Basseterre, St. Kitts, June 03, 2009 (SKNIS): The many successes of the Youth Empowerment through Skills (YES) Project were toasted by Honourable Cedric Liburd and members of the project’s hospitality division, last Friday.
The Conaree group of the hospitality division staged a programme where the talents and skills of the participants were on display during a skit which incorporated scenarios in welcoming hotel guests, cleaning, customer service and work ethics. The plot involved a secret rendezvous by two of the main characters highlighting the dangers of HIV. It delivered a positive message on condom use, as garnered during their participation in the Caribbean Healthy Lifestyle Project’s Kicking AIDS Out programme.
“What excites me is … that I have seen the participants demonstrating how they have benefited from the YES Project,” Minister Cedric Liburd stated. “I am hoping that whatever you have learnt from this [project] you will … go out into the business community and you will [show] that you received another chance in life and you were able to use that chance effectively.”
Conaree falls within Constituency #8 which Minister Liburd represents in the Federal Parliament. He told the YES participants that they have also demonstrated a greater sense of self confidence which partly comes from the social skills component of the project.
“We will see new community leaders to [can] help develop [society],” he stressed, noting that the skill set can be applied in other fields. “You can become leaders in various organizations, community councils, sports associations, the church and other clubs.”
The participants were congratulated for their willingness to contribute funds to stage the luncheon which was held immediately after the programme.
Minister Liburd concluded by telling the YES students that he was “proud” of them and encouraged them to maintain the standards they are learning in the project and share such principles and the practical skills with other community members.
