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Opportunity Youth: Disenfranchised Young People

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Participation," this spectrum identifies eight types of youth participation ranging<br />

from tokenism and manipulation to engaging youth as partners. Adam Fletcher of<br />

the Freechild Project has identified a range of youth participation in social change<br />

through his "Cycle of Engagement". David Driskell, another UN-affiliated researcher,<br />

has identified several "steps" towards youth participation, while Daniel Ho-Sang has<br />

analyzed models according to a horizontal continuum.<br />

Indigenous American Communities' Way of Learning<br />

In some Indigenous communities of the Americas, children are seen as legitimate<br />

participants and have access to learn in order to make an important impact in<br />

their community. Their high involvement in family endeavors allow them to observe and<br />

experience skills they will need as community members. Children are able to learn<br />

because they have the chance to collaborate with everyone in the community. They<br />

also are eager to participate and take initiative to engage in family and community<br />

events<br />

At different ages, children are performing a variety of tasks in their community. In<br />

the Yucatec Mayan community of Mexico, regardless of age, every member can be<br />

seen participating in the daily endeavors of their family in some form. At the age of 18<br />

months, Mari is the youngest child in her family. Mari imitates her mother by using a leaf<br />

to scrub the stool like her mother. Mari’s mother pleasantly watcher her while she<br />

continues to clean the furniture. Although she is very young, her mother welcomes her<br />

eagerness to participate in the family’s daily endeavors.<br />

Indigenous children of San Pedro engage in activities like play, lessons, work and freestanding<br />

conversation, with family and community members of different ages. Children<br />

from the age of two to three year olds are integrated in activities with their elders. For<br />

example, Many two to three year olds do errands around the community and sell fruit or<br />

other goods. This gives children greater accessibility to the endeavors of their elders<br />

and greater chances to learn useful skills.<br />

Around three years old, Indigenous Mayan children from San Pedro, Guatemala are<br />

involved in mature-work such as farming, cooking, and caregiving. At this age they are<br />

observing what others are doing around them, but around five-years old they begin to<br />

directly help out such as running errands on their own. The Mayan children are able to<br />

learn by being highly involved in the adults’ work.<br />

In the community of Chillihuani in the high Peruvian Andes, at an early age, children<br />

around the age of four years old contribute to their family by running errands and<br />

helping take care of younger siblings. Four year old Victor contributes to his family by<br />

running errands and helping take care of his two younger sisters by bringing his<br />

mother's diapers, going outside to dust small blankets, and holding their bottles while<br />

his sisters are drinking milk. This allows children to observe, listen and learn so that<br />

they can be able to meaningfully contribute to these endeavors as they get older.<br />

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