Mercy Community Center Samoa
Empower at-risk Samoan youth through life skills, character development, and farm-based learning to bridge education and employment gaps.
Trouble For Samoan Youth
Despite high literacy rates (99%) and free compulsory schooling through age 16, many youth on the island of Western Samoa, face significant educational and employment barriers, limited access to quality secondary education especially in rural areas, insufficient funding for school resources, and only about half progressing beyond middle school. Youth unemployment remains high - around 16% -with over a quarter of 15–24-year-olds neither in school, education, nor training.
Most jobs are informal, in subsistence agriculture or small-scale ventures, while many young people lack the skills, experience, and confidence to transition into formal employment. National efforts, such as vocational training (TVET), internships through the Chamber of Commerce, and youth skills programs at NUS, are improving employability, but gaps in life skills, communication, conflict resolution, and professional readiness persist.
A Second Chance for Samoa’s Youth
For young adults who had dropped out of school or faced overwhelming personal challenges, hope was fading fast … until now. This backdrop underscores why MERCY’s Community Center program, founded in 2024, focuses on essential life skills, character development, and resume/interview training. They are not just valuable, but essential life skills that empower vulnerable youth, bridging the divide between education and meaningful employment.
The MERCY Community Center, founded in 2024, a charitable initiative of the Austral-China World Sector of the International Christian Churches based in Sydney, Australia, under the leadership of Joe and Kerry Willis, is a beacon of opportunity for young men and women between their late teens and mid-twenties. This life-changing initiative offers many a second chance at life, a renewed purpose, and a hopeful future. Through this program, students are taught English, core character development, and essential life skills, including:
Conflict resolution
Interpersonal communication skills
Emotional intelligence
Personal responsibility and teamwork
A unique and powerful component of the program is its farm-based learning approach, spearheaded by Tanu, Thula, and Landon. Students participate in daily farming activities, which serve as a hands-on classroom where they learn discipline, patience, hard work, and the rewards of perseverance - life lessons that take root and grow far beyond the field.
One recent graduate, Risa, now employed by a well-known establishment on the island, shared:
“Thank you, MERCYworldwide. You changed my life!”
Support
This impact is made possible through the generous donations of the Sydney Church and the churches throughout the Austral-China World Sector. Your support is not only transforming individual lives, but also helping restore entire communities by equipping young people with the tools they need to thrive.
