FAMILY’S ROLE IN YOUTH EMPOWERMENT
In addition to empowering programs, in Kosovo, family impact and support is essential for an active youth. This is because in our culture, family’s role is still essential. And much more in families where patriarchal values still dominate. We have all been impacted by these values, new members of Kosovan families are encouraged from their families to always stay near the family and fathers.
Illustration: Argjira Kukaj
“People are social animals” says Aristotle in his book “Politics”. Since people are “social animals”, then their social circle has a big role in their development. The first group which a human faces is family.
In every period, especially that of transition into adolescence, for the first time the young person starts to plan their future and discover their place in society. He/she faces his/her peers, imagines to be stronger and more independent from others. He/she seeks to discover tricks and paths of life as an adult. He/she wants for his/her opinion to be important to others.
He/she sees himself/herself as a totally independent individual and asks from adults to not see them as a child anymore. During this transitional period, the young person faces a storm of ideas, emotions and dreams.
However, during this period young people also face different difficulties such as directing those ideas and using them for good and development, whether it be personal or collective development.
Being a young person, he/she often also faces lack of support and lack of embracing of his/her ideas from co-citizens and their close circle. This lack of support and embrace of their ideas can demoralize youth and can extinguish the revolutionary spirit they have. For this, in addition to offering empowerment programs for youth empowerment, the inclusion and support of the family as a primary supporter for a person. In this case for youth in general.
It is important that the family and circle encourage youth to take responsibility for their lives. They can do this by addressing their state and then to take action to improve their approach in sources and transform their awareness through beliefs, values and attitudes. By empowering young girls and boy’s we can improve the quality of their life.
So, in addition to empowering programs, in Kosovo, family impact and support is essential for an active youth. This is because in our culture, family’s role is still essential. And much more in families where patriarchal values still dominate. We have all been impacted by these values, new members of Kosovan families are encouraged from their families to always stay near the family and fathers. Even though staying near the family is considered a moral act in our culture, this nevertheless also affects youth’s dependence toward the family and in an indirect way in not allowing the individual to fully develop as an independent and active citizen in the community.
According to a survey conducted by the EU, most of the respondents consider lack of employment opportunity (60%) poverty (49.3%), nepotism and corruption (43%) as a main challenge toward their perspective in Kosovo. Almost all of the respondents confirmed that they take financial support from their parents (55%) and other family members (46%). This state causes Kosovan youth to lose hope for a future in Kosovo, and as a result almost 60% of the surveyed reported that it’s possible for them to consider leaving Kosovo in the next three years.
Therefore, family and its activity is the key factor in empowering and supporting young girls and boys to become the individuals they aspire to be, through offering support, guidance and preparing them for work life, motivating them to become independent of their families.
Abouth the author: Shend Blaku is a 16 years old boy from Podujeva who attends high school in “Mehmet Akif College”.
This activity is supported by Engagement for Equity Program – E4E, financed by United States Agency for International Development – USAID, and implemented by Advocacy Training and
Resource Center –ATRC.
