Youth

The Order of St John values young people and has developed youth programmes which help them to achieve their full potential and make a difference to their communities. Nearly all of the St John organisations provide youth programmes, which have been adapted to suit the needs of their communities and the culture of their young people.

There are two main youth programmes; the Cadets is aimed at 10 to 18 year olds and the Badgers is for 5 to 10 year olds. In countries where there are no badgers, the name has been changed, for example St John Sri Lanka has Kitties and the Priory in New Zealand has Penguins!

Badgers is a lively programme where young people learn important skills in a fun and safe environment. Badgers can choose to learn from fifteen subjects, from important first aid skills, Creative and Active, to Healthy and Caring. Exciting Badger events are also held from camping and outdoor activities to arts and crafts.

Cadets are guided by youth leaders and work towards gaining the Grand Prior Award. They can choose to study from over seventy different subjects to complete their award - from First Aid, fire prevention, photography to sports. Cadets put the first aid they have learnt into practice through providing first aid at public events or teaching first aid to other young people and adults.

For example, St John Kenya has 1,753 Badgers and 5,594 cadets. In addition to learning about First Aid, the Cadets are trained as peer educators to educate other youth about HIV/AIDS, provide home based care and offer support to orphans and vulnerable children.

St John Singapore has a very active St John Cadets where they learn First Aid, Home Nursing, Transportation of Casualties and footdrill as part of their core syllabus. They also take part in enrichment activities, such as camping trips, where they can earn proficiency badges. 

The Priory of England and the Islands has added an additional programme, the Amalfi Challenge which provides a flexible framework for 16 to 25 years old to undertake a programme of personal development.

The Priory in New Zealand has recently launched a youth website - http://youth.stjohn.org.nz/ .

International collaboration between the youth of St John is encouraged as it provides an excellent way to gather together young members of St John from around the world to share their cultures, experiences and beliefs. International Youth Camps have been and will continue to be organized in order to help young people learn from each other. St John Malaysia will be hosting a youth camp in November 2008, and the Priory of England will be holding one in August 2009. St John Mauritius youth programme recently welcomed a delegation of cadets from St John Malaysia Parak state. Many more programmes and activities also exist around the world.