By John Myers Jr., Staff ReporterTHE HOPE of constructing a training and life care centre to serve the community of Maverly, north west St. Andrew and surrounding areas, was revived with the recent donation of US$81,000 courtesy of the Japanese Government.
This, after the project had stalled due to a lack of funding.
The centre which is to consist of a skills training centre, meeting area and treatment and counselling centre, is expected to serve approximately 100,000 people of which more than 50 per cent are believed to be 25 years and younger.
HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT
Faced with a high unemployment among the youth population, Reverend Major Egbert Schloss, chairman of the Maverly Consul-tative Committee (MCC), said the centre, with assistance from the police in the area, will aim to provide skills training, counselling sessions in conflict and dispute resolution. It will also seek to improve the relationship between the youths and the police in the area as the police will be available at the centre to interact with them on a regular basis.
The facility which was supposed to be a police post, is being designed with suitable work and living areas for police personnel.
"If an immediate avenue is not provided for community members to resolve their conflicts and disputes, communities could be faced with greater outbreaks of violence, leading to an excessive presence of police, and negative feelings towards community leaders and the police force in general," Major Schloss said.
The project is being undertaken at a cost of just over US$133,000. Construction work on the building began two years ago and the outer walls were completed and the roof installed with funds raised by the MCC. However, there was no money to complete the decorative work and furnishing and the project stalled.
Money to restart the project came in the form of the cheque which was presented to the MCC last week Tuesday at the offices of the Japanese Embassy, Kensington Crescent, New Kingston. The donation was facilitated through the Japanese Government's, Grant Assistance For Grassroots Projects (GGP) in Jamaica.
The GGP was formulated specifically "to the particular cultural, social and economic circumstances of the country, to achieve a balance between the socio-cultural and economic-infrastructural areas of development," according to a Japanese Government document.
