Twenty teenage girls had the opportunity to learn about their value system for life with the support of their foster family through a program initiated by the women’s division of Global Peace Foundation (GPF) called, “Building Values in the Foster Home” in Paulina Luisi and Inmaculada Concepción Foster Home in Montevideo, Uruguay.
Girls in Uruguay foster homes show support for the “Peace Begins in the Home” international campaign
The program spanned from May to July 2017, including girls from difficult family backgrounds without a foundation in family values. Global Peace Women (GPW) instituted the program to teach the girls to view the world as their extended family through building familial and ethical values amongst themselves. The curriculum consisted of:
- Based on Universal Moral and Ethical Values (May)
- Leadership (June)
- Cooperation (June – July)
- Construction and deconstruction of beneficial proposals for our society (July).
Girls have group discussions on values and leadership
Each session had a lesson on societal, family, and leadership values and had the girls divided in groups to participate in an activity together to better understand the lesson. From this program, the girls learned to view themselves as social leaders and take responsibility as family members in their foster home. The teens gained a greater appreciation for the values that are essential for coexistence in society such as love, companionship, cooperation, and compassion. After the program, the girls were motivated to incorporate these values into their lives.
The final session promoted the extension of family values into the community, encouraging the girls to create a proposal for a community service project to be implemented in their area. With an eagerness to serve others in their community, the teens proposed to have a service project that helped the children with disabilities in their area, which was carried out from November to December of 2017.
Girls who participated in the program expressed how the opportunity allowed them to not only better understand the values of love and compassion, but also extend their concept of family to be able to serve children in their community as older sisters.
Learn more about the women’s leadership in GPF
