Y.U.T.E. Sponsors and Ambassadors Collaborate to Make School CountSeptember marked a landmark community engagement period for the YUTE programme, as sponsors and participants met with grades 9, 10 and 11 students for the Make School Count Tour. The initiative was the first of its kind undertaken by the programme, and sought to address some of the concerns YUTE participants themselves had voiced about being prepared for the world of work.

Over 100 volunteers from corporate Jamaica and thirty YUTE ambassadors rapped with some eight hundred students on the importance of making the most of their time at school.

YUTE Ambassadors and team members from the sponsors met to discuss the activity prior to the visits. School administrators provided key insights into the challenges being experienced by the students, which guided the presentation plans.

Volunteers experienced a range of emotions – trepidation and excitement were simultaneously expressed prior to the visits. However, once they met with the students, it became a mutually rewarding experience for all concerned.

Corporate volunteers voiced appreciation for the initiative, as it provided a practical opportunity to engage with young people, and to share their own professional and personal experiences.

The YUTE Ambassadors reasoned openly and frankly with their younger peers about the effects of leaving school without marketable skills and certification, particularly in light of the economic challenges being faced by working class families.

Two additional visits will follow in subsequent months.

Schools visited:Kingston Technical High, Charlie Smith High, Rennock Lodge All Age, Penwood High, Clan Carthy High, Kingston High.

Participating companies: Guardian Group: ICWI: ICD: Group: Jamaica Producers Group: Stewarts Auto Sales: Jamaica National Group: Victoria Mutual Building Society: The Gleaner Company: Flow: Myers Fletcher and Gordon.

Oakland Properties is a Real Estate Company that sells and rent houses and Apartments. Since inception of the YUTE Programme, Oakland Properties has established a partnership with the organization in offering work experiences to the participants.

Participants of the Y.U.T.E programme that have benefitted most from this collaboration are the YUTE Pre-Skills Participants, who came from various YUTE communities such as Trench Town, Drews Land and Parade Gardens.

At Oakland’s the participants are exposed to the skill of Landscaping/maintenance and they also perform Administrative duties (filling). The participants are not only exposed to work, they also got a chance to view

a different side of Jamaica’s culture. Receiving this opportunity will certainly make and indelible mark on their knowledge and education that they can now add to their resumes that will increases their marketability.

Through this venture with Oakland Properties has helped to change a life for better and in changing lives, dreams have become reality and in this we know we will have communities with a brighter beacon and ultimately a better Jamaica.

The board, project staff and participants of the YUTE programme would like to say thank you to Oakland Properties for collaborating with us.

OAKLAND PROPERTIES

Mr. Williams’s early work as a service oriented, bold and talented youth started in 2002 where he earned himself a six months traineeship at the Crescent All Age School as a Teacher’s Assistant through the National Youth Service (NYS). At the end of training, he realized that he had a passion to work with youths. Literally, every year after 2002, Mr. Williams volunteered in one form or the other, through schools or community base clubs.

As a Youth Ambassador, Mr. Williams spent a little under 10 years focusing on youth development where he worked in some of the most vulnerable communities in Kingston and St. Andrew that the YUTE Programme currently targets. Mr. Williams initially started out as a youth mentor through the Social Investment Fund (SIF) mentorship programme where he volunteered in communities such as Red Square, Bower Banks, Rae Town, Burger Gully and East Kingston area. He then moved on to do more mentorship work with Dr

K’adamawe K’nIfe, a lecture at the University of West Indies, Mona, in the department of Management Studies and then finally with Ms. Donna Cooke from the South East Regional Health Authority.

Mr. Wiliams then slightly shift his focus particularly from youth mentorship to emphasis a little more on building community base clubs and society. He believes that youth clubs are vital to the development of vulnerable communities and as such takes a ‘Bottom up approach’ that is, building a firm foundation with the youths from a tender age that will indeed transcend over time in creating growth.

Mr. Williams’s life took a sudden turn in 2011, when he lost his daughter two weeks before her second birthday. This tragic incident took a toll on is life to the point where he ended up being dismissed from his job. Nevertheless, in the midst of every sad moment there is joy. At his daughter’s funeral he was more graced than overwhelm to observe

a larger than expected supporting groups from various communities in attendance. To his surprise, parliamentarians, clergymen, mentors, rank and file officers just to name a few were in attendance.

A year passed without being employed, Mr. Williams then turned to the Y.U.T.E. Programme in aid of being employed. Shortly after being registered with the programme, he was invited to do a Career Preparedness Workshop (CPW) with Psychologist, Dr. L. Semaj. He was then successful at a job interview at JMMB Head Office as a Business Administrator.

YUTE IN FOCUS: KEDON WILLIAMS

Name: Kedon Andre Williams Age: 25years oldCommunity: Manley Meadows (Kingston) Siblings: 2 Brothers and 2 SistersLast School Attended: St. Catherine High Ambition: Certified Guidance CounselorTagline: A young man with a good heart and a big dream. Inspired by: Martin Luther KingEmployed: JMMB Head Quarters Past Time: Interacting with youthsBest Sport(s): Basketball Accomplishments: Trained Mentor

“I stand firm and gladly represent Y.U.T.E. …I will continue to propagate the good things the Y.U.T.E. Programme has been doing for the youths in our country, especially those from the volatile communities… [I] will stand as the man I am and do my best to ensure that the candle which Y.U.T.E. burns never goes out.’ (Kedon Williams)

KINGSTON TECHNICAL

HIGH SCHOOLSEPT. 06.2013

SPONSORS: ICWI

GUARDIAN LIFE

SPONSORS:STEWART’S MOTORS LIMITED

CHARLIE SMITHHIGH

SCHOOLSEPT. 12.2013

SPONSORS: JAMAICA PRODUCERS & ICD

RENNOCK LODGE

ALL AGESEPT. 16.2013

SPONSORS:STEWART’S MOTORS LIMITED

PENWOOD HIGH

SCHOOLSEPT. 20.2013

SPONSORS: JAMAICA NATIONAL

SEPT. 23.2013SPONSORS:

VICTORIA MUTUAL BUILDING SOCIETYTHE GLEANER COMPANY

CLAN CARTHY

HIGH SCHOOL

KINGSTON HIGH

SCHOOLSEPT. 24.2013

SPONSORS: Flow

Myers, Fletcher and Gordon