41 cadets finish 1st phase of training
Viewers of this newscast are no strangers to the Youth Cadet Corps…but the programme, which seeks to put troubled youths on a path to good citizenship, is undergoing some changes. This morning News 5’s Patrick Jones was on hand as forty-one young men completed the first phase of their training.
Patrick Jones, Reporting
They may look like soldiers…but these cadets are young boys who have accepted the challenge: to turn their lives around. It?s all about second chances, and Counsellor Michael Barerra says it starts with self awareness.
Michael Barerra, Counsellor
?One of the biggest challenges is to get them to understand who they are. A lot of them are under the impression that they are all of the titles that are given to them from the neighbourhoods that they grew up in. You find they come with nick names that they feel they have a tendency to want to live up to. And so the biggest challenge is to get them to understand that people will accept them for being themselves, and so they don?t have to pretend to be this person that they think they ought to be, which is usually a tough person from the street; kind of street smart or street wise.?
The boys, ages twelve through eighteen, come from different parts of the country, either on referral from other institutions or brought in by parents who need help with their teenagers. Colive Casimiro is the Senior Instructor.
Colive Casimiro, Senior Instructor
?This is a school for kids who have–I would say–slipped through the cracks of the educational system. And we are trying to put them back on track so that they could be better citizens of Belize in the future.?
The programme, formerly known as boot camp, has undergone a transformation into what is now the behaviour modification phase of a ten month programme that targets the whole person. Barerra says gone are the days of breaking down the tough guys and starting from scratch.
Michael Barerra
?We don?t do that anymore. The behaviour modification phase is strictly reaching them, understanding where they are right now and helping them to progress from there, rather than breaking them down. We try to build on what they have. Because you find that breaking them down sometimes, you can?t get them back up. A lot of these guys have been beaten down so many times already, and so if you break them down, you find that it?s very difficult to bring them back up. So what we try to do is to just move from where they are at and start to instil self esteem and self concept in them.?
Although the programme only started six weeks ago, many of the youths say it?s already making a difference in their lives.
Wesscott Ordonez, Cadet
?Well sir it?s been a change for me, because many a things I have done, I plan to do them no more. And try to clean up my act and get ahead in life.?
Patrick Jones
?Now you have set specific goals for the future. What are some of those goals??
Wesscott Ordonez
?Well try to get a basic job and keep a high standard and try to not let anyone get you down in life.?
Glen Underwood, Cadet
?I think it is good being here that and not to be on the streets getting into trouble; this one shooting at me and that. So I rather come here and be a better part of my life.”
Patrick Jones
?What have you learnt since you came here??
Glen Underwood
?Well, I learnt about respect, love, kindness, please, faith; all of those things.?
Michael Barerra
?Getting through this phase alone says a lot about these individuals. It says that they have the courage and the will to change the way they have been living and to do things in a way that would be more productive to society and to their parents and to their families.?
But a lot of the young men were disappointed, as barely a quarter of their parents showed up for today?s graduation to the next phase of their training. Casimiro says the National Youth Cadet Service Corps can only do so much, but that the family plays a crucial role in ensuring the successful rehabilitation of these young people.
Wesscott Ordonez, Cadet
?I think I am better equipped now because influence is not an impact ton me now. I?ve changed off the influence of other guys. I influence myself to do things now as a leader now, so I feel like I am the influence on other people now.?
Kishane Montez, Cadet
?I have learned respect and most of all to respect my peers and each other and have love for one another.?
Patrick Jones
?Do you think that will help you now when you go back out into the community??
Kishane Montez, Cadet
?Yes, I am sure of it.?
Patrick Jones
?What do you want to be when you get older??
Kishane Montez
?I want to be an electrician. So that will be my main focus.?
While the programme has helped the youths to refocus their energies into becoming productive citizens, Casimiro says the discipline on display today for proud parents, is a far cry from when the young men showed up at the facility on October fourth.
Colive Casimiro
?Well at the beginning its very hard but as time goes by you know they get to fit in. Most of them miss home so you know we have that little problem. But as time goes by, everyone gets with the programme and so far we are doing very good.?
Patrick Jones, for News 5.
The forty-one young men will now go home for a week to return on November twentieth for their academic phase and vocational training. With assistance from Belize Telecommunications Limited, the National Youth Cadet Service Corps has acquired two mobile telephones to allow parents and relatives to stay in touch with the students. For parents who couldn’t make it today, the numbers to call are: 600-9590 and 600-9599.
