Youth Ready helps a young man recover his mental health

Many people from all walks of life, and all ages, struggle in silence with mental health challenges. Sometimes that ends in the ultimate tragedy. This was the precipice on which Esteven, now 22, stood after a series of fateful events several years ago.

Raised in a family of five in Quito, Ecuador, Esteven displayed the kind of self-centredness that could get a child into trouble—which it did. Egotistical and full of pride, he recalls attending catechism at school one day when, during a moment working alone, he broke his arm and was incapacitated for days. But as is so often the case, that overconfidence hid a darker emotion he first discovered when he dropped out of school as a teenager.

“I had many stages of depression,” Esteven recalls. “I felt completely alone, and when I lost high school for the first time, I entered a serious and lasting depression. At that stage, I experienced many things in my life: I had suicide attempts that were a little hidden, like accidents, because I couldn’t find reasons to continue living.”

Esteven stepped back from the edge when he returned to school and learned about World Vision’s Youth Ready program. Youth Ready is the curriculum for the Vision for Vulnerable Youth Initiative, a program that focuses on increasing the social agency and economic development of teens and young adults in Central and South America. Taking a holistic approach, Youth Ready brings social, emotional and values-based learning together with life-skills and literacy training.

It’s made an emotional difference in Esteven’s life.

“The truth is that the experience that I am taking from this project has been wonderful,” he says, “since I have been able to learn many more skills that I can carry out in my life that I did not have before. Such as learning to relate to other people, learning to have assertive communication, and having control of my emotions to heal those wounds that were still present in my mind and my heart.”

And it’s made a practical difference as well.

Education has new meaning for Esteven. He plans to study to become a language and literature teacher with the goal of using his skills to positively influence others. On National Child and Youth Mental Health Day (May 7), his journey to self-discovery and emotional balance couldn’t ring more welcome.

Says Esteven, “Now I really feel very motivated and confident that I can better face the challenges of my life and grow even more as a person and professional. Thank you for the opportunities that give us light in the dark.”