There is growing awareness around the world, that youth of the age group from 15 to 21 years, are becoming the most susceptible victims of societies and environments that are unable to stop the relentless forces of declining and negative human values.

Sai youth who are brought up to behave in a dutiful, disciplined manner, also crumble in the face of varied surmounting challenges faced by pressure at school, work and community.

In many Sai Centres around the world, the post Group III SSE students are becoming the so called ‘drop out’ generation. These youth find that they have outgrown the SSE Stage, yet they are too young to mix with the SAI Young Adult/Youth group.

It is important that these youthful teens should not be left to fend for themselves without any guidance during these transitional and turbulent years of their lives.

History

• It was at the World Youth Conference held in Prasanthi in 1997 that the problems faced by teen youth were recognized. The solution was the introduction of special teen youth programs.
• In Nov 2000 at the World Conference, one of the resolutions of the youth, focused on ‘teen youth’ was read as follows:
  "To address the drop out rate of youth in the Sathya Sai Organization, particularly in their teens, after finishing SSE/Bal Vikas, a Teen Youth Program module be presented by the Sathya Sai Organisation in 2001."
• To this end, the Youth Wing in Canada, developed a formalized ‘teen youth program’ at the national level in 2004 under the leadership of Dr. Aroon Yusuf.
• At the Sri Sathya Sai World Education Conference held in July 2008, Swami approved the expansion of SSE classes to accommodate the age group 15 -18 years consisting of teenagers who are too old for Group III SSE and too young for the Sai Youth group.

We see an overlap between the WYC and WEC in the age groups. To accommodate this overlap, the Sri Sathya Sai Organization in Canada decided to include teens of ages 15-17 under SSE Group 4.

The Group 4 Program

These teens were previously included under the youth wing and some Centres had a teen youth programme. Now the Education Wing is responsible for this group and as such it is required to define the objectives and goals for this group.

The teens of this age group would have gone through the SSE program of 9 years. So they already have the foundation laid in Educare, the basic tenet of the Sathya Sai Education. At this stage, in these three years, the focus would be to help them build upon the foundation, by using it in their daily life.

The Objectives of the Group 4 program

• To strengthen their understanding of and their loving relationship with Swami

• To help them develop self-confidence and self-esteem.

• To instill awareness of gratitude towards their parents, society, nation, creation and the creator.

• To help them in nurturing respect and love for the different races, creeds and perspectives.

• To help them to acquire and utilize life skills at home, at school/University, at work and in the community.

• To help them develop and improve upon their Leadership skills.

• To prepare them to the fullest extent to take up leadership roles within the Sai Organization.

More than anything the program will be fun filled and will give the joy of learning through practice