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A Visit to Karachi YMCA, Pakistan
Last Updated (Friday, 03 March 2023 16:29)
In early February, a visit to Karachi YMCA was made by Kohei Yamada, immediate past General Secretary, alongside Nam Boo Won, General Secretary of APAY, to take necessary follow-up actions on the Karachi High Court order made in February 2020. The court authorized and gave power to APAY to reinstate the Karachi YMCA.
A Brief History of the Karachi YMCA
The Karachi YMCA was founded in 1905 by the British Government in the centre of Karachi city with a vast ground for sports mainly for the Christian community. The YMCA then took a 100-year contract to run the sports activities and schools, especially for the Christian populations. The YMCA had run a secondary school, hostel, various sports programs and as a separate legal entity, Polytechnic Institute on the ground, and St. Mary Secondary School in poor communities.
From around 2005, the ground was taken over by commercial businesses, which deeply influenced the division of the board members. Since then, two groups of so-called “board of the YMCA” have fought for the ground ownership. In December 2018, the Karachi High court ordered the business groups to leave the YMCA ground, and it vacated in June 2019. The High Court then ordered APAY to take over the leadership for three years in 2020. Meanwhile, the ground is recovered by the Commissioner of Karachi.
Due to the Covid 19 pandemic, APAY could not come to Karachi for nearly 3 years. If the Supreme Court permits APAY to carry on its given task from 2023, it can plan to recover the YMCA activities in three years. A three-year plan was drafted by the APAY General Secretary Nam Boo Won and Kohei Yamada, former GS of APAY, after visiting Karachi in February 2023.
Current situations of the Karachi YMCA
The YMCA of Karachi is located in the middle of the City Center area with a huge land of 35,000 Square Yards (100mx300m wide), including a ground, school, various classrooms, Polytechnic Institute buildings and some housing for staff members. On this campus, there are YMCA Secondary School (K1 to G10) with 400 students and 40 staff members, a Polytechnic Institute of 200students in 7 kinds of technologies with 41 staff members, a Hostel of 50 rooms (family 8, 14 double and 28 single rooms), plus various sports activities. YMCA also has St. Mary Secondary School in a different location (in low-income communities) with 300 students and 22 staff members.
The above programs have continued during the last 20 years amid difficulties, but the lack of a proper governance structure has stopped many sports activities of the YMCA. APAY is expected to recover the governance structure in three years by the Supreme Court order.
Three Year Plan drafted (Summer 2023 – end of 2025)
In a series of discussions with the principles of the YMCA school (Mushtaq) and Polytechnic Institute (Ivan) and consulted legally by APAY-designated lawyer Ishrat Ghazali, Kohei and Nam have drafted a Three-Year Plan whose main points are as below:
- APAY will start hiring GS position as soon as the Supreme Court permits.
- APAY will form a Steering Committee as well as a Partners Support group.
- APAY will appoint various groups of teachers and staff members: 1) school teachers’ teams, 2) Polytech Construction team, and 3)Governance formation team (by Steering comm)
- A three-year financial plan is drafted, including using the Nazir-held fund by order of the High Court.
APAY will recruit a few senior staff members to Karachi to help the local movement in three years with the following plan of action:
- Renovation of the old building (originally made for hostel and staff members’ housing in 1905 and now being used as the Secondary School).
- Renovation of Hostel (in the 1980s, the YMCA of the USA helped build the hostel for a very successful income-generating project, but it was not used since 2005 due to security issues) needs to be renovated.
- Strengthening the current two existing schools and Polytech Institute.
- School Revitalization Plan started by teachers and staff team
Renovating the school building is an important issue which will be dealt with right after we get the order from the Supreme Court. To improve the quality of the education of the YMCA Secondary School, YMCA will utilize the existing facility and ground for the students during class hours as well as for extra-curricular activities. Meanwhile, the school teachers and staff will initiate the School Revitalization Plan by making different task teams of teachers and staff members by their initiatives.
