Marks pitches mentorship programme for boys to J’cans in Atlanta

WASHINGTON, DC:

The Atlanta Jamaica Association (AJA) has been charged to implement a youth travel and mentorship programme dubbed: Upliftment, Learning, and Intervention through Foreign Travel (UPLIFT). The programme is to target young Jamaican boys from age seven to 18 years old, hosting them and their parents with families in the United States who will expose them to different experiences over a two- to three-week period.

The request from Jamaica’s Ambassador to the United States, Audrey Marks, came during her address at the organisation’s annual Independence Ball and Scholarship Awards ceremony held at the Atlanta Airport Marriott Hotel, on Saturday, August 12.

Ambassador Marks told the over 800 Jamaicans and friends of Jamaica that Jamaica at 61 was still a very young country and had made steady progress over the past six decades. She pointed out that Jamaica was among the top ten best-known brands in the world, which was due to the “culture, sports, music, food, and vibes of the Jamaican people”.

SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHALLENGES

In addition, Ambassador Marks informed that Jamaica was among the countries within the hemisphere which had a democratic tradition that can be emulated. She noted that while the nation had achieved political maturity, it was now working on socio-economic challenges within the country and a singular problem is the recruiting of our young men into gangs and away from finishing secondary education.

She emphasised that the genesis of UPLIFT was to intervene and cauterise what is happening in the society among young boys. The programme will be aimed at giving them an opportunity to change their environment, affording them a different experience. Quoting Oliver Wendell Holmes, Ambassador Marks stated that ‘Once the mind has expanded by a new experience, it can never regain its original dimensions”.

“This is one area that I know this organisation can assist with that will make a tremendous difference in the lives of our young boys. I am asking the AJA president and its members to join me in launching this pilot project in Atlanta. The organisation will need to form a committee to assist with the recruiting, vetting and monitoring of suitable families for the programme. The participants will spend at least two weeks with a host family that has been qualified as a safe, nurturing environment and I know that will start a transformation,” Ambassador Marks said.

Ambassador Marks commended the organisation’s president, Dr Maxine Foster, and members of the AJA on its 46th anniversary, noting that since its founding in 1977, the AJA has constantly made remarkable contributions to Jamaica and the Jamaica-Atlanta community, by spearheading several worthwhile projects. Among this year’s projects is an educational scholarship programme through which the organisation awarded sixteen scholarships to Jamaican students.