How a gang of young people is making a change for good in Shell Cove
A group of junior youth in the neighbourhood of Shell Cove, along the NSW coast, is injecting positive vibes into the neighbourhood and spearheading change through the local Junior Youth Spiritual Empowerment program (JYSEP).
The Shelly Gang meets weekly at the Shell Cove public school, starting off with sports and games, going through the JYSEP curriculum and thinking about how to best serve the needs of their community.
Their animator says the name Shelly Gang was derived from their home community and taking the word ‘Gang’, which typically has negative connotations, but which they have made to mean Growing A New Generation.
“We’re not just doing book work and learning how to be better people [and] how to serve others [and] why it’s important. We’re actually putting it in action,” he said.
“These young people here, they’re fully committed to making a change. And not only are they changing the community but while they do this they’re changing themselves and hopefully inspiring the generations after them as well.”
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Shellharbour
A seaside community south of Wollongong, New South Wales, the friends in Shellharbour are working to strengthen the Baha’i moral education process taking root in the locality, such as through the community-building activities unfolding in the neighbourhood of Shell Cove.
Published in November, 2024, in Community Stories > Community Building
Available online at: horizons.bahai.org.au/community-stories/how-a-gang-of-young-people-is-making-a-change-for-good-in-shell-cove/
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