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Posted: Monday 24 July, 2017 at 2:21 PM

RAZO Construction offers second chance to former inmates

By: Stanford Conway, SKNVibes.com

    BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – FOR many years it has been bandied that some locals in the private sector do not employ former residents of Her Majesty’s Prison (HMP). But a foreign-owned construction company views the situation differently and has been offering second chances to former residents of the penal institution.

     

    That company is RAZO Construction, which is located at the Southeast Peninsula in St. Kitts and which had recently donated two HP Laptop Computers to HMP to assist in the educational aspect of the Rehabilitation Programmes there.

    In an exclusive interview with David Di Rienzo, owner and President of RAZO Construction, and Vice President Ryan Mangrum, SKNVibes learnt that there are three former HMP’s residents currently working with the company.

    “Right now we have three of them working with us and we are willing to open the doors for more,” Mangrum said. 

    The VP pointed out that there is an interview process which all applicants are subjected to, while explaining that the company gives each applicant an opportunity to “prove themselves”.

    “We also try the guys. When we try guys, if they are not working out, if they do not drive with our team, we let them go and we try others. So, I am always willing to give someone a second chance, especially when they are honest on their application and say I have been arrested before. Then they give me a reason, and during the interview we talk about it. But once they get the job, it’s up to them to continue as a part of our family or team.”

    He also explained that every month the company hosts motivation meetings for its employees.

    “We have a motivational meeting every first Monday of every month. All of our crew sit right here and we try to build them up, not just for us to get more as far as production, but we want them to be better people at work and also at the community level. 

    “It pays off when you have guys say: ‘Hey, three years ago the community thought that I was just a drunk or a bad person, or whatever the case.’ Now, as they see them at RAZO Construction, their conduct has changed a little and the gentlemen have made a decision to change their lives, and now the community respects them. So that is very rewarding for David and myself.”

    In his response to why the company has offered employment to men who had served prison sentences, CEO Di Rienzo avowed similar sentiments about second chances in life.

    “Especially being a Canadian here in St. Kitts for nine years, we grow up with a transparency...with discrimination, and that happens with even fellows who are incarcerated. Everybody is human and everybody deserves a fair chance. There are obviously some crimes that are a little more severe than others, but there are lots of minor crimes and some people make bad decisions. But win or learn, never lose, that’s my motto. So I think it’s important that everybody gets a fair chance.”

    Di Rienzo also addressed questions on the former inmates’ attitude towards work and their level of production.

    “There have been people who were incarcerated before entering our workforce and they didn’t last two weeks. But I have some guys who have done it on their own; they have worked hard, they drive with their other teammates and they are still working for us. So it depends on the individual and how much they want to change, because there are some guys who just come out for a job; they want a pay cheque and that’s it. But there are other guys who push every day, set examples for other guys that haven’t been incarcerated and they are going to continue to work for us.

    “What we would like to do at RAZO Construction is really also ignite a passion from within. Some people lose hunger and lose appetite for life, and what we try to do is build the company’s culture that really enhances that and develops that. So, we try to ignite it into individuals within.”

    Di Rienzo hails from Montreal, Canada and has been residing in St. Kitts with his family since 2009.

    “We were attracted to St. Kitts because of its beauty, its opportunity for development and its community as a whole. It has been an amazing upraising for my children. I have a nine-year-old son and a four-year-old daughter, who have pretty much spent their whole life in St. Kitts.

    He claimed that St. Kitts is a multi-cultural society and declared that his company is privileged to work amongst and train some of the talented people that the island has.

    “As we realise, today’s modern world has become an international world. So, growing up in a place like St. Kitts and being transparent to the multi-different cultures that revolve around this world have just been great. I think we have been privileged to work with such a good team, to discover talent here in St. Kitts, to be able to further train local workforce.

    “We have found good talent, we developed talent and we know there is much more greatness here in St. Kitts for the years to come.”

    Di Rienzo noted that in addition to the two computers, his company would also be donating 25 chairs to HMP, and that the initiative is the brainchild of popular radio personality Andre ‘Magic Man’ Quow-Phipps.


     
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