We started our journey with a mission to build the next generation of civic warriors in Malaysia. But as we spoke to young people, we realised there was a bigger problem at hand: youth not in employment, education or training (NEET). Their anxieties were validated by the statistics: youth unemployment is above 12% - triple the country's national unemployment. In response, we have run career workshops and leadership programmes, especially for the urban poor, single mothers and youth-at-risk. Since August 2015, Nation Building School is a civil society organisation (CSO) that has engaged over 10,000 youths - primarily in Malaysia's capital city of Kuala Lumpur and broadly in the country.