World youth international

World Youth International (WYI), formally founded in Australia in 1993, is a not for profit, non-religious & non-political volunteer organisation that provides opportunity for exchange and volunteer placement in their overseas community development projects, to encourage personal development as well as contribution to the global community. Today, World Youth International operates in six countries, and has placed more than 3500 Australian volunteers in their community projects in Nepal, Peru and Kenya.

History

World Youth International is a legacy of Robert Hoey, a young man who had a dream to create opportunities to provide young Australians with an opportunity to become involved in a program offering support and the opportunity to travel overseas.

The World Youth Foundation was hence created in 1988 as a support group for teenagers whose needs were not being met at the time. The organization provided an environment as a form of weekly meetings for teenagers from local schools around Melbourne, Australia where they could meet, learn new skills and develop more direction in their lives. What began as weekly group meetings turned into a cross nation network between Australia and New Zealand, and its dedicated members raised over $24,000 during a fundraising bike ride between Melbourne and Sydney to bring 15 Russian students to Australia on exchange for three months. After the success of this exchange, the organization took the next steps into bringing Australian and New Zealand students to Russia on a nine-week program.

From such projects Robert felt sure that the participating young people would gain numerous skills and knowledge not easily developed elsewhere. And this was the beginning of the World Youth International overseas programs.

Robert Hoey led WYI up until his untimely death in February 1996 after becoming seriously ill. His legacy has since lived on in every WYI vision and projects.

WYI was officially registered as a not for profit organization in 1993 and its second year saw its expansion into four countries of operation: Kenya, China, Nepal, Peru and the U.S.A. In 1998, World Youth had expanded into a large successful organization, with programs running in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, France, Germany, China, Kenya, Nepal, Russia, Indonesia and the U.S.A, as well as operating domestically in Australia into areas including Indigenous education events, school leadership programs, community and environmental projects, programs for disadvantaged youth and many more. 2007 saw yet another breakthrough of the operations, with overseas programs expanding to Cambodia, Uganda and Laos.

Mission Statement

"WYI is committed to:" Creating innovative and exciting opportunities for people to live life passionately and contribute to the global community.Enhancing quality of life, strengthening communities and reducing poverty through sustainable development projects.

Organizational Structure

WYI is governed by seven directors who are responsible for the overall running of the organization, and operates predominately through its head office in Adelaide, Australia. World Youth Nepal and World Youth Kenya are two international partnerships established as non-government organizations and works with their Australian headquarters creating sustainable community development projects. In all other countries of operation, an in-country local coordinator is a contact point for local communities as well as a support for participants placed on the projects.

The current CEO of World Youth International is Rob Kalka.

Funding

WYI receive majority of their funds through private sources, including donation and gifts from individuals, child sponsorship, fundraising events, overseas program activities, contributions and education fund. A small amount comes from investment income. They do not currently receive grants from any Australian or overseas sources.

All money raised or donated goes into the Overseas Development and Relief Fund and is evenly and fairly distributed to the required areas or people.

According to WYI 2007 Financial Report, approximately 85% of fund expenses were spent on projects and programs supporting community development, 0.7% on fundraising activities and 14% on commercial and administration activities.

Activities

World Youth International recognises that poverty and limited access to education, adequate housing, employment, food, health services, and personal and professional development opportunities can be found everywhere - not just in developing countries.

WYI offers people over the age of 18 the opportunity to volunteer overseas in a meaningful way. We offer a range of programs and placements to countries including Kenya, Uganda, Nepal, Cambodia, Laos and Peru.

WYI builds community development projects and has proudly opened the WYI community school in Nepal which currently has close to 400 students. In addition, WYI has established three magnificent children's homes in both Nepal and Kenya.

Overseas Action Program

The "Overseas Action Program" is one of WYI’s major activities, designed for people aged 18-30 years and consists of a combination of community service projects, cross-cultural experiences and adventure activities. These activities give young participants an opportunity to part-take in some of WYI community building projects overseas, including teaching at the WYI school in Nepal and Kenya as well as assisting with building work in remote areas of Peru; at the same time, a chance to learn and live in another culture, for an experience of a lifetime. WYI encourages communication and workmanship between the participants and the local community to ensure the sustainability of the projects, and are planned and managed as per the requirements of the local population. This program currently operates in Kenya, Nepal, Peru, Laos and Cambodia.

