Therezia, 15, lives in Marjeyoun, Lebanon. She has a supportive family, and they encouraged her to join a World Vision committee to empower her and enrich her character. In addition, the church in her area nominated her to join the Youth Committee for Child Protection. 

At first, Therezia was very shy. She struggled with expressing herself in front of others though she intended to participate and enjoyed being in the committee. She did commit to participating in all committee sessions, workshops and meetings to plan and implement activities. After a capacity assessment for the committee, a few topics for training and workshops were decided on. General life skills and communication skills were two topics tackled in the workshops that Therezia attended. She benefitted from these workshops and practices these skills in her everyday life.

Also, she has been active in planning and implementing initiatives for the ‘It Takes a World’ child protection campaign. Activities included educational stations at the Marjeyoun Marathon for two consecutive years, and a station at a Children’s Day celebration organised by World Vision.

Another activity she joined was organising and facilitating meaningful games for children and raising awareness on child protection. She continues to be an active and influential member in the committee and during community activities. She is also much more comfortable communicating her ideas and expressing herself, and she is aware of the role that she and her friends can play as responsible citizens to shape the future of their community.