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Archive -Youth

CWS pledges R900,000 to support youth programme |18 April 2015

 

 

 

Local telecommunications firm Cable & Wireless Seychelles (CWS) has pledged R900,000 to fund a programme for the youths.

This new intergenerational support programme for youths – the Youth Coaches Programme – was launched by the youth department and the Seychelles National Youth Council (SNYC) following a survey done last August among the youth.

A memorandum of agreement for the implementation of the programme was signed yesterday at the Youth Health Centre, Victoria in the presence of Vice-President Danny Faure, who holds the portfolio responsibility for youth.



The agreement was signed by CWS chief executive Charles Hammond, youth principal secretary Alain Volcère and SNYC chief executive Vicky van der Westhuizen.
The aims of this programme are to provide a service as the first point of contact for youths needing to discuss problems and find solutions; provide help through guidance on a range of youth-related problems and refer the youths to more specialised services if there is a need.  


“The service will provide an opportunity for a verbal interaction between the coach and the youth with the sole aim of assisting the youth to deal with a specific problem which could be physical/personal/emotional or social,” explained senior psychologist Anna-Lisa Labiche.

“The coach will assist the youth in decision-making and problem-solving. The service will have a direct link with other existing services and it will refer the young person to the appropriate services and if need arises, the coach may refer the youth to other specialists.The referral services may include social workers, doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists, religious leaders, teachers, the police and others,” added Ms Labiche.

A visibly happy Vice-President Faure said: “Today is a very important day as we put up a structure that will help in the development of the youth. It is also a reflection of what have been happening in the past and also the aspiration of the youth. 77% of the youth interviewed during the survey last year wanted this kind of structure and the good thing is we have the people who can help us. The gesture from Cable & Wireless is very much appreciated and we hope that more companies will come forward to help in building the society.”



Mr Hammond said his company feels that this programme has the potential to really help youths directly by drawing on the strength of the community and of the people who have journeyed through the road of life and experienced life’s challenges.



“Offering contact and guidance with positive role models in a structured way while also integrating with other existing support services will surely provide necessary support to those that need it most,” Mr Hammond said.

“CWS is pledging a total of R900,000 to this programme – R300,000 each year over three years – and we hope that our first donation this year will give the programme a sound foundation.  We will be following closely the programme and look for some positive results,” Mr Hammond added.

 

 

 

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