Juici Patties Youth Leadership Workshop and Volunteer Program

In the last eleven (11) years Juici Patties has been promoting the “Spirit of Volunteerism” through our Youth Leadership Workshop which is held in July of each year. Our workshop targets fourth and fifth form high school students from across the island. To date, we have hosted students from several schools in the parishes of Manchester, St. Elizabeth, Clarendon, St. Catherine, and Kingston and St. Andrew.

The five (5) day workshop covers topics relating to effective leadership, team building, communication skills, conflict resolution, responsible sexual behavior, and decision making. A part of the project engages students in opportunities to work with the less fortunate at children’s home and golden age homes.

The main aim of this workshop is to help sharpen the leadership and social skills of the participants. This we hope will motivate and empower them to also contribute to the development of others and by extension our country, Jamaica.

For this year (2015) approximately 120 students from 29 schools, were in attendance at the workshop. The presenters included Mr. Jukie Chin- CEO, Juici Patties; Dr. Leachim Semaj- CEO, Job Bank; Ms. Winsome Wilkins – CEO, Council of Voluntary Social Services, and Ms. Hope McNish, a Human Resource Development Professional. We also had presentations from The National Council on Drug Abuse, The Rotary Club of Mandeville, The Jamaica Red Cross, and The James and Friends Education Programme, The workshop activities included visits (2 days each) to the infirmaries in Manchester, Clarendon, and St. Catherine. At the infirmaries the students engaged in various activities including playing games, grooming, and feeding of the residents.

On the final day of the workshop students were asked to report on how they were impacted by the different activities they had engaged in throughout the workshop; the presentations were done in groups. The feedback from the participants was positive. They reported that they had a productive time and wished that we could have extended the workshop for one more week.

The workshop ended with a mini-concert where students were given a chance to showcase their talents: they performed various pieces such as songs, poems, and skits. Each student was presented with a certificate for participating in the workshop. We can safely conclude that our objectives were achieved. We thank everyone who helped to make the workshop a success.