By Junior Achievement St Lucia
(PRESS RELEASE) — Chamber and Junior Achievement, in collaboration with the La Feuille ICT Centre and the Ministry of Equity, Social Justice, Empowerment and Human Services, are currently hosting its first-ever Urban Adventures Summer Program.

Utilizing the JA curriculum, the program has been adapted to meet the growing needs of the students within the community amid the COVID-19 period and is designed to impart on participants the difference between their needs and their wants, the value of making the right choices and the consequences of not staying in school.

Junior Achievement is the world’s largest organization dedicated to educating students about entrepreneurship, work readiness, life skills and financial literacy through experiential, hands-on programs. The sequential program themes help prepare young people for the real world by showing them how to generate wealth and effectively manage it, how to create jobs which make their communities more robust and how to apply entrepreneurial thinking to the workplace. These lessons are put into action and participants learn the value of contributing to their communities. This interactive, hands-on approach to learning allows participants to understand, differentiate and prioritize their needs and wants.

The community-based program provides opportunities for community members to volunteer to deliver the curriculum while sharing their experiences with participants. Embodying the heart of JA, volunteers transform the key concepts of JA lessons into a message that inspires and empowers students to believe in themselves, showing them they can make a difference in the communities they live and the world around them.

The three-week program schedule includes gardening, arts and craft, physical exercise/sports, Crime prevention, banking and finance and tours to the community’s main attraction Daren Sammy Cricket Stadium, Shangrila and the local community bakery, Juliana’s Minimart. Professionals within the community have confirmed their participation and will share their skills and knowledge and interact with the youth within the community.
A total of 25 youth aged 8-14 are currently registered with 8 volunteers/mentors from the Caye Mange/ La Feuille community.

On behalf of the Chamber and Junior Achievement Board of Directors and staff, we take this opportunity to extend appreciation to all volunteers and the following for providing financial and technical support, Ministry of Home Affairs, Justice and National Security, Ministry of Equity, Social Justice, Empowerment and Human Services, Parliamentary representative Hon Lenard Montoute, Windward and Leeward Brewery Limited, Real Foods Inc., Massy Stores, Shangrila, Juliana’s Community Mart and Lucian Bags.