TWENTY-FOUR-year-old Devon Edwards now has a new lease on life.

Through the Learning for Life Programme launched at the Rose Town Community Centre in Kingston yesterday, Edwards will now be able to improve his literacy skills and hopes to become gainfully employed.

“When I just started the reading programme my reading was not so well,” Edwards told the Observer. “I was hitching with reading and now this programme has helped me a lot because I am now reading with confidence and it give me the privilege to go and be bold and be successful.”

Edwards is among dozens of young persons from Rose Town and other adjoining inner-city communities who have been benefiting from the programme that began early last month. It is aimed at strengthening inter-community integration among high risk males from violence-prone communities and enhance their literacy, life kills and income-generating capacity.

The literacy component of the programme uses the web-based Auto Skills software, which allows persons to build their phonics and vocabulary skills within hours.

Kimesha Wedderburn, another participant in the programme, also had high praises for the literacy programme.

“The programme helped to pronounce my words much better and it help me with the words I don’t know and don’t understand,” she said.

In the meantime, Michael Black who is in charge of the community centre, said the programme should make a difference among the men in his community who struggle with literacy.

“This programme can revolutionise the community because while they learn to read they are also learning to use the computers,” said Black.

Meanwhile, Dr Elizabeth Ward, director of disease prevention and control at the Ministry of Health, said the programme has a three-prong approach – the computerised reading aspect of the programme, a life skills aspect under the healthy lifestyle programme with an exposure and training in certain key areas which include violence prevention and entrepreneurial training, along with job assessment and placement, which merges into the HEART/NTA programme.

“Our young people are our future and any investment in their well-being and development through creating strategies will bring positive returns,” she said. “Reduction in violence will ease the current economic and social burden in communities and in the country,” she added.

About 125 people have been enrolled in the programme in centres in Rema, Barry Street and Windward Road in Kingston, and Flankers, St James.

The programme is a combined initiative of the Ministry of Health’s Violence Prevention Alliance and the Dispute Resolution Foundation and is sponsored by Cable & Wireless Jamaica Foundation.