Preparation for Work: Patrick Victor addresses youths |24 June 2019

Patrick Victor addressing the youths

Thirty young men and women participating in the ‘Prepare for Work’ programme, initiated by The Guy Morel Institute (TGMI), had an opportunity to interact with veteran artist Patrick Victor and learn more about his life and professional experiences during his keynote address at TGMI on Friday morning.

The ‘Prepare for Work’ programme is a transformative programme which was launched last month with the aim of providing young participants with insight on raising their self-awareness and giving them a strong foundation for personal growth and professional success.

To encourage and motivate participants on the programme, TGMI is inviting different guest speakers to share their testimonies and success stories in a bid to inspire the young persons to aim high and pursue their dreams. A second point of focus of the programme is skills development, in which the group will be trained and equipped with skills that they can put to use in their future workplaces and in their daily lives.

Patrick Victor is a well-known musician, a household name in Seychelles and the region. What many of the young particpants present did not know however, is that he is also a Professor with the University of Seychelles (UniSey).

Mr Victor started off by recounting his childhood whereby he grew up with adoptive parents, following the death of his father. He detailed his background and how he developed an interest in music as he was growing up in Hangard Street, which was always animated by bands and musicians by the roadside.

Speaking of his life after he left school at the tender age of 14, Mr Victor noted that he could not continue with his studies as he needed to support his adoptive father, who was a chariot-puller at the time. It was at this instance that he discovered his passion for music as he met Keven Rath who assisted him and taught him to play the guitar.

Mr Victor continued to explain his other passion for theatre and how his hard work and dedication in music resulted in many opportunities including recording an album in France, touring around Europe amid other renowned musical groups and his involvement in an erotic movie shot in Seychelles entitled “Goodbye Emmanuelle”.

Mr Victor encouraged the young individuals to work hard to pursue their dreams and to eliminate all negative influences within their surroundings.

“Not everyone who you think is your friend is rooting for you to achieve your dreams. You may find that they do not encourage you or give you good advice when you need it. So you need to remember, your friend’s dreams are not yours and your dreams are not the dreams of your friends so stay focused towards your own goals,” Mr Victor asserted.

Programme coordinator, Timothe Sinon, thanked Mr Victor for his encouraging and inspiring words and pronounced a few words to the participants stating that they need to find their passion and calling in life and to develop themselves.

“As a young person, it is easy to get mixed up with the wrong influences and to get carried away in the midst of friends but you need to remain focused on your goals. Three things resonate from Mr Victor’s story – passion, commitment and hard work.”

“As he explained, you are still young so take the time to grow up, and to grow as individuals. We hope that by the end of the programme, you are in a much better position to take better decisions and you will be ready to go out there and help others in a Seychelles where a lot of youths are getting mixed up either with the wrong crowd or partaking in the wrong activities,” Mr Sinon noted.

The programme will continue over the next four months with appearances from more guest speakers who will talk about their personal success stories.