Building skills in young people

USAID and Chevron have partnered together to improve the lives of youth through offering centers where they can engage in positive activities. The goal is to provide knowledge of healthy lifestyles to adolescents. The youth center gives young people access to free courses in the English language and computer literacy. They receive many enthusiastic calls from parents making sure that the courses are truly free.

You can see the personal growth of each student, not only in their improved English and computer skills, but also in their increased self-confidence and more responsible behavior. The project takes particular pride in the services provided to young people when parents give positive feedback. These are some of their comments:

"My daughter Enesha, has changed very much since she has spent time at the Ashgabat youth center. She is more focused and works hard to improve herself in all areas. She takes her homework more seriously and prepares well for all her classes. There was even a case when, not having time to do homework in the evening, she woke up at 5 am and took out her textbook. When I saw it, I automatically gave my gratitude to the Youth Center."

"David had been a quiet unsociable child. By chance, I learned from his friend that in Ashgabat there is a youth center where youth can attend English courses and computer literacy class for free. In the hope that my son will learn better life skills and communicate well with others, I suggested that he enroll in computer courses. In less than 2 months, my son has become more open and responsive. His attendance at the Youth Center even opened a talent in him for rapping. He is now comfortable with public speaking and has many friends. He is actively promoting the Ashgabat youth center, and motivating other youth using himself as an example. There should be more of such centers so that parents will stop worrying about their youth, knowing that their children spend their free time to benefit their own development."

"I am a single mother of a daughter. Like any mother, I wanted my daughter to develop to her fullest potential, but I have not had the opportunity to pay the fees for additional classes. It was incredibly joyful for us to learn that the Ashgabat youth center has free training courses for teenagers and that young people at the center are good kids. My daughter has the opportunity to learn to use the computer and English language. I would like to express my gratitude to the organizers of the center and the desire to expand the network of such centers for young people."