The Ministry of Youth Development and Sports (JOS) began paying allowances to participants in the Holiday Employment Project and the Krin Kondre campaign on Monday, September 28. The ministry aims to complete the payments by Wednesday, September 30, so that the young people can purchase school supplies before the start of the new school year.
Young people from Saramacca, Coronie, Nickerie and part of Paramaribo received their allowance on Monday. According to JOS Minister Lalinie Gopal, participants gained work experience during their holidays and contributed to keeping their surroundings clean. “Today they are not only receiving an allowance. They have invested in themselves, gained work experience and also shown that young people are capable of contributing to the development of Suriname,” Gopal said.
Work experience and discipline
The participating young people describe the holiday work as an educational experience. They say they made new friends, learned to work together and gained more discipline. Getting up early and the work were sometimes experienced as tiring, but the young people enjoyed cleaning their own district. Most participants say they want to spend their allowance on school supplies. Others want to use part of the money for personal purchases.
District Commissioner Aniel Ramautar of Saramacca looks back on the project with satisfaction and hopes for a continuation next year. According to him, in addition to dealing with waste, the young people also learned other skills. He calls on residents to contribute to a clean district by keeping their waste with them until they can dispose of it.
Fifty young people with disabilities
According to Gopal, fifty young people with disabilities also participated in the project this year. “If we talk about leave no one behind, we must start somewhere and leave no one out,” the minister said.
The ministry will still evaluate the project. The challenges and areas for improvement for a future implementation will be identified. Gopal thanked the young people, their parents and the partners involved, including the Directorate of Public Greenery and Waste Management and the district commissioner’s offices.
