PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT
JEMS CONTINUES YOUTH HIV PREVENTION AND LIFE SKILLS TRAINING
ENHAMS – Following up to a three-day HIV Prevention Workshop during its Youth Vacation Programme in August, JEMS Progressive Community Organization has scheduled two additional programmes for upcoming Saturdays, Sept. 24 and Oct. 8. Both sessions will be held from 9 a.m. until 2:15 p.m. at the Enhams Community Centre.
Continuing the theme “Empowering Young Minds for a Healthy, Productive and Sustainable Future, “ the programmes will engage young people in HIV prevention and life skills training activities. On Saturday, Sept. 24 the agenda will focus on HIV and AIDS updates, including information on testing and treatment in SVG. The focus for the Saturday, Oct. 8 training will be goal setting and decision making.
The workshops are for young people ages 15 to 19 including members of the JEMS Youth Club as well as those from outlying communities who attended the vacation sessions. New participants also are welcome to attend, but must make advance reservations.
The extended programming is funded by a United States Peace Corps VAST (Volunteer Activities Support and Training) grant, a source for HIV and AIDS related projects.
For more information or advance registration, contact Bernard Sayers at 430-9138, Rhonda Lee at 496-4249, or Margaret Jackson at 529-4065.
STUBBS – More than 30 youth and adults pitched in to clean trash and debris from Stubbs Bay last Saturday, Sept. 17. The project was part of the International Coastal Cleanup, uniting thousands of volunteers around the world in a massive single-day effort.
This was the fifth consecutive year for JEMS to lead a cleanup project at the Stubbs Bay site.
“Sadly, little has changed in the past five years,” noted JEMS president Rhonda Lee. “In fact, the volume of trash resulting from careless human actions seems to increase each year,” she said.
As in the past, plastic bottles, bags and containers topped this year’s list of collected items. Clothes, shoes, belts, tires, kitchen appliances, even a Blackberry cover were among the debris. In just a few hours, the group collected more than 30 bags of trash estimated to weigh over 1,500 pounds.
“Stubbs Bay is an interesting site,” remarked Lee. Few people spend time there, so very trash is deposited directly onto the beach. The great majority is brought in by the Stubbs River or by the sea.
“Obviously, the litter problems at Stubbs Bay can only be solved upstream, at the source; among people in the communities along the river where trash gets tossed without a thought of the consequences downstream.”
Lee reiterated the need for ongoing community education, and indicated that JEMS would take a leadership role in this effort in the months ahead.
Participants in the 2011 Cleanup at Stubbs Bay included members of JEMS, JEMS Youth, environmental clubs at St. Clair Dacon Secondary School and St. Joseph Convent at Marriaqua, and representatives of Southeast Development Inc. (SEDI) and the Environmental Management Department.
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