POINT, Hanover — The recently concluded Hanover Youth Mentorship Programme has been praised as a life-changing initiative by participants.

The programme was launched on February 8 with 45 students. However, 33 completed the programme and participated in the closing ceremony last Thursday at Grand Palladium Lady Hamilton Resort and Spa in Hanover.

The two-month-long programme was made possible by the Social Development Commission (SDC) and Lucea United Church under the patronage of Hanover Western Member of Parliament Tamika Davis. Other participating stakeholders were the Jamaica Defence Force, HEART/NSTA Trust, Grand Palladium Hotel, Rusea’s High School, Green Island High School, Rhodes Hall High School, and the Green Island Police Youth Club.

Rusea’s High grade nine student Oliver Drummond attributed enhancements in his life to the programme.

“I’ve seen my improvements and I am so amazed. I don’t know how to say it, but they are helping me so much. They [mentors] correct my mistakes. They made mistakes too in their school life and they are trying their best to make it their point of duty for us to not make that mistake because they know the disadvantages that it would bring to us young people,” Drummond said.

Stating that he wants to become a judge, Drummond told the Jamaica Observer that in the past he was not doing well academically in school but things have changed since he enrolled in the programme.

“I am a student and I am easily distracted and as much as I will be very much distracted, they always tell me there is a time and place for everything. They showed me some skills, like, for example, the test is about next month, every day at least one hour out of the time I can use to study but not to study too much. I should take breaks, and to be honest, it is very much helpful because it’s not like I am losing all my time,” he said.

“My mother is behind me as well. She gives me the time that I need and the studying thing is really amazing because I am telling you, I used to fail all my subjects, and coming into the programme has helped me so much,” added Drummond who issued a few encouraging words to his peers.

“If there are any other children out there in the world who are suffering academically, do not give up. Be determined because no matter what, it could be even your parents, just listening to what they say and not thinking ‘oh, it’s hard’, just think it’s easy’. You can actually take one hour out of your day, every day, to learn a part of a subject that you are weak on because I am telling you that one hour can be your hat that you can fly away to say that’s your graduation,” Drummond said.

Green Island High grade nine student Brandon Waisome told the Sunday Observer that he wants to serve his country as a soldier and the SDC programme has taught him a lot.

Waisome, who said he was asked by his teachers whether he wanted to join the programme, is convinced that he made the right decision.

“Stay in school. Do the right thing when your parents are not around. Keep focus and go to school to get a good education and achieve your goals in life,” he offered to other students.

His parents, Novia and Reynaldo, who both work at Grand Palladium hotel, are proud of him.

“I think it will help him to be more positive, be more of a man, go towards his dream and everything that he said he wanted to be in life. He said he wants to become a soldier, however, with this programme they teach him a lot. Yes, and thanks to Green Island High School and the SDC programme,” said his mother who described her son as a “brilliant and honest little boy who cares for the family and himself”.

His father concurred, saying, “This programme that the school put him on is a good programme for the youths to educate themselves from early on to go into the future and know exactly what they are about to do or what they want to do. am proud of my son. He is a good youth.”

Lucea United Church Minister Glenroy Clarke explained how the programme was conceptualised by the church’s Family Life Ministry Department in 2022.

“[Social anthropologist] Dr Herbert Gayle came to our public lecture two times and, based on the lecture about how you impact young lives, how you become a transformative agent in the community, we were guided by those principles to have this type of intervention,” stated Rev Clarke.

Noting that the $1-million programme is meeting its objectives, Rev Clarke is hoping for additional financial support to make it bigger next year.

The programme started with schools in Hanover Western and the aim is to expand it, he said.

“You saw the results of the young people inside and the testimonials from the mentees and the mentors. We are calling on stakeholders to come on board. If you want to see Hanover being a better place, these are the programmes you invest in
— front page, transformative programmes that seemingly impact young lives for the future,” stated Rev Clarke.

He told the Sunday Observer that dialogue is being held with MP Davis to continue this thrust in the summer through a two-month programme that will assist with the transformation of the Kew community.

Davis agreed to provide further support.

“Going forward, this will continue. What we want to do is have more of these programmes and that is one of the things for the new financial year. We want to see how best we can allocate funds to ensure that we have more of these programmes in more communities across Western Hanover,” she said.

Davis, who is a beneficiary of a similar initiative, pointed to the importance of the programme.

“Just by impacting one young person it goes a long way, because when you empower that one child, we expect that one child to not only succeed in his or her own right but also to turn around and do the same thing. Imagine if every person does that in their community, in their church, in their schools, just adopting a child to say, ‘Listen, I will guide you, I will listen to you, I will help you with your decision making’, eventually, and it is not far-fetched, it is not cliché, it is something that actually works,” stated Davis.

“I am a proud product of… — we didn’t call it mentorship [then], we call it the Big Sister Programme. I have been a little sister, acted as a big sister and even now, as a Member of Parliament, as an attorney, there are some young girls that I have adopted with the aim just to mentor [and] guide because it might sound trite, but they need someone to listen to; someone to talk to; and quite apart from having mommy or daddy sometimes someone who has been in a certain role is better able to guide them, and that is why I came on board from the outset,” Davis said.