By Francine Black, Staff ReporterPROMOTING THE spirit of volunteerism among youth is the newest focus of Juici Patties through its volunteer programme.
Edith Chin, deputy chairman and secretary of Juici Patties, said the aim of the programme is to help youths to maintain and pass on good cultural practices.
"Jamaica's culture is changing. We were known as a warm and friendly people but that is changing to aggression, crime and violence," she said while explaining the rationale behind the programme.
"We thought we need to do something to channel the direction we want the change to go and we identified the spirit of volunteerism as a vehicle for that change," she added.
POOR PHYSICAL CONDITIONS
The poor physical conditions at some of the infirmaries and golden age homes that the company regularly visits as part of its soup kitchen programme motivated the company to do more. The decision was taken to repair these facilities.
As part of the project, the company invited students from schools in St. Catherine and Clarendon to volunteer their services for two weeks.
However, with the summer holidays now on, the number of students has dwindled and so the company turned to its employees, asking them to send their children to be a part of the programme. The response was 'tremendous' and the youth brought their friends along.
LEADERSHIP TRAINING
When the programme started on July 14, there were 21 young people between 13 and 22 years old, 20 girls and one boy. They were first exposed to leadership training where they were taught a number of things, including conflict resolution and teamwork.
Next, they were taken to a home in Old Harbour where mentally ill, handicapped and elderly people reside. There, with the assistance of Modern Architecture and Construction Services, the volunteers built a new bathroom for the home.
In addition, they painted and beautified the grounds and cleared the yard of large amounts of debris.
The success of the programme has motivated the fast food company to take it islandwide, and it will be entering the second phase in August that will run until December.
