The Journey To Success’… The Diploma in Youth Development Work

It was a long, challenging but rewarding journey.

We boarded this ship and started out in June 2004, with our Captain Ms. Dorian Lennon, who was our country coordinator, tutor, mentor, motivator and more so a commander in chief, whose guiding philosophy is “None of us is as smart as all of us”, helped us to bond as a team. There were eight crew members.

We met each Saturday for tutorial classes, once per week for student support groups, and we attended a teleconference at the beginning of each module, where we connected with all the other diploma students in the Caribbean Islands. We had to do a learning contract and a learning journal for each module. This learning journal was very challenging at first for all students across the Caribbean. In the Cayman Islands, we were blessed to have one student who mastered it and her journal was selected two times for circulation around the Caribbean… that is yours truly – Beverley McKay.

We were all excited to get on board; our first module was very interesting and enlightening. That was- The Learning Process which centred on the youth in development work as an educator, showed us how people learn and how they can be helped to learn. It included face-to-face work with young people in training situations.

Our next stop was Commonwealth Values in Youth in Development Work. This module covered universal values associated with democratic and human rights principles, and provided us training in democratic styles of leadership, consensual decision-making, adapting to groups of differing backgrounds or with disabilities, ensuring equal participation by young women, and understanding different values, religions and traditions. It was a big eye opener and made us become more aware that we were Commonwealth citizens. Our dynamic teacher and coach Ms Dorian Lennon helped us to face this challenge without fear.

As we embarked on the module Young People and Society which related the theory and practice of youth in development work to the social context, we explored differences and commonalties in the transition from childhood to adulthood in different societies. This was a very interesting module, but our sails got torn and we got shipwrecked as the boisterous winds of Hurricane Ivan viciously attacked the Cayman Islands and interrupted our lives. But thank God we were not lost at sea; our captain Ms Dorian Lennon, helped us to swim ashore, where we boarded a ship at the next port and continued our journey. Some crew members decided not to continue the journey, fearful of being caught in another storm at sea. Thanks to the Commonwealth Youth Programme’s Programme Manager for Youth Work Education and Training - Mrs. Glenyss James who offered much support at this time with encouragement to go on.

Our Jamaican coordinators at the University of the West Indies were also of vital support to us. They were very understanding with late submission of our papers at this time. Special thanks also to our instructor Mr. Cleviston Hunte who aided us in completing this module.

Mr. Hunte instructed us through the module Principles and Practice of Youth in Development Work. This focused on the professional role of the practitioner, and the process of informal education. It analysed contemporary approaches - crisis intervention & prevention, empowerment, and centralized and outreach work. The module also included completion of project work in a youth organization. Just in case we thought we knew a lot about youth work because of our many years of experience… Hah!! This made us think again! We had only just begun to develop professionally as youth workers.

The journey got more exciting!! We were now sailing on higher seas… Working with People in Their Communities. This module helped to build our knowledge and skills to work successfully with young individuals and groups. Youth in development is presented as a planned developmental process, and the study included the theory and practice of community development. This was quite challenging as we had to go out in the communities and get our feet wet, while scuba diving for information. Information gathering and interviews with community members were not easy, but many cooperated very well. We had to work on our assignment as a group and this was quite challenging. Once again Ms Dorian Lennon our Captain motivated us and taught us to appreciate the value of group work… “NONE OF US IS AS SMART AS ALL OF US”.

The module Gender and Development was very exciting; it explored ways to ensure equality of outcomes for young women and men, and covered a range of theoretical perspectives. It helped us to develop techniques to encourage equal participation by young women and skills in gender sensitive planning, implementation and evaluation. If you want to understand young people, make sure you understand Gender and Development. Thanks to Mrs. Tammy Ebanks-Bishop from WRC and Miss Beulah McField who were guest lecturers for a part of this module.

Of course, if you want to be an effective youth worker, you have to develop skills in managing young people. The module on Management Skills focused on the youth development worker as a leader. It covered self-management, managing staff, organizational development, needs assessment and analysis, budgeting, scheduling and evaluation. After completing this module we were equipped to effectively manage in any youth organization. This is a fact, and our tutor Ms Dorian Lennon never ceased to emphasize this.

