[Source: Fiji Government/Facebook]

The Ministry of Women, Children, and Social Protection emphasizes the importance of supporting youth, especially during school holidays, to engage in constructive activities and develop essential skills.

Assistant Minister Sashi Kiran acknowledges the challenges faced by youth in today’s society, including competing priorities for parents, a lack of support structures, and exposure to various influences such as peer pressure and readily available drugs.

Kiran discusses the impact of these challenges, including anxiety, violence in schools, and substance abuse, highlighting the need for interventions to support youth development.

She emphasizes the importance of values and character building in guiding youth towards making positive decisions and navigating challenges.

“We’ve heard about nervousness, violence in schools, generally a lot of insecurities, whether we go through anxiety or we become a bully, it’s because we are insecure inside and we need to, you know, engage in different things to feel powerful. When we are anxious, it’s been very easy while people are trying to find their identity, they get influenced by their peers and in our country right now a big issue is that of drugs readily available and many of our children are able to reach that and over time are able to mess up their lives, they do not have help and they do not realize what they are doing.”

Reflecting on societal issues such as neglect of the elderly and mental health challenges, Kiran stresses the importance of empathy and values in building a strong and supportive community.

[Source: Fiji Government/Facebook]

Kiran expresses gratitude for initiatives like the Mind Development Program, which focuses on character development and empowers youth to make positive choices.

She encourages youth to engage in such programs and emphasizes the role of peer support in promoting values and mental resilience.

The Assistant Minister commends the efforts of organizations like the International Youth Fellowship (IYF) in supporting youth development and expresses hope for the continued growth of programs aimed at building character and resilience among Fiji’s youth.