Tuesday, April 11, 2006

BASSETERRE, St Kitts: The piloting of the PANCAP/CARICOM Mini-Grant Programme has proceeded well enough to allow its expansion into five additional territories.

The mini-grant programme was designed to train youths to develop projects that contribute towards a reduced incidence of HIV/AIDS among young people. It is being piloted in the Bahamas, Belize, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines. It will also be implemented in the Dominican Republic.

Countries set to introduce the programme include Barbados, Dominica, Suriname, the British Virgin Islands and Trinidad and Tobago.

Acting Dean of the CARICOM Youth Ambassadors (CYA) Kendall Elva said that the April 3 to 4 workshop held in the Dominican Republic was designed to review the strengths and challenges of the pilot phase.

“The first part of the workshop was to evaluate the mini-grant programme to see what has to be changed and to discuss the way forward (looking at) what we have achieved and the impact on a national level. From all reports things seem to be going pretty good,” he stressed.

Elva explained that the review will greatly enhance the implementation of the programme in the new countries.

“Given that you are aware of the challenges that the pilot countries face … you can definitely go back home and try to avoid (some of the challenges) and prevent them from resurfacing,” he stated. “It was a wonderful opportunity for them to be exposed to this sort of information so they can really improve their … implementation of the programme.”

Elva, the male CYA of St Lucia, added that there are many benefits offered by the mini-grant programme including the revitalization of local youth groups who are mobilized to participate. He also highlighted two of the main positives as: the training of young people in various areas and the provision of funds to address HIV/AIDS related issues in their respective communities.

CYAs also used April 5 of the Dominican Republic meeting to discuss a number of issues confronting their body. The CYA programme is CARICOM’s institutional framework to allow young people to participate in the decision making process of its policies and programmes.

An upcoming workshop will reportedly review a number of issues including the promotion and impact of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) among youths.

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