Fun Fact! Did you know that this Saturday, October 30 is National Service Day? It’s a day to recognize the importance of young people being actively involved in service to their communities. We thought this is a fun opportunity to recognize the ways that our students contribute to our community at The Freedom Story, and to their peers and local village members.

Celebrating Community Service

Community service is so important. Not only does it do good for the world around you, it also has benefits for your sense of connectedness to others, your social, organizational and leadership skills, physical and mental health, and sense of happiness! This can especially have an impact on youth who are struggling and can be a vital component of building their resilience. 

How Our Students Engage in Service

Our students have found many different ways to participate in and lead generous activities. Here are some of the things our scholarship students have done over the years:

• Developed, directed, and performed live skits at our resource centers and local schools to raise awareness about human trafficking and about child safety
• Created videos to share information about trafficking and online exploitation
• Planted 1,500 trees in a sustainable development project
• Helped deliver gifts in the local village at Christmastime
• Created art projects that raise awareness about trafficking
• Helped sew and share masks to protect against COVID
• Help keep our resource centers clean and tidy
• Develop performances for community events
• Older students help advise younger peers on education and other life skills
• Students share with each other about their own experiences receiving messages from predators to warn and support each other
• Students volunteer to help with outreach projects
• Youth leaders organized and ran a workshop for ethnic minority youth on sexual safety and relationships
• Help run “3-3-5” workshops on child safety at schools and other locations in local villages
• Spreading the word about the importance of counseling and encouraging peers to get help when needed

We believe it’s important to recognize that our students are not just passive recipients of aid, but they are also vibrant and engaged members of their communities who participate actively in trying to elevate the collective good. 

They have so much goodness to offer, and so many of them have stepped boldly into a variety of leadership roles as well. We are so grateful for their enthusiasm and believe this can play a strong role in spreading the message of prevention wider throughout the community as well as beyond to generations that follow!