Partners to win with youths

Partners of the Americas St. Vincent/Long Island Partnership will on April 20, 2010, embark on an exciting youth development program, with sponsorship from USAID.{{more}}

The program, known as “A GANAR, which in Spanish means “TO WIN’ or “TO EARN”, uses sports as a tool for youth workforce development. It combats the serious problem of youth unemployment, and provides an avenue for youth to become positively engaged through the application of an integrated four-phase sports-based curriculum and job training program, that helps youth to transform lessons and intellectual skills development learnt through soccer and other sports, into marketable skills.

Phase 1 is an 80-hour: From Sports to Employability Skills Course”, which mixes sports, field and classroom activities, so that youth develop competencies in team work, communication, Discipline, Respect, a Focus on Results, and continued Self-Improvement.

Phase 2 features market driven Vocational Technical kills training in which youth apply their skills to a specific technical career.

Phase 3 gives Youth practical experience through internships, apprenticeships, or other activities.

Phase 4 guides youth in follow-on activities, facilitates them in establishing an alumni network, and helps them make a transition to successful job placement.

Youth are mentored throughout the program by local professionals who volunteer their time to work with small groups. In addition, each youth must also complete 20 hours of a Service Learning Project.

Partners of the Americas will support the following five local youth development programs, by training their leaders in the

“A GANAR” Curriculum, in order to help them achieve their respective goals:

• Marion House Youth Assistance Program,

• Liberty Lodge Boys’ Training Centre,

• Youth Department,

• Adult & Continuing Education,

• The Caspar/Maria Marshall Centre’s “Tomorrow’s Women and Men”.

Overall, a total of 225 youth will be trained. These implementing organizations of the ‘A GANAR Project have entered into formal Contracts with Partners of the Americas. The financial resources for these programs will be administered by the local Partners of the Americas under the guidance of Wayne Williams, Project Coordinator, and Chair of the Partners Youth and Sports Development Committee.

It is expected that through the “A GANAR”, the 225 youth who participate will be “WINNERS” and “EARNERS” – productive members of society. These Youth will increase their self-esteem, ability to communicate with family and others, increase knowledge and connectivity with markets, and the ability to create their own life plans.

Partners of the Americas works by pairing 45 U.S. states and the District of Columbia with 31 Latin American and Caribbean countries, into 60 Partnerships. St. Vincent and The Grenadines is in partnership with Long Island, New York.