We Transform programme seeks to rescue youth offenders
SEVENTEEN-YEAR-OLD JASON Palmer* wants to fulfil his dream of becoming a paediatrician and has taken the first step by getting involved in the We Transform youth empowerment and reintegration programme.
Jason, who is a ward at the Rio Cobre Juvenile Correctional Centre in St Catherine and is currently undertaking studies in human and social biology, mathematics, principles of business and office administration in preparation to sit the 2018 Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) exams in May, says he’s looking forward to the future.
“I would like to become a paediatrician. When I was growing up, my mother took care of children, and I was always there helping her, so I came to love doing that. I would like to go to college. Here at Rio Cobre, they are helping me to get the subjects I need,” he shared.
Launched under the theme ‘Save a Child, Change a Nation’, the We Transform programme is being implemented through the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) in four juvenile remand centres, for the rehabilitation and reintegration of youth offenders.
It targets some 242 children between the ages of 12 and 17 in the centres as well as youth offenders monitored by the island’s 16 community service (probation) offices.
Recounting the changes he has undergone since entering the facility, Jason says the programme has had a positive impact on him.
“The We Transform programme has helped me a lot to become a better person. I can interact with persons better and control my anger, and I am good at decision making. They also teach us how to do résumés and other life skills. I know that I will be able to go out into the world because I am well equipped through this programme,” he said.
“All my experiences in the programme have taught me what not to do so that I won’t get myself in any more trouble. I have changed a lot from when I first came into Rio Cobre. It was not easy for people to talk to me. I did not like to speak to people, and I didn’t have respect for authority because I thought they were a problem to me, but I have come to realise that I was in the wrong. I came here because of my wrongdoing. I have also learned to take responsibility for my actions,” Jason added.
He notes that his success in two CSEC subjects last year (English and social studies) has made his mother proud, and he plans to continue being a source of pride for her.
“Since receiving two subjects last year, I can see the smile on my mother’s face every time she comes to visit. Right now, what is important to me is making my parents proud because I know that I have done some things that I really regret. I would like to make it up to them, and I am trying my best,” Jason says.
POSITIVE CHANGE
Assistant superintendent at the correctional facility, Denise Roberts, has seen the positive change in Jason, which has also positively impacted other wards participating in the programme.
“He is very intelligent and hard-working. [He is] dedicated to any task you give him. He has acquitted himself well in the programme, and even when pressured, he holds his own, and you can see the growth. We Transform has provided him with the platform to develop his communication and presentation skills; [he is] learning to work with other wards. This is important because these boys don’t know how to work with others, so when they learn to work as part of a team respectfully, that is a big plus for us,” Roberts said.