With funding from USAID, EDC is implementing the YOUTH Empower Activity in Jamaica along with “backbone” partners RISE Life Management Services, University of West Indies, University of Technology Jamaica, Grace and Staff Community Development Foundation and Jamaica 4-H Clubs
Challenge
RISE Life Management Services, EDC and the other partners understand that Jamaican youth from at-risk communities are striving to move against an often-negative tide of inequity, isolation, and stigma. There is a lack of coordinated services to address relevant youth needs. This is especially true for boys and young men from volatile communities that experience high rates of unemployment and inequitable access to certified training, work-based learning, and employment opportunities.
The USAID Youth Empower Activity aims to create sustainable, positive development in Jamaica with and for resilient youth and their communities to achieve their fullest potential and to support the prevention of youth crime and violence. The activity intends to support youth so they can recognize the entrepreneurial and creative assets they possess that can be used in positive, participatory, and productive ways.
Key Activities
The project will:
Develop a flexible youth-responsive ecosystem that supports youth resiliency and workforce development for the most underserved and stigmatized youth populations
Increase civic education and participation of youth in their communities to strengthen transferrable soft skills and build on local assets
Strengthen peer-to-peer social and emotional support networks for greater youth-led community-based engagement
Improve employability skills of youth to access soft skills, work-readiness, and work-based learning and livelihoods opportunities, including in the blue, green, and orange economies
Coordinate with existing community-based support structures for youth well-being and resilience
Create experiences, exchanges, and communications that build youth pride, identity, and attachment to Jamaican culture and history
Impact
10–12 volatile and at-risk communities across the island will be supported with positive youth development resources to mitigate existing patterns of crime and violence.
5,000 youth will engage in civic activities that promote their agency and leadership in local development and decision-making.
4,000 youth and their households will see improved access to income-generating and livelihoods opportunities.
12–15 Jamaican partner organizations will improve their operational and technical capacities to address youth workforce development, resiliency needs, and gaps.