On a recent training trip to the United States, I visited the city of Worcester in the state of Massachusetts. With a population of about 180,000, this former manufacturing hub is today a center of excellence for higher education, healthcare and medical research. While there is a lot going on in Worcester, most notably the various attempts to reinvent the city, what I found more interesting were the programs offered for young people. My training colleagues and I interacted with organizations like the Boys and Girls Club, Y.O.U. Inc (Youth Opportunities Upheld) and visited a youth center, all of them with an overall goal to groom their youth into mature, well adjusted, responsible and productive members of the community.