Hostel Re-Construction Plan
We will construct the hostel, which has not been used for over 15 years. We need to fix it gradually in three years. As the Polytechnic Institute has professional instructors in construction and architecture, we will ask instructors and students to renovate the hostel gradually under the construction team of the Institute. We may need to hire some professionals in some specific areas, but mainly this is to renovate the YMCA Hostel by students themselves as a part of extracurricular activities. The rooftop could be filled with solar energy panels, and the renewal electricity could be shared with the hostel and schools. We would apply this fund for Y’s Men International Green Team.
Governance Review (Steering Committee with APAY)
During the period of APAY management for three years, the Steering Committee will be formed under the supervision of APAY. The Steering Committee needs to discuss the legal status of the Karachi YMCA, which has two legal entities with different constitutions. This is one important issue to be addressed for future YMCA development. A General Secretary to be appointed in due course will coordinate the four significant departments with six other management positions.
- Secretary of Administration (Accountant and tenant management)
- Polytechnic Institute Dept. Principal
- St. Mary Secondary School Dept. Principal
- YMCA Secondary School Dept. Principal
- (new) Sport Coordinator for school and outsiders ⇒not Executive position
- (new) Hostel Management Dept. Chief administrator from the third year
All these plans will be submitted to the upcoming APAY board meeting for review and approval for implementation.
By Kohei Yamada, former GS and Nam Boo Won, GS of APAY
ICF Welcomes 14 Participants for the School of Peace 2023 in Nepal
Last Updated (Friday, 03 March 2023 16:29)
“The School of Peace aims at building a community of youths who will be enabled to commit themselves to promote peace and harmony in their respective communities.”
After a week of zoom classes and self-learning, the Interfaith Cooperation Forum (ICF), together with its collaborator, the Nepal Unites, was happy to welcome the School of Peace (SoP) participants at Bhaktapur Guesthouse in Bhaktapur, Nepal on Monday the 30th of January. Fourteen participants from Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam arrived to spend the next 50 days together. The following day, the in-person SoP officially began with an Opening Ritual, including words of welcome from the owner of Bhaktapur Guesthouse, where the group will reside until the 25th of February. On the 25th the group will embark to experience a community immersion and move to the second venue at Ratna Giri Resort on March 1, where they will stay until the end of the in-person program on March 20th.
The participants learned about and discussed a range of different topics. In the beginning, the participants went through exercises in learning more about themselves, who are they, what they value, what makes them who they are, etc. This was done through the sharing of “Life Stories” that ICF Staff Baidido Saganding facilitated. It is important for the participants, as young peacebuilders, to know who they are and what they stand for before learning about others.
An important aspect of the SoP is the exploration of the major Asian religions and indigenous spirituality. Some religions and spiritualities were not familiar to some participants and they learned about these for the first time. Other religions or spiritualities were more familiar, especially to the participants who are adherents of such religions and spiritualities. But even then, their understanding of these religions was deepened. The different religions and spiritualities were covered either by in-house speakers like ICF Coordinator Muriel Orevillo-Montenegro on Judeo-Christian traditions or by visiting places of worship such as the White Monastery for a Dhamma talk. Beyond Judaism, Christianity, and Buddhism, the participants also got the chance to learn more about Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Baha’i Faith, and Indigenous Spiritualties.
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In addition to gaining knowledge about different religions and spiritualities, the SoP in Nepal already provided young peacebuilders with information on how to analyze a conflict and comprehend the peacebuilding frameworks from Galtung and Lederach. Furthermore, the SoP also focused on Human Rights, Children’s Rights, and Women’s Rights by exploring the UN Declarations and Conventions connected to these topics. A range of activities challenged the participants to recognize the situations in their countries and communities. Feminist theory and Ethics were introduced to provide the participants a lens for understanding the work for gender justice, the intersectionality of identities, including LGBTQI, and the connection of gender issues with the plunder of Mother Earth.
Another important issue that was discussed during the SoP was the Climate Crisis. Considering that all the participants come from countries that are highly affected by the consequences of climate change, this topic was much awaited by the participants.
SoP has four more weeks to go and there are many more topics to be covered and studied. ICF is looking forward to this upcoming time to spend learning together in Nepal.
