Mutharika meets International Youth Fellowship leader Pastor Ock Soo Park
Malawi will soon have a centre of excellence where the youth will be trained in globalised mindset and behavioral change and self-control through international exchanges and volunteer work.
This was revealed in Lilongwe when leader of the International Youth Fellowship-IYF Pastor Ock Soo Park of South Korea met President Arthur Peter Mutharika at Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe.
The centre will among other things empower the youth in leadership skills, training them in Christian values, and globalised mindset change through international exchange and volunteer work.
It will also train teachers and university lecturers on a comprehensive mindset change curriculum which can be used in schools; accommodate wayward young adults and train them on the need to change their behavior.
The centre which will be constructed next to the Kamuzu Youth Centre in Lilongwe will teach the youth Biblical principles on mindset change and help them to control their emotions and make better life choices.
Speaking at the meeting, President Mutharika said the establishment of the centre is a welcome development as his government has always insisted that most of the country’s problems stems from failure by people not to change their minds and accept change.
He said there is need for those with authority to nurture the youth to achieve the desired results of behavioral and mindset change so that they become reliable, empowered and self-reliant citizens of this nation.
“Young people are the human capital which must be harnessed, nurtured and empowered in order to build strong leaders of tomorrow. The youths must be the drivers of our national development agenda,” he said.
The Malawi leader said government welcomes the collaboration with the Christian organisation’s work in Malawi.
“My government is pleased with the work which you are already doing in Malawi by working with the youth. It is pleasing to hear that your organization has plans to establish a Centre of Excellence for Youth Development in Lilongwe. Government through the Ministry of Labour, Youth and Manpower Development will work with you in order to realize these noble objectives for the common good of our youth,” he assured.
In his response, Pr Ock Soo Park, who established the fellowship in 2001, said the group is already in the process of setting up a curriculum on mindset change which can be used at elementary, primary, secondary tertiary levels.
“This can then be incorporated in the education system to train a child Christian values from an early age,” he said.
IYF was established with the aim of assisting the youth across the world to be more responsible by instilling in them Christian values through exchange programmes and volunteerism.
Its motto is “to resolve youth issues and cultivate youth leaders.”