Economic Empowerment for Recent SOS Graduate

“YouthCan! has taught me a lot of things,” says Monalisa of the global initiative that aims to tackle youth employability. “It has taught me soft skills, like how to do public speaking well, and they gave us tips and tricks on how to be more confident in front of a lot of people,” she explains.

Monalisa, 21, came to SOS Children’s Villages Indonesia in 2006. Currently in her final year of studying education at university, she plans to apply for a scholarship to do a Master’s degree and later become a lecturer. “I have a dream of being a lecturer outside of Indonesia, in Europe maybe, in a university. That’s my biggest dream,” she says.

While she has clear goals, she says a lack of confidence holds back other young people in Indonesia. “They don’t feel brave enough to take a risk, so they are just afraid to come to work, to reach for what they want,” she says. “You can say that they don’t really believe in themselves.”

After participating in YouthCan!, Monalisa is brimming with confidence about her own future. She says, “The most important thing that I’ve learned in YouthCan! is: don’t be afraid to reach for what you want, don’t forget to step forward, and be brave enough to take a risk.”

Main photo: Monalisa speaking at the YouthCan! Global Conference 2019 in Essen, Germany. Photographer: Leonora Barclay.

Learn more:

• YouthCan!
• Youth participation
• Our work in Indonesia