Programme Launched To Help Youth In Flanker

Using agriculture and land-based therapy to disrupt violence and criminal behaviour among young people is the aim of the Positive Pathways Initiative’s Social Agriculture programme, which was officially launched in the community of Flanker, St. James, on April 9.

The programme is being executed by United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through Democracy International, in collaboration with the Village Initiatives Foundation, the humanitarian arm of the Village Academy School of Agriculture in Moneague, St. Ann.

Over the next three months, at-risk youngsters from Flanker between 13 and 17 years of age are to be targeted and exposed to social agriculture initiatives that combine farming activities and agricultural resources to effect social practices, therapeutic goals, educational habits and more.

Chairman and Director of Village Academy School of Agriculture, Sydney Henry, told JIS News that this is expected to have a positive influence on youngsters, who will also be learning conflict resolution, job skills and other life skills that enable personal development and growth.

“[Also], we’re going to take the young people out of the community for an experience in another community and expose them to raw agriculture, but we are going to help them in that experience to see the principles of agriculture and how it affects and can help to transform their experience of life,” Mr. Henry explained.

“We’re hoping to build a platform for them, that they will take responsibility for the change that they want to experience and that they want to see in the community around them,” he added.

The parents are also being targeted under the programme, according to Mr. Henry, who noted that the initiative will be working with mothers and fathers in agriculture as well as how to foster a stronger bond with their children.

“We’re helping them (parents) to look at what they can learn from the experience and be brought to bear on the relationships that they have with their children,” Mr. Henry outlined.

“The duty of care – how do you manage the growth and development of young people in adverse conditions? How do you help them to see through the decisions that they need to have and to make when they are experiencing pressure from their peers, from the community around them and from the social construct of the experience of life that they had?” he added.

The launch was held at the Flanker Resource Centre, formerly the Flanker Peace and Justice Centre, where youngsters and parents were both engaged in workshops.

The youth took part in violence-prevention exercises, such as conflict resolution and de-escalation, as well as decision-making and other group activities. Parents, on the other hand, were engaged in parenting strategies, to include how to better communicate with children, as well as agricultural lessons.

Meanwhile, Chief of Party for the USAID Positive Pathways activity in Jamaica, Paul Teeple, noted that the programme’s launch in Flanker is a testament to the community’s willingness to improve and do better for their youth.

“We are making an investment, collectively. You (youth) are making an investment of your time and the parents are making an investment in you. This centre, the Village Initiatives Foundation, all the people around are making an investment in you, because we believe in you. We believe that your future is bright,” he indicated.

The Positive Pathways activity is a five-year commitment by the people of the United States to work with the Jamaican Government, communities and organisations to reduce violence in 12 vulnerable communities in the parishes of Kingston and St. Andrew, St. Catherine, Clarendon and St. James.

Mr. Teeple said Positive Pathways has been having a clear impact in these parishes over the years, where the people from the various communities benefit from social and behavioural interventions.

“I look forward to coming back and seeing how this is going, and I really hope this is a springboard for some of you for perhaps a career in agriculture. You are going to find that there are so many careers in agriculture that you can pursue,” he pointed out.

“You can learn that right here in Flanker; parents can plant a few plants, eat better, you can feed your family better or you can make something that you grow and sell it to supplement your income,” he added.