|
 MLDP
aimed to
create a generation of Mien youth
proud of their culture. The program achieved this
through encouraging youth to work towards preserving
and celebrating their ethnicity. The project also
worked towards re-establishing strong relationships
between youth and their parents.
Modernisation has meant that
relationships between parents and their children are
often strained. Poverty, drug use, the breakdown of
families and communities, and the loss of culture
and traditional values have been some of tragic
by-products of these changes. Mien people place an
emphasis on education. It is seen as a way out of
poverty and the key to earning a decent income.
Families often send their children to cities for
schooling, where they experience discrimination and
isolation. They become ashamed of their ethnicity.
As a result, many youth leave school and find
itinerant and low paying work as labourers. The
money they earn is often spent on drugs, alcohol and
sex.
Strategies
MLDP focused specifically on youth
who had left school prematurely. This ‘at-risk’
group was identified as being at higher risk for
involvement in drug and alcohol abuse, as well as
participating in unsafe sex practices. It was noted
throughout the course of the project that it was
difficult to keep this target group involved and
interested in activities.Because the project
attracted more interest in young men than young
women the staff decided to focus on sport and
leisure-based activities as a means of connecting
with the community. The activities included:
teaching music, homework tutoring, sports days, fish
raising, growing vegetables and raising drug
awareness through having the students create posters
and fliers about the effects of drug consumption.
Some of the most promising outcomes
of the project included:
1.
A slight decrease in drug and alcohol
consumption during the festival season;
2. Practical
skill acquisition in music, sport and agriculture
production;
3. A
sense of pride was developed among the participating
youth in their hilltribe culture. Feedback showed
participants appreciated being given the opportunity
to use their creativity in group and workshop
activities. There was a significant improvement in
the self-esteem of the participants and the
lifestyle choices they made after the project
finished. Participants said the development of
relationships and networks with their peers during
the project had been important in understanding the
issues facing Mien youth. |
