Through non-formal education programmes

190. We work with groups of young people in deprived areas and marginalised situations whose needs are not being addressed by formal education structures. With them and their local communities, and with government and non-government bodies, we study the situation to identify their felt needs and develop possible responses. Through our contacts with these groups, we ensure that our intervention is part of an integrated project of community development.

191. The programs in which we engage can be either long-term or short-term, for example, basic literacy, remedial classes, language skills for immigrants, personal development, health education, substance abuse, human relationships, pre-school care, workshops with social or cultural themes, community development skills, vocational skills training; artistic expression, and leadership training.

192. In such programmes, we educate for life. We seek to improve the well-being of individuals and to enhance the quality of life of the whole community. In and through such activities, we also make contact with the young people on the level of faith, and foster a strong practical sense of solidarity among them that reaches out to others.

193. Ministering in such settings demands that we be initiative-takers, hopeful, persevering in the face of setbacks, not expecting immediate results, and capable of interesting others in the value of our project. Often it means having to make do with few resources. We need to be good communicators, competent in what we undertake, and able to work with a group, even to lead it.

194. Knowing the challenges of working in small numbers, as can happen in such ministries, we endeavour to build a strong family spirit for our own support as well as for its formative influence on the young people we wish to serve. We make our own "the joys and the hopes, the griefs and anxieties" ¹³ of the young people and of their families. We may even choose to live among them, sharing their life in a more direct way, as a witness to our commitment to them. ¹⁴