Annika Denkmann
BftW Seconded Personnel
21st General Assembly Planning Committee Met in Chennai, India
Last Updated (Wednesday, 01 February 2023 15:48)
“Journeying Together as a Resilient Community: Transforming Lives through Vision 2030”
The in-person GA Planning Committee Meeting was held at the Hyatt Regency Chennai, India, from January 6-9, 2023. The YMCA Madras hosted the meeting. The following members of the GA Planning Committee attended in person:
| Mr. Babu Gomes, Bangladesh | Chairperson of the Planning Committee |
| Prof. Chen Chin Seng, Taiwan | President, APAY |
| Mr. Bertram Devadas, India | NGS, Host NCY of India |
| Mr. R.S Shettian | Treasurer of the NCY of India to the APC |
| Mr. Vincent George, | President, Host YMCA Madras |
| Mr. Asir Pandian, India | GS, Host Madras YMCA, Chennai |
| Mr. Peter Malone | Former vice president of APAY |
| Ms. Nguyen My Hanh, Vietnam | Executive director, Vietnam YMCA |
| Mr. Wang Yu En, Taiwan | Practitioner of Education, Nantou YMCA |
| Mr. Nam Boo Won, | General Secretary, APAY |
| Ms. Sunita Suna, | Executive Secretary, APAY& Related Secretary of the 21st GA |
| Ms. Cristina Miranda | Executive Secretary, APAY |
Justice J.B. Koshy (Retd.), President, NCY of India, joined on the 8th of January.
Stephanie Cheung, Chair of YPLD, joined Online briefly. Other members Ms. Nagako Okado, and Dr. Hahn Meerha, couldn’t attend the meeting.
The main Agenda of the GA Planning Committee were as follows:
- Develop the Road Map to the 21st General Assembly
- Design the content of the 5th Youth Assembly (YA) and 1st Gender Equity Forum (GEF)
- Planning of the 21st GA Program and Processes
- Visit the facilities for the GA, YA and GEF
- Budget
- Finalize the logo of the 21st GA
- Logistics and other relevant matters
The outcome of the GA in-person Planning Committee Meeting:
There will be 3 events:
I. 5th Youth Assembly from September 13-15, 2023 in the YMCA International Youth Centre, Chennai
II. 1st Gender Equity Forum from September 13-15, 2023 in the YWCA International Guest House, Chennai
III. 21st General Assembly of APAY from September 15-20, 2023 in the Hyatt Regency Hotel Chennai
The Executive Committee Meeting will be held on the 15th of September 2023 and the Council Meeting will be held of the 18th September 2023.
Total number of delegates, participants of the 21st GA
About 450 YMCA members, delegates including the local members from the host YMCA in India, YA participants and GEF participants.
21st GA Registration and Participation fees:
| Mandatory Registration Fee: | US$150 |
| Participation Fee: | US$250 (Register By 30 April 2023) US$280 (Register From 1 May to until the deadline of 31 July 2023) |
| Mandatory Green Fee: | US$15 |
Road Map to the 21st General Assembly
▸ January 2023 an official announcement on the 21st GA with registration details will be sent to the national movements
▸ 17th January: APAY Election timeline will be decided
▸ 14th April: An Online Executive Committee Meeting will be held
▸ March, May, August: Online GA Planning Committee meetings will take place
▸ 13-15 September Youth Assembly and Gender Equity Forum will be organized
▸ 15-20 September 21st General Assembly will be held
▸ 1 - 5 December: Leaders Quadrennial Roundtable will take place
5th Youth Assembly and the 1st Gender Equity Forum will be organized by the concerned staff of APAY and the respective committee members. A preliminary program was presented during the planning committee meeting. These two are parallel events, hence there will be a joint session of YA and the GEF. The YA will be hosted by the YMCA Madras. There was also decision to invite about men to the GEF and encourage the national movements to send both men and women to the forum. The participants of these two events will continue to join the 21st GA from September 15-20, 2023.
Thematic Workshops and Exposure Programs
Apart from the business sessions of the 21st GA, here will be 9 thematic workshops combined with the Exposure Program based on the 4 pillars of Vision 2030 and QPP(Quadrennial Program Plan of APAY). They are:
- Community Wellbeing
- Meaningful Work
- Sustainable Planet
- Just World
- DRM(Disaster Risk Management)
- Gender Justice
- Youth empowerment
- Justice and peace
- Good Governance.
