Youth Challenge Australia

Youth Challenge Australia (YCA) is a non-profit organisation founded in 1991 that sends young Australians on international community development projects in Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua, Guyana, Guatemala, Vanuatu, Mexico and India. Since 1994, YCA has also been involved in sending young people to remote, indigenous communities within Australia, such as Yuendumu, Ikuntji (Haasts Bluff), Kintore, Alice Springs and Yulara.

YCA's vision is focussed on contributing to an international community that celebrates its diversity, values sustainability and recognizes the powerful role of youth in society. Its mission is to engage and empower young people through collaborative and sustainable grassroots community initiatives, to create understanding and bring about positive change.

The projects YCA volunteers undertake are many and varied. The projects differ from country, to region, to community, and are always driven by the needs of the community. Generally speaking, the YCA project focus areas fall into these major categories:

Construction and infrastructure projects Building community halls, local primary schools and community aqueducts in partnership with the local community. Environmental conservation projects Clearing rainforest trails; maintaining national wildlife parks; documenting local flora and fauna; developing infrastructure to support local involvement in ecological tourism through information centres, trails and community restaurants.

Social development projects Preparing for and participating in community seminars for local youth, women or farmer groups; undertaking research with street children to assist in local advocacy programs; participating in preparation and activities with local farmers groups; organising tutoring for local disadvantaged youth. Specifically exploring issues with health and life skills, and promoting positive communication within a community.

Health related projects Facilitating community health seminars with local youth on HIV/AIDS and other health issues; disseminating information on diseases (e.g. malaria) and distributing appropriate health kits.

YCA's history stretches back to 1978, when HRH the Prince of Wales launched a 2-year, round-the-world youth expedition to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Sir Francis Drake's circumnavigation of the globe. More importantly, this was an attempt to address the lack of real challenge and opportunity facing large numbers of youth. Operation Drake involved 200 international youth in three-month programs centred on science, community service, and adventure in remote parts of the world. Operation Drake was an outstanding success, and this inspired the British organisers to launch a much larger and more ambitious successor program. In 1984 Operation Raleigh was launched, involving 4000 participants from over forty nations.

Past participants from Operation Drake organised Operation Raleigh Canada. These volunteers committed to selecting Canadian participants, forming a Board of Directors, and fundraising 50% of each participant’s cost. The Canada organisation also organised a Canadian Arctic Expedition in 1988, involving 25 youth from 15 nations.

Although Operation Raleigh concluded as planned in 1988, it once again surpassed expectations and ignited the energy and enthusiasm of hundreds of volunteers. It became clear that there was an abundance of interest in continuing an international program that could continue to provide young people with the benefits of the experience.

In 1989 past participants, volunteers and sponsors in Canada, Australia and Guyana took the initiative and Youth Challenge International was born. The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) endorsed YCI by providing $150,000 start-up capital and by partially funding YCI’s inaugural project in Guyana (1990). A group of Australian volunteers, alumni of Operation Raleigh, provided a huge boost to the success of this first program, sending 4 participants and several Group Leaders.

Upon their return to Australia in 1991, these early alumni - mostly students at University of Technology Sydney (UTS) as well as UTS Senior Lecturer, Mark Darby, a Group Leader in Guyana - set about to make this great opportunity available to other Australian youth. In 1992, with now dozens of alumni having participated on projects in Guyana as well as in Mexico, Youth Challenge Australia was founded.

In 1993 Australia completed its first of what was to be three consecutive Pacific projects in the Solomon Islands, with 16 Australians and 35 other participants from the Solomon's, Mexico and Canada.

Since 1991 over 1000 Australian participants have participated in Youth Challenge projects worldwide, and a staggering variety of projects in community development have been achieved through the participant's labours and fundraising monies.

The Youth Challenge International Alliance

Internationally, four independent, autonomous Youth Challenge organisations work together to deliver field programs involving common goals and methodologies. These autonomous organisations are each financially self-sufficient, deriving their income from local private & public sector donations, and from local volunteers participation fees. Although each of the Youth Challenge partners is independent, all members of the network recognise that their work and livelihood is fundamentally interdependent, requiring close consultation, co-operative decision-making and joint planning. The International Alliance Council, composed of the Executive Director and the Board Chairperson from each country, meets once a year.

Continuity, as well as local control, are essential elements of organisational and project sustainability. All YCA partner organisations are locally governed and staffed.