Żgħażagħ Azzjoni Kattolika targets the holistic development of young people, namely three important aspects of life: spiritual, social and personal development. Joanne Cocks speaks to Sarah Caruana to find out more
Jake* used to find Catechism classes extremely boring and a waste of time. He had been counting the days to his Confirmation, which meant that he no longer had to attend doctrine classes.
Then, a couple of months following his Confirmation, he came across a flyer which had been left in the letterbox, encouraging him to attend sessions of the Żgħażagħ Azzjoni Kattolika (Youth Catholic Action) in his locality of Birkirkara.
He felt intrigued and wanted to attend. Since then he has not missed one single session, participating wholeheartedly in the events organised by the locality’s section.
But what exactly is ŻAK, as it is often referred to?
Żgħażagħ Azzjoni Kattolika is a branch of the Maltese Catholic Action, providing weekly formation meetings and activities for young people. ŻAK comprises 11 centres, distributed around Malta. Each consists of one or more youth groups, split according to the youngsters’ age.
Sarah Caruana, general secretary of the Catholic Action Movement, explains that a locality might have only one ŻAK group, whereas another may have more.
“ŻAK focuses on the holistic development of young people, mainly on three crucial aspects in life: spiritual, social and personal development. These aspects are still very relevant for the development of young people in today’s world. ŻAK leaders create tailor-made programmes for their groups, and adapt the meetings and activities delivered according to the needs of the young people who are members in the groups.
“For instance, this year’s Summer Camp tackled the topic of sustainability and the effect we have on each other and on our common home. The world is experiencing a crisis in three elements, and this is the way ŻAK is responding to this crisis: by educating young people about the effects they have on each other and the world we live in, through their decisions and actions, while together creating a way forward on how to minimise our negative impact on these aspects.”
ŻAK currently has around 500 members aged between 10 and 30. Its members lead a very active role in their parish. Primarily they provide formative programmes for young people in the parish on a weekly basis. Furthermore, they help out in various parish functions: mass animation, community-based projects and outreach programmes.
Caruana says that ŻAK groups organise activities on a regular basis in order to continue to strengthen their relationships with each other. Such activities include movie nights, barbecues, picnics, live-ins and youth exchanges.
Throughout the year, ŻAK also organises numerous activities on a national basis, bringing together young people from all centres around Malta, such as the summer activity, the end-of-year activity and the annual summer camp.
I cannot wait to grow older so that opportunities are wide
But are meetings centred only around prayer?
“No. ŻAK aims to help young people develop in their personal, social and spiritual spheres. Thus, the content of the weekly meetings is varied. They are usually structured and unstructured sessions which may take the form of discussions, role-play, hands-on team-building activities, reflections and educational games among others. The meetings seek to integrate all three worlds in a holistic manner, and do not favour one over the other,” says Caruana.
She adds that the Maltese Catholic Action is in continuous contact with its international counterparts.
“Over the past few years, it has been working closely with the Italian and Romanian Catholic Action on various projects such as the Erasmus+ project OWLS (Opportunites + Willingness + Learning = Success).
“In collaboration with our Italian counterpart, the Maltese Catholic Action has also been adapting the formative material issued in Ita Fédération Internationale des Mouvements Catholiques d’Action Paroissiale. In addition, the Maltese Catholic Action participates in Forum Internazionale Azione Cattolica (FIAC) meetings to continue strengthening the network built and the services we offer.
“During this year’s summer camp, ŻAK hosted two leaders from the Catholic Action in Palestine. They were present during the activities, to observe and learn from our methodology and help out where necessary,” she adds.
In a few days, ŻAK will be hosting 60 young people from nine European countries for Eurocamp. The participants attending are members in FIMCAP, the Fédération Internationale des Mouvements Catholiques d’Action Paroissiale, which encompasses Catholic youth organisations from all over the world, including Latin America, Africa and Asia.
This camp takes place every year in a different European country. In fact, ŻAK has hosted this camp in Malta a number of times, the first being in 1989. The title for this years’ Eurocamp is ‘No space for poverty?!’ tackling social exclusion.
And while Jake continues to look forward to his weekly meetings, where he gets to forge new friendships from the locality and enjoy a game or two of football, he is now also very excited when he thinks ofthe years to come when his participation in ŻAK activities will not be hindered because of his age.
“I fully enjoyed getting my hands dirty at the centre we are restoring, braving the cold at Christmastime to sell cakes on the church parvis and experiencing my first mocktail at the Carnival party,” he says.
“However, having only had the chance to spend two days at summer camp, I look forward to the time when I will be able to spend longer hours with friends. I also intend to take part in an exchange with other youths,” he adds.
“I cannot wait to grow older so that opportunities are wide,” the 13-year-old muses.
*The name has been changed to provide privacy.
