Week 6 - Shortened Week

This week was a shortened week because of the fourth of July. It was my first time celebrating this holiday, normally back home we celebrate July 1st. Despite it being a shorter week, I was able to learn a lot! Once again, I was fortunate enough to meet with some individuals from USIP. My conversations opened my eyes to many useful career habits. They encouraged me to allocate some time towards outlining long term goals and then intentionally seeking opportunities that would align with my aspirations, values and passions. It is always a pleasure to be encouraged to pause and reflect as often times life gets busy and time seems to sneakily slip away.     

As I continued my research this week I examined reasons for which individuals step away from the gang lifestyle and step into a more peaceful way of life. The four most common reasons include irregular informal activity, regular informal employment, formal employment and political activism. Since being a part of a gang is seen as a form of employment when individuals are able to get work here and there, or potentially more stable work, the need for stability through gang membership diminishes. Fun fact, some view prior gang membership a bonus because they are aware of how things work in specific regions. Further with a lot of the youth being involved in political activism, there is a larger awareness of the dangers of gang violence which helps prevent people from even considering gang membership as an option. Once again my research persuaded me that education is the best solution. Youth being involved in political activism means that they are being educated. With more and more people being aware of the harmful lifestyle that is gang life, more and more people can, from an early age, actively work towards adopting a different way of life and being the change they want to see.