Impacting a Generation, Community, City and Nation: The Joshua Project Story so Far

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Xlibris Corporation, Sep 7, 2010 - Biography & Autobiography - 83 pages
Young life. Why do you carry guns and why do you carry the knife? Walking the streets now in your crew, getting stopped by boys in blue. Fighting and crime, thats all you see. Youre not even safe in your own community. Fighting in school got me kicked out, now Im on the streets dossing about. Getting in trouble and getting in strife finding some things to do with my life. Getting stopped and getting chased, oh my gosh now what a waste Walking on the streets I get pulled by a car. If you have a life like me you wont go far. Dave (15) Hope is rising within a generation I our community here in urban west Bradford. That hope shines out from the pages of this book. It is a hope that is giving young people the drive to achieve their dreams, to battle against circumstance so that they might impact their community, city and nation. The Joshua Project is a community organisation that is helping to welcome in this hope breakthrough by innovating inspirational reponses to the needs that young people in this area present. Dave (who wrote the rap above) has experienced that hope. Daves story is one of the many stories that is briefly spotlighted in this book, but there are many more. These stories have the power to turn your life upside down, they have the power to bring floods of tears to your eyes. Thats the health warning, now turn to the first page and enjoy.

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Contents

Foreword
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Copyright

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About the author (2010)

The Joshua Project was founded in 2007 by Rich Jones as he realised his desire to see change brought about in the lives of the young people in his community. Since then the project has grown and is reaching more and more young people as it continues to expand. Our vision is simple; we want to see our communities transformed and believe that the key to unlocking that transformation lies in the hands of a rising generation. As it stands, crime, drug and alcohol abuse, violence, dysfunctional family life crushes the hopes and aspirations that young people should have. We are positioned to invest into the lives of young people from a variety of backgrounds, however, we pride ourselves in our ability to engage with the 'hardest to reach' young people.We hold high the importance of community transformation driven by the community and the young people we serve. For that reason most of our staff and volunteers live in the community. The project is therefore not a 9-5 organisation, the commitment is 24/7. We are also directed by the needs young people present. We believe that this sets us apart from many other organisations that work with young people and allows us to work holistically in all aspects of a young persons life.The following 6 values are the base on which the project is building a sustainable, long term response to the needs of the young people in this area:Social interventionWe provide innovative, engaging, positive activities for young people in a safe environment.Engagement with educationWe seek to challenge the chaotic mind set that is common in young people who have struggled at school and become educationally disaffected.Faith and lifeWe provide opportunities for young people to engage in a safe small group setting to discuss and evaluate their attitudes towards life and faith issues.Advising the hardest to reachWe act as a resource for young people by providing advice and assistance and helping them to develop their skills, capacities and capabilities to enable them to participate in society as independent, mature and responsible individuals.Celebrating successWe affirm the positive, life-changing decisions that young people make whether they're related to faith, crime, substance abuse, anti-social behaviour or engagement with education.The ultimate goalWe long to see young people acting as ambassadors for change in a community that suffers from a level of social and economic deprivation.

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