Youth strengthen bonds of friendship through cooking

Beyond meeting weekly as part of the junior youth spiritual empowerment program, a youth describes how, in the Ruddington neighbourhood in Toronto, Ont., friends are creating a pattern of community life and service.   

After a busy summer of activity in the neighbourhood, new ways were sought to engage junior youth further. Junior youth often socialize with their peers outside of the neighbourhood or spend time on social media. Considering that sustaining junior youth groups depends on how animators complement the study of the texts with artistic activities, social interaction, and service projects, this became a topic of consultation.

The aim was to create a space where junior youth could socialize more freely, interact with older youth, and potentially learn a life skill. When the junior youth consulted about their interests, several suggestions were made, but cooking together was the most popular choice.

The cooking group includes two youth in university and one in high school who serve as junior youth animators, another high school youth who serves as a children’s class teacher and six junior youth. Each week, everyone meets at one of the apartment buildings to cook and then gathers for a short devotional because what’s a gathering without prayers! The junior youth choose their own prayers, often in different languages, and lead the devotionals.

So far, we made lasagna, burritos, apple pie, Tteokbokki (a Korean stir-fried rice cake), Persian kebab and rice, Persian pastry with honey and saffron, shortbread cookies and shepherd’s pie. Over time, it became clear that keeping the group small ensured smoother collaboration in the kitchen because too many chefs in the kitchen was a recipe for disaster.

The youth plan to cook together to break their fast this month, giving this activity added significance.

Both junior youth and youth make consistent efforts to attend the cooking sessions, sometimes more than their own respective junior youth groups! The space offered an environment for youth of all ages to offer insights and advice derived from their own life experiences in a calm, comfortable environment devoid of pressure, parental or peer. Questions about school and other topics flow easily because the youth attended the same middle and high schools as the junior youth. The conversations are elevated, and the junior youth and youth bond in unexpected ways. The relative closeness in age between youth animators and junior youth allows for a more meaningful connection. While the junior youth study sessions offer important structure, the cooking space provides a unique intimacy.

Participation in the weekly study groups has also improved. Junior youth attend more regularly and share more openly. Sometimes, after cooking, the space also allows junior youth to catch up on missed lessons.

Over time, the parents began supporting the cooking initiative and offered suggestions as to how we can be of service. One parent of a junior youth suggested that, rather than making food for us alone, we could use it as an opportunity to make goodies for our neighbours.

The mother of one of the youth found a recipe for shortbread cookies, recruited her husband to print it for the youth, and made ingredient labels for the goodie bags. A trial of this idea was tested one weekend by making a few dozen cookies and handing them out door-to-door to neighbours in the apartment building. Everyone who was visited welcomed the surprise treat and impromptu visit.

Two weeks later, we did it again, this time with the mother of a child in the children’s class. The mother of one of the junior youth also joined, so she could learn the recipe. They both helped to make a baklava-style treat. This time, neighbours were asked, “Do you know anyone you would like to give a cookie to?” Some of the parents came along to deliver cookies to previously unknown homes. The question created new opportunities for connection, and that day we quickly ran out of treats!

The initiative continues to evolve, and it has been a great learning process. Of course, sometimes not everyone is available, as the participants are students, occasional scheduling adjustments are necessary. The junior youth program isn’t just about the study sessions; it’s about the social interaction that complements it, and which fosters bonding between the youth and junior youth. This, in addition to praying together, really brings to light the transformative power of the junior youth spiritual empowerment program. Through simple yet meaningful activities, the space has opened unique opportunities for conversations, and the hope is that it will prove even more fruitful in the future as we embark on acts of service of even greater complexity.

– Amin Paltoo