Ms. Dorian Lennon was an expert in teaching us Conflict Resolution Strategies and Skills. This module explored conflict, mediation and negotiation, the nature of competing perspectives - both among the young and between youth and established society - as well as strategies to express differences positively and work towards consensus or accommodation.

Our first year exam was very challenging, God blessed us with a good invigilator – Mrs. Deborah Lee – Chambers, who created a relaxing and inspirational atmosphere in the exam rooms, and there was always a look on her face that said “Sail on champions you are going to pass this test, soon you will reach the blissful shore”. That gave us hope.

We had a chance to anchor at a port for awhile during summer break 2005. That allowed us to recharge our batteries, refill our intellectual tanks with oil, repair our sails, and set sail for the final year’s journey. We were very disheartened as our dynamic captain Ms. Dorian Lennon was unable to board the ship for the final year journey, due to circumstances beyond her control. How are we going to make it? What will happen if another storm arises at sea? Who is going to wake us up if we fall asleep on this journey? We all joined hands, heads and hearts together, and this time only 4 crew members continued the journey. We empowered and motivated each other and practised the skills we learnt to work as a team.

Ms. Lennon and the crew kept in touch by email and telephone. Ms Catherine Whittaker was appointed as our new captain.

Effective youth work entails a lot. Project Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation was our next stop. We were trained to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to design, deliver and assess a project. The module covered all the processes from identifying a need, through bidding for funds to bringing the project to self-sustainability. Mr Cleviston Hunte came on board once again as one of our dynamic tutors, to guide us through this module. He is a great teacher. Thumbs up!! Mr. Hunte.

All youth workers should have a sound knowledge of, and have an input in their national youth policy. As we studied Policy, Planning and Implementation we were quite equipped to master this. This module helped us to develop skills in influencing policy making processes, action research, and the study of national youth policies - analyzing existing policies and seeking ways to improve them or create new ones. A very empowering module, indeed!! Thumbs up to Mrs. Sonia Wallace who empowered us and guided us through this module. At first we thought we were doing a Masters class, but ‘raising the bar’ helped to further develop our potential.

To equip us with basic enterprise development skills we were trained in Promoting Enterprise and Economic Development. This training gave us a practical grounding in the opportunities and pitfalls of self-employment; communicating with and providing leadership among marginalized young men and women, enabled us to provide training and support and to implement projects in a small-scale enterprise. Thumbs up to Mr. Phillip Scott, who guided and instructed us through this module.

In order to develop and empower a healthy population of young people, we need to focus on training in Youth and Health, drawing on health issues of the region. This module covered sexual health, drug abuse, nutrition and diet, exercise and healthy living. It also taught us skills in fostering relationships with young people. A big thank you to Nurse French who taught us extremely well, for a moment some of us thought “should I become a youth health nurse?”

Our final module on this journey, Sustainable Development and Environment Issues, taught us how youth development work can stimulate awareness of environmental issues among young people, help them make an active contribution to sustainable development and how to use their resources wisely without compromising the sustainability of future generations. Some of us did not like environmental science but Ms. Lisa Hurlston, our tutor, helped us to overcome this phobia as well as recognize the need to learn about the environment, before we can teach young people how to protect and sustain it.

Then came our final examination- Our inspiring invigilator – Ms Deborah Lee- Chambers once again helped us through this!! It is finished!!

My fellow graduates. We did it!! We have completed this segment of our journey. But as you are all aware, this is not our final journey. This is only a port in which we have stopped to take a rest and to change ship. Very soon we will be embarking on the journey to the Bachelor degree programme in youth development work. While we are preparing to board our next ship let us try to utilise and maximize all the training we have acquired to keep us empowered for the next journey.

We feel honoured to be the first four professionally trained youth workers from the partnership created by The Commonwealth Youth Programme Caribbean Centre, the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Jamaica, and the Government of the Cayman Islands. We will make you proud as we utilize this training to empower our young people.

A very hearty ‘Thank you’ once more to all those who have encouraged and assisted us on this journey.

God bless you.