Priest worried over rising youth problems

By ABIGAIL APINA
A CATHOLIC priest is concerned about the problems relating to youths in the country.
Brother Stephen Musya of Don Bosco in Rabaul said many people had raised the same concern but had not tried to find solutions to the associated problems.
Musya said he was not convinced that knowledge was enough to bring about change.
“Often what surprises me is the amount of information that they already have, for instance the basic facts about HIV/AIDS,” he said.
He said the government and the “mushrooming” non-governmental organisations had done their bit to change the behaviour of youths.
“Has not the resources spent on seminars paid dividend?” he said.
Musya said building character required knowledge, skills and motivation.
He said to become a football player, people needed to know about the positions in the field and the rules and skills on how to play the game.
These are perfected through constant practice.
Motivation then drives players to be at their best during the game, he said.
Musya was convinced it was the same with the character building of young people.
“Knowledge alone does not bring about change, though the depth of knowledge can influence attitudes,’’ he said.
“A mere wish that ‘I should not’ does not prevent them from doing it,” Musya said.
He said youths needed skills on how to combat the situation and the right motivation to do it.
Musya said it was easy for the government to disseminate information but to build skills and motivation, it was important to involve religious organisations and NGOs.