NCYD Observes Volunteers Day with Work at Basic School

The National Centre for Youth Development (NCYD), will join the rest of the world in observing International Volunteers Day (IVD) tomorrow, December 5, with a work day at the Mines Basic School, in St. Ann.
In an interview with JIS News, Youth Empowerment Officer for the NCYD, St. Ann region, Gavin Myers, explained that the scope of work would be general repairs and improvement of the school.
“We are going to do work on the canteen facility, put in a proper absorption pit, paint the schoolroom and put in some other educational material in the room,” he outlined.
“In the long term, we will also look at implementing a community water scheme for Mines, a proper garbage collection system and other issues related to sanitation,” the Youth Empowerment Officer added.
Mr. Myers explained that the Mines Basic School was selected, as “this is the only school in the community, and serves, in some instances, as a community centre and a central meeting point for youth in that community. We are trying to enhance the capacity of that school to serve its constituency as much as possible.”
In terms of the importance of IVD, Mr. Myers said that he looks forward to it each year, as it encourages a spirit of voluntarism among youth and how the youth can impact on their living environment and the development of their community.
“This day gives the youth an opportunity to show to the country and the world, that they can make a valuable contribution. This is just another means of showing what the youth can do, while recognising and celebrating their worth. As a country, we could never find enough money to pay for all the things that a community needs, so voluntarism plays an important role.it is voluntarism that has driven the country and has been the basis on which communities have developed,” he asserted.
Agencies and groups that will be involved in the project include: Mines Oneness Community Youth Club, Mines Citizens Association, the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), the Social Development Commission (SDC), the Ministry of Education, and the Parish Council.
International Volunteers Day was adopted by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly on December 17, 1985. Since then, Governments, the UN system and civil society organisations have successfully joined volunteers around the world to celebrate the day on December 5.
The day offers an opportunity for volunteer organisations and individual volunteers to make visible their contributions at the local, national and international levels, to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. The day is observed in over 170 countries worldwide.