Logo of the 21st GA
The logo is finalized and will be launched in January.
Visit to the facilities
The members visited the facilities at the Hyatt Regency, YMCA International Youth Centre and the YWCA International Guest House, where the 3 events are planned.
Fellowship with board members of YMCA Madras
At the end of the meeting, the YMCA Madras also hosted a fellowship gathering with dinner. The planning committee members had an opportunity to meet and interact with the board members of the YMCA Madras.
APAY is very much thankful to the NCY of India and especially to the YMCA Madras for their care and hospitality and for being a wonderful host of the in-person planning committee meeting. We look forward to the 21st GA in Chennai hosted by the NCY of India and YMCA Madras!
By Sunita Suna, Executive Secretary & Related Secretary of the 21st GA
#EarthHour2EarthDay Campaign (25 March - 22 April 2023)
Last Updated (Wednesday, 01 February 2023 12:22)
Beginning from 2023 the APAY will implement the Climate Defenders project to further enhance and consolidate the work and programs of Environment and Climate Change. The Climate Defenders project aims to combat climate change and contribute to the achievement of the SDGs through building knowledge and capacity of the organisation and its young people to stop global warming.
The APAY will launch the #EarthHour2EarthDay Campaign from 25 March - 22 April 2023. Please mark these dates in your calendar and plan to join us in this campaign.
Objective: The main objective of this campaign is to raise awareness on global warming and how we as individuals can commit and contribute towards averting this climate crisis through our small personal and creative acts of mitigation and adaptation on climate change.
Campaign description: A sustained 29-day Climate Action Challenge bridging two global events - beginning from Earth Hour which is observed on 25th March 2023 to Earth Day on 22nd April 2023. This campaign uploads online (FB; Instagram; Twitter; TicToc) a daily climate mitigation or adaptation activity (challenge) to be performed by participants. The campaign is amplified through postings by participants on their social media using hash tags: #EarthHour2EarthDay; #YMCA_ClimateDefenders ; #Change4Climate. These 29 daily creative challenges can spark small changes in their personal options towards a responsible low-carbon lifestyle. Our collective actions can make significant contributions towards the goal of capping global warming at 1.5C above the preindustrial levels.
GATN Climate Change Regional Conference 2022
Last Updated (Wednesday, 01 February 2023 11:58)
The Regional Conference on Climate Change was organized by APAY GATN on 12-16 December 2022, at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where participants from Thailand, Malaysia, Mongolia, Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia and Philippines gathered to discuss the pressing issues of climate change. The conference aims to strengthen awareness and skills of young people in YMCAs to implement solutions for climate change related issues and this year, the conference was hosted by Kuala Lumpur YMCA, Malaysia.
During the conference, each participant shared their countries’ current climate change impacts and YMCA actions towards the issue.
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Resource persons from various NGOs were invited to provide input on the current issues and trends in Climate Change, the Justice in climate change from the Asian perspective, the impact of Climate Change on women, children and other vulnerable sectors of the society, the threat of Climate Change to our food and water security, and Carbon and Water Footprints.
At the end of the conference, organizers provided an open space for the participants to share their viewpoints about the conference and their takeaways on the climate change related topic from speakers and participants. We also discussed APAY's roadmap to combat Climate Change.
Lastly, Delegates came up with ideas that we could implement together and committed to individual contributions towards Climate change. At the concluding of the conference, participants made personal commitments to actualize their contributions in their daily lifestyle.
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Our delegates were warmly welcomed by Kuala Lumpur YMCA. Apart from the warm welcome dinner hosted by the KL YMCA Board of Directors, participants were also introduced to the cultures of different ethnic communities in Malaysia through the “themed meals” for each day of the conference.
Many thanks to the Kuala Lumpur YMCA for their warm welcome and kind hospitality.
Photos above show the participants’ discussion on the topic and speaker’ sharing.
Submitted by:Urangoo Khongorzul, GATN Intern
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