'Nuff respect' to RISE!

'Nuff Respect' is a term widely used in Jamaica in paying homage to or applauding credible effort.

While the Reaching Individuals through Skills & Education programme (better known as RISE Life Management Services) does not expressly list building self-respect among its services, it is perhaps one of the most valuable outcomes of the work being done by the 21-year-old institution.

Financial Administrator Jan Lopez notes, "RISE helps people who are trying to better themselves." Last week, she told Nigel Holness, managing director of FirstCaribbean International Bank, and a team from the bank (a RISE sponsor) about their work in six inner-city communities and how satisfying it is to see scores of previously at-risk youth "improve at school, learn a skill, and get a job". Holness and his colleagues presented a cheque for $100,000 to fund the expansion of RISE administrative facilities, a continuation of support already given including its computer centre.

RISE, a non-governmental organisation established in October 1989 as the Addiction Alert organisation, began by offering services, including the treatment and prevention of addictive disorders specifically substance abuse, and an islandwide telephone counselling service. A name-change to RISE in 2005 signalled a shift in focus to address vulnerable populations in Jamaica, particularly young people living in inner-city communities. Other services, including gambling prevention programmes for at-risk youth and health, educational and vocational training programmes for adolescents, youth leaders, adults and community workers, were added.

RISE KIDZ Club

Lopez notes that RISE has worked with some youth from as early as nine years old, taking them through a range of programmes in remedial education and providing tuition for examinations like the Grade Six Achievement Test, CXC and City & Guild Examinations.

RISE KIDZ Club provides for the eight to 14 age group in six communities and, among other services, supervises after-school recreational activities that develop creativity and leadership qualities. Well respected for its work in transforming the lives of at-risk youth, RISE has been chosen by the Ministry of National Security through the Community Action Component of the Citizens' Security & Justice Programme to deliver a violence prevention programme and other interventions in six inner-city communities.