Participants Successfully Complete CASSA Program
Creating a Safe Space Agenda is an initiative that was being implemented by the YWCA and involved children and young adults from Belize City and Belmopan participating in various programs. CASSA, as it is locally referred to, officially comes to an end in September. This morning, a second group of participants successfully completed the program which was spread across a two-year period. Project Manager Darlene Gentle spoke with News Five about CASSA and what it has done for participants of the program.
Darlene Gentle, Project Manager, YWCA CASSA Project
“The CASSA Project was a two-year project that will officially end in September of this year. Today what we have is the closing ceremonies for cohort two and the 2016 summer program for the second year of the CASSA project. Last year this same time we had a closing ceremony for cohort one and 2015 summer program participants of the CASSA Project.”
Isani Cayetano
“What is the objective or what has been the objective of this initiative?”
Darlene Gentle
Darlene Gentle
“The objective was to provide a safe and healthy environment for young children from disadvantaged areas of Belize City and surrounding Belmopan. So the project has been going on here in Belize City and in Belmopan. We provided educational opportunities for the students. We provided life skills, we did entrepreneurial programs, we did environmental programs. We did remedial math, Spanish, reading. We had basketball, we had swimming, we had swimming instructors and we had lifeguard program, all happening at the same time.”
Isani Cayetano
“Is there an assessment or has there been an assessment an evaluation of what these individuals have learned and what they will take along with them into the wider world of work or wherever they decide to end up?”
Darlene Gentle
“Okay, what we have been doing over the two years, what we initially did was get their report cards from the principals and or the children to get that baseline information on their academic skills. And throughout the two years the facilitators, licensed teachers who have been teaching here, twenty-seven actually, between Belize City and Belmopan, they did pre and post-test evaluations. We have gotten the assistance, we actually contracted the services of a young lady who is doing the final evaluation for the project. But over the two years we have been doing the evaluations with regards to the academic stuff and as well providing mentorship and like I said, personal development skills and we’ve seen positive results from doing that over the past few months.”
The CASSA Project was funded by the United States Embassy
