Leadership program opens doors at city hall
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A program for diverse youth in Brandon aimed at empowering and retaining them through working with the city launched on Wednesday.
The Youth Rise Leadership Program created by Westman Immigrant Services will have eight young people shadow and work with multiple different City of Brandon departments.
“I’m really excited, and I feel this program is going to be incredible. Life-changing,” said Regina Carlos, one of the participants.
She said starting with a small program like this will help her for the future.
“I really want to reach out to other youths out there. If they want to change the world, they should start small,” she said. “This program will broaden my knowledge on how to start leading people. It will broaden how I feel, broaden how to enlighten people with my own story.”
Enver Naidoo of Westman Immigrant Services said the program will allow participants to more easily connect with their community, and build a future here in Brandon.
“It’s about action, not just ideas, and giving youth the space, support and encouragement to lead from where they are,” Naidoo said.
He said after he emigrated from South Africa, he was in a similar situation as the people in the program now.
“What helped me find my voice was getting involved, volunteering, connecting with others and being welcomed into spaces where I can contribute,” he said.
Once a week for the summer, participants will take part in different city departments, such as fire, parks and recreation, or sewer and water, and learn how the city functions.
After Wednesday’s presentation, participants were part of a mock city council, with a fake agenda and make-believe concerned residents bringing up made-up situations.
“They’ll be in (council chambers) today, going through that for about an hour, having deliberations and discussion and debate,” Brandon Mayor Jeff Fawcett said. “And then we’ll be talking about politics in the community and how we try to work together in the organizational structure of how things work, the role of mayor and council.”
He said the program is great for the youth involved.
“I think there’s a lot of upside. You build communities by building community,” Fawcett said.
One participant said this will help her and her fellow members in the long run.
“Looking ahead in the long term, the impact of this program is already appearing,” Rawh Khalafalla said during the presentation. “The knowledge we’re gaining is shaping us into capable, thoughtful and responsible leaders.
“By investing time understanding who we are and what truly matters to us, we are laying a strong foundation for both personal and professional growth.”
Naidoo said he hopes to grow the program in the future with more members, and potentially have it during the school year as well.
» alambert@brandonsun.com