ACTRESS Terri Salmon was so overwhelmed with the success of the YARD (Youth for Arts and Recreational Development) Empire NGO that she could not help sharing it with the press last weekend.

It is not as easy seeking out misbehaving inner-city youth and offering them safe passage through the so-called ghetto lifestyle as it is to win a role in a new play, so when you see the once successful dancer-turned-actress-turned guardian of the hood replanting her roots in the fatalistic precinct, there must be realisation that where there is a will there is also a way.

Being entertained by Salmon is not the ideal way to spend a weekend on the border between warring factions in central Kingston. A stern overseer, she watches them closely and never fails to warn them against breaking the codes. However, it is interesting how parents inside and outside the boundaries are urging their young ones to join Salmon’s team and use it to find a way out of hopelessness.

A strict leader and teacher, Salmon was proud that at least four of the growing number of entrants had made her so happy by winning the National Trophy for Ensemble Recorder a well as three gold and one bronze medal in the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission’s (JCDC) 2023 Parish Music Competitions, playing recorder, guitars and conga drums for the first time in their lives.

“It is evident that YARD Empire’s mentoring and counselling would be of benefit to these children and to help them become the stars that they want to be,” Salmon said.

Talking to those lucky guys – Kimarley Smith, Anniko Campbell, Shamar Walker and Richard Thomas — they were overjoyed with the results of their participation in the JCDC music contests this year and the possibilities they create.

The boys had no previous addiction to music, except for listening to The Doo on Youtube which influenced them to take an interest in playing the guitar, drums or recorders, leading them to earn the trophy and medals in the JCDC competitions.

There were no previous links but they were blessed with the luck of being advised by their parents and friends to join YARD. This move guided them into the safety net of the YARD Empire and the opportunity to join the weekly classes at the government-owned Social Development Commission (SDC), at Hanover and East Queen Street, which hosts them every Saturday and has even expanded its outreach in the community to accommodate more teenaged boys.

“I am the only person in my family who plays musical instruments but my grandfather only played old records a lot at home. My mom didn’t believe that I could learn to play the instruments like the guitar and the flute; she didn’t want me to play them but within three to four months I had learnt to play the guitar. They couldn’t believe it when we won the gold medal,” Smith explained.

Now he plays the trumpet, recorder, guitar and drums, and says “people at school are very proud of me, and I want to be just like The Doo”.

“It is evident that mentoring and counselling would be of benefit to these children in order to have them be the stars that they all aspire to be,” Salmon pointed out.

“It has not been a seamless journey as YARD Empire seeks to influence our challenged youth. However, attendance levels ebb and flow as they face…myriad… challenges in their own lives. It is our intention to enter them again in 2024 because this is a way of teaching them how to use their God-given talents — and realise they can earn from it as well,” she noted.

“Some want to go into the Jamaica Defence Force and I say to them, ‘Join the army and the military band. Creative art is a life-changing role in anybody’s life, especially young boys,’ ” she added.

Incidentally, the boys were treated to a celebratory lunch at Gloria’s in Port Royal, after their remarkable performance in the JCDC competitions.

YARD is sponsored by the Bureau of Gender Affairs.