A Youth Leadership Story
Part 2 of Our Story

“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” – Anne Frank

A Chance Meeting That Sparked Change

If you are lucky, you will meet someone who changes your life and brings new experiences that broaden your perspectives on the world.  For me, one of those people is Dr. Sonja Robinson, who has worked as the country director at International Samaritan for the last 3 years. International Samaritan Jamaica is a Christ-centred organization built on Catholic social teachings. Their mission is to work hand in hand with people who live and work in the garbage dumps of developing nations and help them break out of poverty.  International Samaritan provides holistic scholarships, allowing children to pursue their future careers instead of picking garbage.

Sonja and I met through a LinkedIn post about the 2024 NCDA conference. Through that connection, we decided to work together to run a Youth Leadership Program for her scholars. We started that program on Tuesday, February 11^th, 2025. Youth Leadership is a Toastmasters International program for youth aged 13–17-year-olds that focuses on teaching young people communication and leadership skills. We wrapped up this 8-week program up a month ago, and what an experience!

A Scholar-Centred Experience

What Sonja is doing for her scholars is truly amazing, and we were so fortunate to be able to partner with her. Her scholars were very engaged, and now many more are already wanting to join our next group in July 2025.

The quote at the top of this article is posted on Sonja’s Zoom square. “How wonderful it is that nobody needs to wait a single moment before starting to improve the world,” by Anne Frank.  I thought about this quote every week we worked together. It truly embodied our work on this project. Sonja lives and breathes the intention of this quote. Because of her work and her dedication, I believe her scholars are now empowered to also improve the world.

It Doesn’t Take Government Funding to Make Change

We often think that change requires big government spending. What I know is that change and planting the seeds of a better world just requires care, commitment and service. Service is one of the four values of Toastmasters International.

Gratitude to Our Team of Changemakers

We could not have run this program without the care, commitment and service of fellow Toastmasters Geetha Nicodemus and Christina Kruis, who dedicated 8 Tuesdays to help Sonja and me run the program. I am still in amazement that they would give up so much of their time to help us out. Toastmasters Mary Schoendorfer, Russ Dantu and Blake Palmer also helped with the program. We also could not have run this program without Tavian Jones from International Samaritan, who helped with the technology every week to make sure our hybrid meetings worked.

Scholars Who Grew Before Our Eyes

When people care, great things happen. Today, these scholars have new skills that will take them further along their own career journeys. They grew from people who were nervous and shy to speaking in front of the group. They took charge and competed to take on the lead roles in the meetings. Some were naturals, but the biggest surprises were scholars like Sarandi, who struggled at first but rose to the challenge of new roles and knocked it out of the park.

What the Scholars Taught Us

While we taught them many new skills on how to lead and communicate better, they taught us about resilience and adaptability. They taught us about commitment, coming after a full day at school by what can best be described as unreliable public transportation. Even if they were very late, they still showed up. They taught us about their world. They taught us about their concerns around poverty and helping make the world a better place. We showed them our camera views of snow on the ground, they showed us their view of the Riverton garbage dump across the street.

We All Have the Power to Make Change

It’s time. It’s time to stop thinking we are powerless to make change. We require governments to fund us. To save us. We have the power. We can empower our clients. It only takes care, commitment and service.

If you would like to learn more about the Youth Leadership Program, reach out to the district and Mary Schoendorfer.

If you would like to learn more about International Samaritan and the community where our scholars come from, check the link at the end of this article. International Samaritan Jamaica serves the Riverton Meadows neighbourhood next to the dump on the outskirts of Kingston. If you want to educate yourself about garbage dump communities and the Riverton City dump in Jamaica, click here.

Ann Nakaska, DTM