Hard work brings success

05.APR.11

by Philcol Jeffers
Community and Public Outreach Officer,
Youth Affairs Department

Activities to mark International Year of the Youth (IYY) are being staged to place more emphasis on youth and the work that they are doing throughout the world.{{more}}

St. Vincent and the Grenadines, being part of the global village, is not left out.

Taking action for equality between young women and men and for youth in special circumstances, along with promoting the participation of young people in decision-making, are three key action points of the local Youth Affairs Division.

The initiatives form part of the Youth Affairs Division’s strategic plan, which is closely linked to the Plan of Action for Youth Empowerment (PAYE) of the Commonwealth Youth Programme Caribbean Centre.

The PAYE includes 13 key areas under which, developing and implementing measures to promote the economic enfranchisement of young people are an integral part.

This week, the Youth Affairs Division is featuring the achievements of Haslon-Ann Jacobs, who has been through adversities.

In 2009, at the National Youth Awards of the Youth Affairs Department, Jacobs received a special award for Outstanding Achievement in Business. Her business idea was born when she was an apprentice at the Government Printery in 2002-2003, as a Youth Employment Service worker. While at the Printery she developed a profound love for the job. Jacobs chose making exercise books and other stationery because she saw this as a way to stimulate children academically through the production of educational materials.

Jacobs’ book making business, ‘Jacobs Production’, started from her home in Green Hill. In April 2009, she made history when her business became the first business in SVG to be incubated under the Centre for Enterprise Development Inc. Business Gateway Incubation project. This move enabled her to expand her business.

Jacobs finds time to help young people in her community with home work and doing research work for their School Based Assessments. She is hoping to contribute a Homework Centre to her community in keeping with her business mission and vision statements “striving for excellence” and “developing strong academic skills”.

Today, the community of Green Hill boasts one of many young persons in St. Vincent and Grenadines who has made a dream come to reality. Jacobs believes that she has given back to her community and to St. Vincent and Grenadines in her own way and encourages more young people not to give up on their dreams.

At present her productions are available at some book stores here: these include note books, exercise books, and autograph books, among others. Her note books and exercise books carry diagrams of science and other subject areas on the front cover. As the Youth Department continues to reach out to the youth in this country, it plans to highlight other successes and achievements of young Vincentians.

The IYY was launched by the United Nations on August 12, 2010, and will run until August 2011.