Manifesto for Life and Dialogue

Last Updated (Tuesday, 30 November 1999 08:00)

YMCA Colombia

The Young Men's Christian Association of Colombia, a movement of volunteer and global character, promoter of life, peace and solidarity, educator of individuals who live and feel citizenship, concerned about the future of our country; rejects all acts of abuse, mistreatment, and excess of force on the part of those who hold power and those who incite all acts of violence. We publicly express our support for the youth who have taken the streets to protest against injustice, by restating that:

Participation, as a constitutional principle, a fundamental right, a civic duty, and a fundamental aspect is the basis for the construction of citizenship, all of it committed to the development of an entire country.

Young people have been the promoters of great changes in the country through their artistic and cultural manifestations, which have changed the social dynamics of Colombia.

- The mobilizations that are currently being called by civil society in the midst of the pandemic are a reflection of generalized nonconformity, a product of social inequality.

- The social and economic crisis in which Colombia is going through has led citizens, mostly young people, to express their disagreement by taking action, and the duty of the state is to accompany said processes of social mobilization and guarantee its development.

- These protests are the response to their unfulfilled needs, youth unemployment, and lack of opportunities that have called for the development of peaceful manifests promoted in their territories.

- The acts of violence perpetrated by the different actors only lead to more violence, violence that for more than 50 years has traced a history of sadness and hatred in Colombian families.

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Grace is So Beautiful

Last Updated (Thursday, 27 May 2021 19:09)

‘Grace is So Beautiful’ Flower Festival

What do you get when ‘gratitude’, ‘fruits of the Spirit’ and ‘commitment’ are combined? You get a flower festival which glorifies God’s faithfulness.

‘Grace is So Beautiful’ is one of the YMCAHK’s fund-raising efforts to fulfill its commitment towards the Child Development Fund’s BOSS project, which matches students from underprivileged families with mentors, to walk alongside with them to achieve targeted savings, formulate personal development plans and realise dreams.

Inspired by this meaningful project, Ms Lily Yau, the YMCAHK’s flower arrangement instructor gave what God has endowed her with – a talent to create amazing flower arrangements. At the Festival, she created 10 captivating floral pieces; each titled after the 9 fruits of the Spirit and with the final piece named after the event ‘Grace is So Beautiful’.

The floral pieces, sponsored by 10 generous donors, were displayed at the YMCAHK’s atrium from May 7 to 9 to celebrate Mother’s Day. Fresh carnations and Ms Yau’s flower arrangement albums were sold at the event as well.

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Global Youth Summit

Last Updated (Tuesday, 30 November 1999 08:00)

GLOBAL YOUTH SUMMIT (GYS)

The Global Youth Summit was held virtually on April 22-23, 2021 led by 6 Big organizations: World YMCA, World YWCA, SCOUTS, WAGGGS, IFRC, DofE, together with the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Foundation (UN Foundation). The virtual event was a platform where youths can share their opinion freely and discuss the issues, learn and have more knowledge. It aims to convene young people from different parts of the world and discuss issues, concerns and solutions to take an active part in pandemic recovery. There were about 150 YMCA young leaders who joined the event via online platform JUNO and over 1000 live attendees – and thousands more were following live-streaming. From APAY five (5) young professionals attended the summit from: The Philippines ( Rogelyn D. Razon, Lester Dellosa), Mongolia (Tungalan Ganbaatar and Urangoo Khongorzul), Hong Kong ( Siu Ting Cheung) and rest of the members joined the live-streaming.

GYS also aims to hear and be inspired with the initiatives made by the young people from the local, national and global level. This event opened and gave workshops to enable young people to be an expert and educate others too and by engaging the youth to build networking possibilities.

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An Appeal To Support The People Of India Affected By The 2nd Wave Of Global Pandemic Of Covid-19

Last Updated (Thursday, 29 April 2021 19:37)

AN APPEAL TO SUPPORT THE PEOPLE OF INDIA AFFECTED BY THE 2ND WAVE OF GLOBAL PANDEMIC OF COVID-19

The 2nd wave of COVID-19 hit hard on the people of India, the sub-continent in South Asia of 1.3 billion people. It’s making headlines across the globe. While we write this appeal to you, the COVID- 19 surge reached 323,023 and deaths 2,271 as of April 26, 2021, according to the JHU CSSE COVID- 19 Data. These figures are only reported cases; hence it is believed the actual figures are much higher! Several staff members of YMCA India, in the National Office, branches, and local units have also tested COVID-19 positive. Indians named the 2nd wave as COVID-19 “Tsunami”. Experts have predicted the peak is yet to come, and the COVID-19 surge will reach 5,00,000 per day, and the total death toll of COVID-19 might reach 1,000,000.

As of now, only 1.7% population are fully vaccinated in the country. The government is promising to start vaccinating people 18 years and above from May 1. But the country is experiencing a shortage of vaccines, and it will take a long time to vaccinate a good percentage of people to break the chain of infection. There is also a shortage of medical equipment to save the lives of COVID patients, and the health care system of India cannot cope with the overwhelming cases.

Perhaps this is also a rare moment India is witnessing, people coming together from all walks of life with sympathy for humanity. Churches, CSOs, religious institutions of different faiths have come forward in assisting the sufferings in whatever way is possible.

The frontline workers, primary caregivers in all hospitals, are working hard and long hours are attending patients and finding ways to work with the failing health care systems. The emotional breakdown among medical personnel are common in the current crisis. We need to take care of the frontline workers who take care of the sick in the hospitals day and night.

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