Project STAR uses sports to engage young men in troubled communities

Residents and stakeholders of the Savanna-la-Mar communities of Cooke Street, Seaton Crescent, Harmony Town and New Market Oval are drafting a community transformation plan that will guide the work that will be delivered under Project STAR in their communities. Some 30 individuals comprising educators, entrepreneurs, parents, youth and members of the Savanna-la-Mar Community Transformation Board (CTB), hammered out the plan at the final of a series of working sessions facilitated by Project STAR at the Source Centre on Barracks Road in Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland. Saffrey Brown, project director of Project STAR, said that the planning sessions provide an outline of the community transformation plan, which will state what the strategies are and form an action plan for the communities. “Once the plan is fully prepared, the community members and stakeholders involved in its formation will present the action plan to the community to get consensus and sign off and the aim is to start implementing the community transformation plan within the next 60 days,” she said.

RESIDENTS of May Pen, Clarendon, who are plagued by high levels of crime and violence, unemployment, and inadequate infrastructure, are hoping to turn their community around with assistance from Project Star. Sharise Staines-Appleby, community services manager at Project Star, said that work started in May Pen in June with walk-throughs, engagement of residents, and the facilitation of meetings with stakeholders. "We have met with community members to get a directive on what they would like us to focus on; preliminary feedback highlighted high levels of crime and violence, unemployment, poor and inadequate infrastructure are the priority areas for intervention," she said.