|
The following news story is from www.ypnmagazine.com
Big interview: Look for the beauty within - Angela Sarkis, national secretary, YMCA England
Charlotte Goddard 01/11/06
In one hand Angela Sarkis holds a block of wood, in the other an elegant wooden bowl. "I was given these when I visited the West Kent YMCA last week. It runs a carpentry project to help young people develop skills they never knew they had," she explains.
"Creating something beautiful out of something basic - it`s a great metaphor for the work YMCA England does. The raw material, the lump of useless wood is how society stereotypes young people, but with tender loving care this beautiful, individual bowl is produced."
Sarkis joined YMCA England in August as the first female national secretary in the organisation`s 160-year history. Her background includes probation and policy.
Sarkis spends a lot of time visiting projects and talking to young people to get a grasp of the variety of what YMCA England has to offer. The organisation works in prisons and extended schools as well as providing accommodation. Projects include health and fitness programmes, informal education schemes, and parenting support and education.
"You have to be committed to tackling all the issues a young person has," says Sarkis. "We don`t want our 146-odd associations to be identical; they should be reflective of the locality they are in."
Within that diversity, however, Sarkis wants to develop more of a corporate identity for YMCA England, and make it easier for individual associations to share best practice. She also wants the organisation to have a louder voice in the development of policy. "I go to see projects thinking, `how can I strategically use this in policy discussions?`," she says.
YMCA England is already lobbying on housing benefits for 16- and 17-year-olds. It is also concerned about young offenders. "The debate is over whether we are trying to prevent reoffending or just punishing young people," says Sarkis. "I think the punishment is being locked away from society, and we should be reforming them so they see an opportunity of living a good life when they get out."
Growing up in Nottingham, Sarkis`s family and Christian faith were important supports. "One person I knew at school ended up with a life sentence for murder," she says. "I needed the support that I had to get through in a difficult environment. But others did not have that, so it was not a shock when they got into trouble, more a consequence of their environment."
When Sarkis joined YMCA England people asked her if she would be "making more of the C or less of the C", she says. "A quick answer is I will make more of the C. I am a Christian and I have always valued an inclusive faith environment. The YMCA says it is a Christian movement and demonstrates it through the work it does. Our projects are for young men and women of all or no faiths."
For the future, Sarkis wants YMCA England to look at where it could provide services that are currently lacking. One of the areas she is keen to focus on is disengaged young people from Black and minority ethnic communities.
"We don`t work with Black communities as much as we should," she says. "We don`t recognise that the Black churches are a huge force for good. Why are they not working in partnership with the traditional White church organisations?"
The same young people who gave Sarkis the wood also gave her a mirror they had made. She plans to hang it on her office wall. "It represents young people looking at themselves in a positive light," she says. "Many have low self-esteem. But as they create the mirror they have to look into it, and see what is good about themselves."
FYI
- Angela Sarkis lives in Harrow, in northwest London
- She was a non-executive director of the National Offenders Management Board from 2000-06, a member of the Social Exclusion Unit from 1993-96 and a BBC governor from 2002-05
- Before joining YMCA England she was an independent management consultant; she has also been chief executive of the Church Urban Fund, director of the Divert Trust and assistant director of the Intermediate Treatment Fund
- She was a probation officer from 1979 to 1989.
-------------
For more info on our projects
or for photos of Angela Sarkis meeting Residents in Ryder House and Trainees in the HORIZON Project please contact
Rob Marsh
Chief Executive West Kent YMCA
M 07941 388 852 rob.marsh@westkentymca.org.uk
F 08712 390 677 www.westkentymca.org.uk
Helping Young People Build Their Future
You can download the article or send it to a friend by clicking here..
http://www.ypnmagazine.com/news/index.cfm?fuseaction=full_news&ID=12125
 read more news
|
If you see an item in our shop you are interested in please add it to your basket, then enter as much detail as possible in the form at the checkout. We require a 10% deposit by credit card to confirm your order. A member of staff will then contact you to talk through your exact requirements with you. You will also be told an approximate delivery date for your order.