Ryan Hoppie

I am passionate about

Being. I believe there are two paths to development; knowledge and being. Knowledge coupled with being is dynamic. Youth development- my interaction with youth in Guyana and around the region focuses on empowerment and going one step beyond. I am passionate about helping teenagers and young adults come alive, I am passionate about them living again. I am also passionate about an interconnected world, a world where people appreciate cultures different to theirs and spend time developing global responses to issues that affect civilization. I have seen this work with collaborations with friends in Pakistan, Turkey, the United States of America and the Caribbean and Latin American regions. We communicate and we share best practices and we see results that we would not have seen had our world not been inclusive. I am passionate about music, the universal language is one that I embrace and with my talent of singing, I am able to reach youth who really are not concerned about anything else other than entertainment. Edutainment reaches them.

Actions
My life since an early teen was spent volunteering for youth causes, helping youth to understand that they matter, that they are worth more than the think they are. Having generated the idea of providing stationery to children in indigenous communities, I have worked along with several peers in the Global Shapers Georgetown Hub to distribute over 500 pounds of supplies to more than 400 children in Mabaruma and Fair View. As the head of Come Alive Network I have the privilege of work with over 50 youth volunteers in my organisation. I coordinate a team effort where we provide monthly capacity building sessions for youths who are from different social constructs. Some areas that we facilitate discussions and actions in are: democracy, sexual and reproductive health, leadership, influential speaking, career guidance, voluntarism and other critical areas that they deem important to their lives. We have also adopted the Sophia Care Centre which is a live-in centre in one of Guyana's underdeveloped communities. We conduct counselling sessions, sporting lessons, hygiene discussions and life talks with approximately 100 children and teens.We also provide their annual holiday party and provide clothing, food stuff and other personal items several times throughout the year. We have seen changes in their behaviours and more of these teenagers are having a plan for their lives and