Helps Children and the Elderly in St. Lucia
Castries, St. Lucia - A St. Lucia youth leader who hosted young Americans at a service-learning project in his district last December helped organize a Religious Youth Service project Aug. 2-13, 2012, that included times of hard work, sacrifice, fun, adventures, learning and loving.
Religious Youth Service Project Helps Elderly in Ialoveni, Moldova
Ialoveni, Moldova - Fourteen people from four nations assembled on August 5, 2012 in Ialoveni for a week-long Religious Youth Service project working at a geriatric center, joining in interactive learning experiences, visiting places of worship and enjoying the beauty of nature.
Religious Youth Service Volunteers Clean up after Flooding in Krymsk, Russia
Krymsk, Russia - After devastating floods in early July 2012, a Religious Youth Service team of ten people from various parts of Russia arrived in Krymsk on July 19 and spent seven days cleaning out rubbish, erecting tents to shelter the homeless and organizing donations that poured in from throughout the nation.
Becoming Peacebuilders through Religious Youth Service in Georgia
Zugdidi, Georgia - Youth from eight nations arrived in Zugdidi in western Georgia on July 21, 2012, to spend ten days living and working as an interfaith and international community and gain insights into the culture, life, and faith of the people of this nation in the South Caucasus.
About the Religious Youth Service
The Religious Youth Service is a nonprofit organization founded in 1986 to give opportunities to young religious people to live and work together as a community. The RYS has done projects in North America and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania.
Religious Youth Service Project in Chitlang, Nepal
Kathmandu, Nepal - Religious Youth Service-Nepal organized a service-learning project June 2-9 in the village of Chitlang to build a library at the secondary school and renovate the community drinking water system. Read the detailed report by P. Venugopal, a participant from Malaysia.
Facing the RYS Challenges in Chitlang, Nepal
Chitlang, Nepal - Thirty-six participants and four staff members set out by bus on June 2 from Nepal's capital, Kathmandu, to the village of Chitlang, where we would spend seven days together serving a school and local community. It was an interesting, valuable, and educational experience; we will never forget how we survived with limited resources, good lectures, and leadership training.
A Decade of Religious Youth Service Builds Bonds Among Nepali Youth
Since 2002, Religious Youth Service has been organizing service-learning programs to build understanding, respect and cooperation among youth of Nepal's Hindu, Buddhist and Muslim communities. Here is a sampling of reports of projects through 2012.
Religious Youth Service Projects
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 Project to Aid Jamaica Schools
Portland Parish, Jamaica - Religious Youth Service-Jamaica is inviting applicants for a service-learning experience from August 3 to 16 to help make improvements at three schools on Jamaica's northeast coast and experience the vibrant culture of this Caribbean island nation celebrating its 50th anniversary of independence under the motto "Out of Many, One People."
Religious Youth Service Project to Take Place in Moldova
Ialoveni, Moldova - UPF-Moldova is organizing a Religious Youth Service project from July 21 to 29 that will include cleaning and repairing a senior citizens center in the Ialoveni region and creating a video promoting interfaith understanding and cooperation.
Religious Youth Service Project to Take Place in Georgia
Samegrelo, Georgia - Building on the success of last July's Religious Youth Service project at an orphanage in Zugdidi, UPF-Georgia is organizing a project in that region of western Georgia from July 21 to 30.
Decades of Religious Youth Service Build Bonds Among Thai Youth
Since 1989, Religious Youth Service has been organizing interfaith service-learning projects for youth in various parts of Thailand. Here is a sampling of reports of projects through 2012.
Buddhist, Muslim, and Christian Youth Serve a School in Northern Thailand
Baan Dadthongchareon, Thailand - A Religious Youth Project in an agricultural community in northern Thailand from March 15 to 19 promoted understanding, friendship, and harmony among participants. The 70 Buddhist, Muslim, Christian, and Catholic youth worked together to improve a children's playground, build vegetable and fruit gardens, repair the road inside the school compound, and build a water drainage system.
St. Petersburg House of Writers Hosts Religious Youth Service Project
St. Petersburg, Russia - People from Russia, Estonia and Latvia assembled iat the House of Writers near St. Petersburg for a Religious Youth Service project Jan. 24-27, 2012, helping clean the building and visiting religious sites in the area.
Decades of Religious Youth Service Build Bonds Among Sri Lankan Youth
Since 1992, Religious Youth Service has been offering Sri Lankans a model of how ethnic, religious, and even political differences can be bridged during the 1983-2009 civil war and its aftermath. Here is a sampling of reports through 2011.
Religious Youth Service Builds Roof at School in Lumbini, Nepal
Lumbini, Nepal - The Universal Peace Federation opened its service project at a primary school in Lumbini, the birthplace of the Buddha, on December 1, the same day the government of Nepal launched a campaign to promote tourism and development of its key Buddhist shrines.