Several times I have mentioned IMPACT clubs. They are a major part of what I do. If I'm not in meetings or writing emails about the overall program structure or trying to figure out funding with other people, then I'm thinking about what we can do to strengthen our program here in Nicaragua, or I'm heading off to my club on Monday nights and trying to plan for what we'll talk about. What
is IMPACT, you ask? Well, to make a long story short it is a program that was birthed in Romania and has made its way to Latin America with a focus on experiential learning through games and stories, and an emphasis on community service-learning projects for youth from 8-25 years old. Generally a club is 10-20 youth within the same 6 year age range. They meet weekly, bi-weekly or monthly, and they are a place for children and young people to be heard.
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| IMPACT clubs are a place for kids to learn but also for them to speak |
Exactly a year ago, we received two wonderful young women from Romania to train a group of 30 people (some foreigners, the majority Nicaraguans) how to be mentors for IMPACT clubs. They taught us about the methodology of the clubs, the reasons the program was founded in Romania, how to play the games and engage the youth in reflecting about the games and themes in each lesson. It was a very full week, but we learned enough to get started. Nearly all of the communities involved in the Nehemiah Center's community development program started an IMPACT club. Some of the trained leaders started clubs in their churches or their own neighborhoods as well. To date, we have 6 clubs in Nicaragua.
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| Receiving IMPACT training last March |
However, a year is a long time. And after Christmas break (some even before Christmas) the clubs have been faltering. Youth don't want to come anymore. Leaders are finding it difficult to put together their own lessons. We have lost our way a bit.
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| My IMPACT club from Nuevo Horizonte neighborhood at the end of August. Only one guy and the leaders are still coming every week |
So I went to Honduras to see their program. You see, Romania's program arrived on Honduran soil about 6 years ago, and IMPACT has really taken off there. They have contextualized it and tweaked it and built a whole extensive program around it, but they still have clubs. In Honduras they focus exclusively on children from 10-15 years old at extreme risk for poverty, gangs, drugs, etc.
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| Acting out the story of the Good Samaritan from Luke 10 |
These clubs meet in community centers, in schools or churches, or even in the street. They pray, talk about the week, play a game, listen to a story, learn about a theme, hear a related Bible story, make a commitment to do something in the following week, and then have half an hour of time to play sports - usually soccer. They also get a snack somewhere at the end of the lesson.
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| Playing soccer at the end of the lesson - this club has the perk of being held in a recreation center |
For me as an IMPACT mentor, it was great to see other leaders doing a lesson and also to see that just because kids don't seem focused or quiet or interested does not mean that they are not getting something. The most encouraging part of the visit was to know that I am not alone in my struggles with this program, and there are other people who have gone through similar experiences. Talking with other mentors renewed my determination to stick with this program, and they gave me good ideas for ways to engage the youth more.
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| One of the IMPACT mentors I met was giving the lesson |
As a coordinator for the program, I also come away with next steps and areas to focus on. Hopefully in the future our program in Nicaragua can figure out how to blend the two approaches to IMPACT clubs together. There are all sorts of possibilities for the future. I'm just praying that the Lord will give me wisdom in how to guide the process forward, whom to include in the conversations, and His vision for the youth that we work with in the IMPACT clubs.
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| An IMPACT club in Honduras where the kids said their favorite part is learning about values |