Overseas Services Project

Another form of overseas volunteer placement is the "Overseas Services Project", implemented for people aged 20 years and above with the option for participants to teach conversational English at a local school, working in a health clinic in an hands on role or working at a local orphanage assisting with daily duties. These projects are set up for people who wish to independently work in WYI operated countries. This program currently operates in Kenya, Nepal, Peru and Uganda.

Australian Indigenous Programs

WYI also operate volunteer programs in Australia. The "Australian Indigenous Programs" are currently in preliminary stages of development with World Youth International currently hosting ongoing discussions with Indigenous communities and other community organizations working in indigenous Australia. World Youth International is working towards the establishment of a 6 week group 'action program' for young Australians that will be based near Alice Springs providing opportunities to work on various community development projects in indigenous communities within the broader region. Projects will encompass key areas such as youth development, health, community infrastructure and income generation. The 'action program' would be similar in structure to our Overseas Action Program that is currently operated in our overseas destinations.

Professional Development programs

Apart from volunteer exchange and placements, WYI is also involved in a series of "Professional Development programs for Nepalese School Principles and Teachers". These programs are designed in Australia by a team of education consultants based on a needs assessment undertaken by our overseas coordinators in Nepal. These professional development seminars have been designed to enhance the learning achievements of students through teacher skill development. The inaugural program was conducted in Chitwan, Nepal in February 1998 and was attended by fifty school principals. A similar program was conducted in Kathmandu and attended by twenty school principals and teachers.

Child Sponsorship

"Child sponsorship" is an area slowly maturing in WYI’s spectrum of activities. Operating in Nepal and Kenya where WYI has established schools for the local children, the child being sponsored receives a three year scholarship to attend the school to further his/her education. The child's performance and commitment is then assessed by the school management committee. If it is satisfactory, a further three year scholarship is provided. Through its child sponsorship program, WYI hopes to provide the valuable gift of education to children in remote areas of the world.

Future Activities

WYI continues to expand its operations and have set goals for the future to establish WYI offices in Sydney, Brisbane and New Zealand; incorporate a profit making sector of WYI that can support our office growth and provide additional funding for our overseas projects; establish a training centre and outdoor skills complex in South Australia; introduce six new country destinations for the overseas programs; enroll corporate sponsors to fund the growth of our offices; become recognized by AusAID as a fully accredited organization, therefore receiving full funding from the Australian Government and build a babies home next to the project in Nyamasaria, Kenya.

World Youth International Achievements

WYI has established:
# The World Youth International School in Nepal - Opened in September 1999, and the school now has in excess of 400 students. It was Australia's first Primary/High School to be built in Nepal.
# The Sapana Dreaming Childrens Home in Nepal - Opened September 2001, the orphanage has a capacity to care for more than 50 children.
# The Owiti Childrens Home in Kenya - Opened September 2004, the orphanage currently has a capacity to care for more than 50 children.
# The Rangi Care Centre in Kenya - Opened in 2005, this community project combines an orphanage and a medical centre with a range of income generating projects in order to create self sustainability.

Awards

* The Order of the Gorkha Dakshin Bahu: Ralph Hoey, 2004 - Ralph Hoey, Director of WYI was awarded the Order of Gorkha Dachhin Bahu Medal in Nepal during September 2004. Ralph has been recognized as the first ever Australian to receive this award and honour.
* Order of Australia: Ralph Hoey, 2006 - Ralph Hoey AM was presented with The Order of Australia in September 2006 for his outstanding global contributions through World Youth International.
* The South Australian Tall Poppy ‘Life Experiences Award’: Terry Hoey, 2007 - In 2003 Terry Hoey (CEO of World Youth International until December 2007) was announced the winner of the Tall Poppy Award, an award that recognizes excellence and innovation and is awarded to an individual for outstanding specific achievements who continually seeks out and adopts innovation and imaginative approaches, which creates and maintains intellectually challenging environments.

External links

* World Youth International web site: (http://www.worldyouth.org.au)
* Pedal Against Poverty web site: (http://www.everydayhero.com.au/event/pedal_against_poverty)

Other Articles

* "The Quiet Achievers From Adelaide's "World Youth International”" (http://www.abc.net.au/stateline/sa/content/2003/s1262749.htm), Rebecca Morse, "ABC Stateline", December 2004"The human face of aid – Australian volunteers make a difference" (http://www.ausaid.gov.au/publications/focus/0901/p4_5_focus_0901.pdf), "AusAID Focus magazine", September 2001"Handiwork spreads some cheers to Peru" (http://www.defence.gov.au/news/raafnews/editions/4706/features/feature02.htm), Andrew Stackpool, "Air Force News", April 2005