Erick Fernando

Erick lives in a city in southern Venezuela. This country currently has 82% of its population living in poverty and 53% in extreme poverty. He is the youngest of three siblings, and during his childhood he suffered the divorce of his parents. Because his mother worked hard to support them, his older sister had to fulfill that role in the house, and he grew up with a lack of attention and affection from his mother. When Erick reached adolescence, he tells us that, “I was distant and rebellious. I preferred to be out of the house with my friends and forget about what was going on in my family”.

Everything changed when Erick met Jesus thanks to an invitation he received from his cousin to go to church. “Through tears, I was able to meet the best person I have ever met in my life, Jesus. It marked a before and after in my life.” For the past two years Erick has been part of the Young Life team, pursuing young people who feel empty and hopeless, like he was in his teenage years, so that they can have a chance to change their lives through an encounter with Jesus.

Now, thanks to the Developing Global Leaders program, Erick will be pursuing a bachelor's degree in behavioral counseling at a local university. Through his profession he dreams of “becoming a professional capable of making a positive impact and being an example for young people and society in general”. In addition, through his knowledge, he wants to provide practical and useful tools to the Young Life team to enhance their work with teens in Venezuela.