BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, CMC – St. Kitts-Nevis has become the latest member of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) to launch the sub-regional grouping’s Opportunities to Advance and Support Youth for Success (OASYS) project.
The OASYS project aims to reduce crime and violence rates among young people across the Eastern Caribbean, focusing on strengthening youth justice systems.
It supports strengthening existing programs and investing in new ones to provide skills development, psychosocial support, and family interventions for youth in conflict with the law through collaborations with government and non-government partners, civil society organizations, and the private sector.
Prime Minister Dr. Terrance Drew, now the chairman of the nine-member grouping, expressed “enthusiasm and optimism” of the “transformative journey dedicated to empowering our youth.
“The Opportunities to Advance and Support Youth for Success project represents a shining beacon of hope for our young people. It is a testament to our unwavering commitment to nurturing their potential, fostering their dreams, and creating a future filled with boundless possibilities”, he added.
He said the project aims to give young people the tools to overcome obstacles they face regularly, grasp opportunities, and prosper in a constantly changing world.
He also outlined the challenges the twin-island Federation and the Caribbean region, as a whole, encounter with the issue of crime and violence and the approach being taken to combat the scourge.
“These incidents of crime and violence disproportionately affect young people, particularly young males between the ages 10-29 years, and remain a significant social problem.
“Earlier this year, my fellow CARICOM leaders gathered in Trinidad and Tobago to review a proposal by a son of the soil Dr. Izben Williams that calls for a public health approach to the issue of crime and violence. We have been investing time, money, and resources into treating the presenting problem and not the root causes for far too long.
“I assure the people of this proud Federation that your Government will be addressing the root causes for interpersonal crime and violence and, after that, investing in their resolution,” Dr. Drew told the launch.
He also expressed gratitude to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) “for their continued tangible support for one of the region’s major challenges – crime and violence with a focus on young people.”
The OECS groups the islands of Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Kitts-Nevis, Montserrat, Anguilla, and the British Virgin Islands.
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