The Seychelles National Youth Council (SNYC) held a meeting recently with representatives of 26 newly-formed youth-led clubs of interest to provide them with information about how SNYC could assist them to better deliver and implement programmes in their respective districts.
The meeting took place at the SNYC conference room at Orion Mall.
The SNYC chief executive, Albert Duncan, said he was very encouraged to see that many individuals were taking the opportunity set before them to better their community.
“Today we have officers from the local government who will be talking about the Animators scheme, a scheme which is backed up and supported by SNYC to help the clubs. Youth engaging clubs is something that is really important for SNYC,” he said.
Two programme officers from the Local Government department, Marlon Maria and Brendon Naiken, gave a detailed presentation about the Animators scheme, which is aimed at helping clubs that organise activities in the communities. The scheme assists with venues, transport and equipment, and a small allowance, based on each group’s request.
The Animators scheme offers a R3000 allowance for clubs that hold sessions 2-3 days per week, R1200 for clubs organising one session per week and R300 per day for clubs that organise holiday programmes.
They also announced that the Animators scheme is currently on hold for three months since April, as they are assessing certain aspects of the scheme to ensure that it is efficient and accommodates all interested clubs. There are 72 animators registered for the scheme.
The director general for Community Affairs, Denise Clarisse, said that they have put a moratorium on the scheme so they can measure the existing programmes.
“The enrolment of animators varies from educational aspect, physical aspect and social aspect. So there is a specific representation that we are expecting. However, we are monitoring if the objectives set by the respective existing animators are being respected and met,” she said.
Trevor Pool, who was a participant and a person interested in setting up a drama club in Perseverance, said he was very interested in the scheme for its assistance. However, the hours they were given to hold their session were not convenient for the children as it was too late and they did not have a venue.
“The majority of the youths in our community are already involved in anti-social behaviour, and I wanted to help them by establishing a theatre group, to steer them away from all those bad influences. But I cannot because there are so many barriers, which I hope the scheme can help with,” he stated.
The meeting had also scheduled a presentation by Michel Pierre, the vice-chairperson of the Citizens Engagement Platform Seychelles (Ceps). However due to the increased interest in the Animators scheme, which prolonged the meeting, it has been set for another date.
Courtesy: Diane Larame (Nation.sc)
