Thursday, September 3, 2020 — The OECS Commission and USAID, through the Juvenile Justice Reform Project (JJRP), has implemented a capacity-building intervention at the Boys Training Centre (Saint Lucia) in Cinematography. Dove Productions Limited is the facilitator of the training programme.

Solutions to involve children in conflict with the law is an important path in the rehabilitation, reentry and reintegration process in the community, family, and other social institutions. Acquiring the necessary life skills and gaining competencies to secure and maintain employment is a critical element of successful reintegration into society. 

Globally, young workers continue to face high rates of poverty and are increasingly exposed to non-standard, informal and less secure forms of employment. The situation is likely to be more acute for children and youth who have come in conflict with the law.

The JJRP cinematography intervention will engage 12 boys at the Boys Training Centre in various techniques of videography.  This is an important step towards the social inclusion of a vulnerable community by way of improving their resilience through skill development.

We welcome other partnerships with the public and private sector to complement this technical skill and in so doing, strengthening the beneficiaries rehabilitation and reintegration prospects.

The Juvenile Justice Reform Programme (JJRP) has been implemented in the region for over a decade starting in 2008 with Phase 1 and continuing on to Phase II in October 2016. JJRP focuses on three components: diversion, rehabilitation and reintegration of children in conflict with the law.  The project is being implemented in the six OECS Independent Member States: Antigua and Barbuda, St. Kitts and Nevis, Dominica, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada.