Inner-city YUTES get a fighting chance

Anastasia Cunningham, Senior Gleaner Writer

Can anything good come out of Nazareth?

The youths of Denham Town, Jones Town, Mountain View, Parade Gardens, Rockfort, Olympic Gardens, Tivoli and Trench Town all shout a resounding "Yes!"

Through an innovative concept, they intend to prove themselves right.

In response to the sustained levels of antisocial behaviour, violence and crime within inner-city communities, and consistent with the national agenda to roll out an aggressive programme of inner-city renewal, six months ago a group of persons from private sector and non-governmental organisations made a commitment to work with young persons in these areas.

The coalition has committed to focus on building technical and social skills, increasing employability, providing long- and short-term economic and entrepreneurship opportunities for 2,700 young people between ages 16 and 29. The programme, Youth Upliftment Through Employment (YUTE), will be rolled out in eight communities during the first phase, January 2011 to January 2013.

1,300 signed up

Yesterday, the last of four orientation sessions hosted by YUTE this year was held at the Courtleigh Auditorium in New Kingston. So far, 1,300 people have signed up to the programme.

A full auditorium of determined, committed, young men and women sat attentively as the YUTE team explained the programme in detail.

Sistren Theatre Collective opened with an entertaining skit that broke down YUTE in simple terms.

Imani Duncan, Jamaica Money Market Brokers group marketing manager and one of YUTE's directors, then told the gathering: "We believe if young people in certain communities have a viable chance to support themselves and their families we can change this country."

Through its three streams - YUTE Employment, YUTE Entrepreneurship and YUTE U-Turn - young people at different academic levels, from those with market-ready skills to the illiterate, can now participate in programmes free of cost that will take them to employment-ready level, after which they will be placed in jobs or access loans to start their own business.

Duncan urged them to take charge of their lives by staying committed to the programme which, depending on their current level, will take about two months to two years to have them trained and ready for the ultimate level.

"As long as you are willing to commit, we will stand by you for the long haul," she said.

At the end of the session, the young people were even more inspired and ready to make the big leap of faith.

All they asked, as one young lady from Tivoli stated plainly, is, "Will you stay committed to us?"

She said too many persons had come up with various programmes that did not grow to fruition, so she was hoping YUTE would be a sustained programme and deliver on its promise.

After a resounding applause, Duncan once again reiterated YUTE's commitment.

"We have made a solid commitment over the next two years to work in these eight Kingston communities. After the success of this first round, we will move to other parts of the island and target other communities," she said.

No crime

In encouraging those present, former Public Defender Howard Hamilton noted that it was not a crime to be born poor, as only five per cent of the world's population was born rich.

"But you have something that the rest of the world doesn't have, you are a born Jamaican and Jamaicans are not followers but leaders," he said.

Maureen Webber, CEO of Development Options, one of the conceptualisers of YUTE, told The Gleaner that based on the response so far, the programme expected to exceed its 2,700 target in a short time and, when that happens, "we will just beg more money and jobs".

Said Webber: "The organisations we have approached to help are all stepping up to the plate. And wherever jobs are not available, we will be thinking outside of the box and coming up with creative ways to find the opportunities. Some people have jobs they don't even know, so we show them how they can create those jobs."

She added: "Opportunities are out there but these young people aren't getting them, so it's up to us to be out there networking for them."

The YUTE team will continue the groundwork in the communities to recruit, train and give inner-city youths a chance to rise above the challenges.

anastasia.cunningham@gleanerjm.com