Generation Peace Serves: Takafumi Serving Trinidad

Hi! My name is Takafumi. This is my first year as a participant of Generation Peace Academy (GPA), a one-year volunteer program which inspires young people to be global citizens and to be the “change they wish to see in the world.”

Every year GPA has oversea service projects and I have been given the opportunity to serve the country of Trinidad! GPA has a standing track record of partnering with the Rose Foundation in Trinidad (5 projects there over the past 3 years). The Rose Foundation is very invested in developing Trinidad – not just economically but also morally by educating society on family values.

Other 2014 Projects

The country of Peru is hosting GPA for the 3rd consecutive year. The community in Peru is very excited to have GPA coming! GPA will be involved with several projects in 3 different cities. These range from building a roof on a home church in Lima, helping to build part of an orphanage in Arequipa, and painting classrooms in Puno. The service offered to the Peruvian communities makes a big difference to the locals and their warm and welcoming culture adds to a great experience for all parties involved.

Dominican Republic

Completing the Build of a Community Center for Villa Linda

GPA will be continuing work on the foundation of the community center in Villa Linda; the base of the community center was laid during the May 2013 Generation Peace Academy Project). This will consist of putting a roof on the building, painting the premises and clearing the grounds around the center. The completion of the community center build represents an essential place for the community to have educational programs, community meetings and other public events.

Santiago - rebuilding the Colegio de Unidad

Low cost education is important for low income families in the Dominican Republic. Running schools that provide low-cost education is a difficult task since school premises and their upkeep all need financial and time investment. GPA will be helping the Colegio de Unidad a school in Santiago, turning an empty lot into a playground. This work consists of breaking down a wall, leveling and cleaning out the lot and creating a mural on the wall. Furthermore, several educational classes are planned with the school kids, in which they can playfully exchange and connect with English native speakers.

Because Barbados has a more developed economy than a lot of the countries GPA is serving, the service in the country focuses on people – especially on creating hope within the youth. Youth unemployment and lack of perspectives is a great problem in most Caribbean countries. Lack of opportunities leads to a high level of youth drug abuse, teenage pregnancies and increase in crime in a country with a high percentage of broken families.

Some of the projects include giving a talk at a Juvenile Detention Center on the importance of a culture of service, doing a beautification project at a children’s hospital, and having a 2-day Youth Leadership Conference together with a very active local youth organization. The aim will be to connect with local youth and provide them with a different example of lifestyle and empowering them to see how they can positively impact society.

Panama is an interesting blend of developed and underdeveloped communities living right on top of each other. In Panama GPA will be working with an organization called Avenaca in the neighborhood of Casos Viejos in Panama City. GPA’s efforts go towards creating a recycling program for the community by going into restaurants and teaching them how to recycle. GPA will be collecting all the material at the end of the day and involved in gathering data on the material amount, feeding into a plan for long term recycling. These efforts will be making a long term change for that community. Urban gardening and working with children will be further parts of the service project in Panama.

So contribute today! Every donation counts!

To learn more, visit our site!! www.generationpeaceserves.org/