THE Centre for Adolescent Renewal and Education (C.A.R.E.) in Anse la Raye has stepped out to make their presence felt with a two-day open day exhibition at the school compound.
Coordinator of C.A.R.E. Anse la Raye, Loraine Mitille, said the event was to showcase the works of the trainees who have embarked on the three-year course
A number of schools in the western part of the island were invited to visit the exhibition, including the Jon Odlum Secondary, George Charles Secondary, Canaries, Anse la Raye and Marigot schools.
Mitille said: “We know that there is a stigma still attached to C.A.R.E., and we’re basically trying to get rid of the stigma. So we want the general public to see what the trainees are capable of doing, what they have been doing and where C.A.R.E. has taken them from where they started to where they are today.”
There are currently four skills being taught at the centre, namely Carpentry and Joinery, Electrical Refrigeration and Air Condition Repair, Office Skill and Administration and Hospitality and Culinary Arts.
Mitille said the exhibition is very important to display the works of the trainees, especially for the fact that they come from secondary and primary schools all across the island.
She said: “We have trainees from even St. Mary’s College, Leon Hess, Entrepot and other secondary schools who needed something more in their lives. Hence the reason why they came to C.A.R.E. to acquire the skills and when the trainees get the skills, they acquire them for life.”
Deluce Emmanuel, 18, who studies Carpentry and Joinery, displayed his hand-built wardrobe that took him two weeks to complete.
He said: “C.A.R.E. is a good school and it has changed my life. I try my best to wake up in the morning to go to school. I want to own my own shop.”
Another student, 17-year-old Chrystal Joseph, a student in the crucial Adolescent Development Programme (ADP), which is the first year of the three-year course, said the programme has helped her to open up and grow.
She said: “C.A.R.E. gives students and adults a second chance to get a job, be better and to do something else with their lives.”
Although the programme has a three-year duration, students who possess the right attitude and sufficient skills are filtered out after a year to move onto an eight-week internship in the employment sector of their designated skill set.
During that time, the students acquire further skills which propel them into finding permanent employment.
There are presently past trainees who work in all sectors of the employment spectrum.
The open day was scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday.
