The 44 students who successfully completed the WYCCF courses on Saturday.
ST. JOHN’S–It was a festive mood at the White and Yellow Cross Care Foundation (WYCCF) headquarters Saturday evening when 44 graduates celebrated their successful completion of two special “post-Irma” courses.
After the devastation of Hurricane Irma in September 2017, WYCCF quickly made an inventory of the needs of its many clients, both admitted in its departments and those residing at home.
Devastation was especially present in the different districts with many senior clients’ homes damaged or destroyed. Day-care clients of Sister Basilia Centre also were affected by living in damaged homes and WYCCF stepped up to seek funding for a home repair project.
The Dutch Ministry of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations released seven million euros as an early recovery fund to NGOs for St. Maarten and to international relief organisations to quickly address some of the most urgent needs in St. Maarten, and WYCCF presented three projects for funding.
Besides the home repair project, WYCCF wrote two additional proposals: a programme to retrain unemployed residents to become construction assistants and an accelerated course for unemployed residents to become care assistants. All three projects were approved on December 20, 2017, and WYCCF immediately reached out to the Department of Labour Affairs and Social Services to collaborate.
What followed was a very successful registration drive at the Government Building that resulted in more than 160 possible candidates for the two courses. Rigorous screening followed, made successful by the dedicated Department of Social Services staff, who worked with passion to assist the unemployed. Partnerships were sought and found with National Institute for Professional Advancement, Milton Peters College SVOBE, PRE Consultants and St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) to develop the content of the courses and to arrange class schedules and job training days.
In less than three weeks the students were selected, the courses were finalised and trainers were found, and the construction group started their first class on January 29, followed by the care group a few days later. Over the last 5 months all students worked very hard following afternoon and evening classes, and after the full theoretical period their job training started. Because of the WYCCF home repair programme, some construction students trained with contractors working on these repairs.
Students combined job training days with class evenings every week, covering all their topics to become certified level 1 construction assistants. Some even found jobs in the construction field right away, resulting in a low percentage of course drop-outs, as their new jobs left no time for the training.
The care students rotated during their job training in all WYCCF departments and trained at SMMC, an all-round experience qualifying them to work in basic care at both institutions.
As WYCCF is in the process of expanding its services, an immediate eight vacancies are available for the new graduates to apply for.
SMMC also has vacancies for care assistants, which means that more than 60 per cent of the graduates will be able to find work immediately.
The graduation ceremony on Saturday evening started off with an address by Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports Wycliffe Smith. His words of support and encouragement were followed by Mirthe Coppelmans, who spoke on behalf of Dutch Representative in St. Maarten Chris Johnson. Her presence was also on behalf of the Ministry of Dutch Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations, as the partner that funded the project.
Building back better and retraining unemployed residents in sectors that are not affected by hurricanes was seen as crucial in the recovery of the island. Jose Sommers, the project coordinator on behalf of WYCCF for both courses gave insight in the details of the courses. She presented some statistics on the students’ performance and the overall results, which were very good: high attendance, serious and dedicated students and a beautiful overall pass rate, matching the goals that were included in the original project plans.
Attendees at the graduation ceremony were then treated to a short film created by Tim van Dijk which followed two students in their lives before and after Irma. Touching scenes and powerful statements about how the courses changed their future for the better gave everyone present a personal view of the power of education.
The evening came to a conclusion with the presentation of the diplomas and certificates, followed by speeches by two graduates and a festive reception.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/78193-44-complete-post-hurricane-irma-wyccf-courses-sat
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