ODPEM Youth Ambassador Shifts ‘GEARS’ Into Action

For most 17-year-olds, the approach of summer 2021 represents a time when their sole focus is on preparing for final and exit examinations, all while looking forward to a much needed break from online learning and face-to-face instruction.

However, for one teen, The Queen’s School student, Kyla Gaynor, responding to the requests of her peers in fulfilling extracurricular obligations while giving back is equally important.

This Kyla has sought to do through her role as the 2021 Youth Ambassador for the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), which sees her engaging other youngsters interested in the programme through the Global Environment and Restoration Stars (GEARS) initiative.

“GEARS came about due to the overwhelming response from friends, schoolmates, and well-wishers. They wanted to become a part of the ODPEM Youth Arm,” she outlines.

Kyla says it was initially an IG (Instagram) following of friends who, like her, share and support the work of the Youth Ambassador.

“The aim of the group is to use preventative measures, like beach clean-ups and assistance for the most vulnerable, to educate the youth about disaster risk management,” she informs.

Two founding members of GEARS and colleague Queen’s School students, Sakara Verley and Latoya Jones, highlight that along with an affinity for volunteerism, there was a common interest in environmental protection among the members.

“Environment protection and preservation is important to me because as human beings, this is our surrounding, it is our habitation. We do need to protect it in order for us to have health and wealth and generational growth and also to preserve the environment for animals so that [all] can benefit,” Sakara shares.

For her part, Latoya echoes the sentiment, adding, “a preserved and well-protected environment maintains a healthy and functional ecosystem”.

“The environment plays a very important role in the existence of life and living species are dependent on the environment, so it is imperative that it is safeguarded,” she adds.

It was no surprise then when Kyla and 11 of her supporters decided to participate in a Jamaica Environment Trust (JET) coastal clean-up activity on December 12, 2020.

The group contributed to collecting more than 100 pounds of garbage from the Palisadoes shoreline and later registered GEARS as a member of JET.

“We registered as a member group so that we could get along with the youth arm of ODPEM [and] make our contribution to beach clean-ups, as a way to stop debris from clogging the waterways and prevent flooding, especially during a hurricane,” Kyla informs.

She adds that GEARS will strengthen ties with the JET “as soon as we’re ready to take on more of the environmental activities… so, this teamwork is a work in progress”.

The group, which now has 23 members spanning Kingston, St. Andrew, St. Catherine, Clarendon, and St. Ann, is open to having members from all 14 parishes and is actively planning events for volunteers in the coming months.

“GEARS has a scheduled activity – a beach clean-up – in August after CSEC exams, and we are planning to distribute care packages to different golden age and children’s homes in different parishes,” Kyla shares.

The group, which normally meets and plans via the Zoom meeting platform, is also planning a meet-up of its members, many of whom are excited to participate in GEARS activities, particularly since the pandemic has limited their ability to socialise.

Kyla, Latoya and Sakara have spent time as members of The Queen’s School Choir and Entrepreneurship, Environmental and French clubs and the Red Cross Society, as well as volunteering at the Constant Spring Police Station.

They agree that they have been able to strike a balance between the different areas of their lives by prioritising what is important to each of them.

GEARS aims to impact the younger generation with the information it shares on social media and through its activities and encourages youth to play a more active role in disaster risk management and environment protection.

“The impact we’re hoping to have on the younger generation is of a positive one… to inform Jamaicans of disaster risk and how to prepare for and manage them. We also hope to encourage youth islandwide to step up and make a small difference through beach clean-ups, visiting homes, and so forth. A little can go a long way,” Sakara says.

Youth interested in becoming members of the Global Environment and Restoration Stars may do so by reaching out to the ODPEM Youth Ambassador through her social media pages @kylagaynoryao on Instagram and Twitter.