Eighty-two more Surinamese youth are now better equipped for the workforce having completed basic life skills and pre-employment training under the Youth to Youth (Y2Y) component of the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Kari Yu! Youth Development and Juvenile Justice Program.

The youth were recognized during a graduation ceremony on Monday August 8 at the Royal Ballroom Torarica. Their graduation brings the total number of youth who have successfully completed the three-year program to 2,026. Kari Yu! is implemented by the Pan American Development Foundation (PADF).

At the ceremony USAID Mission Director for the Eastern and Southern Caribbean, Christopher Cushing, said that the United States Government was pleased to support programs that empowered youth and provided them with opportunities to improve their lives.

“Through this initiative, you acquired critical work and life skills which place you on an upward trajectory. Congratulations to all of you for staying focused on your goals and successfully completing your training. I urge you to continue stretching your boundaries, improving your education, and expanding your knowledge. It will open new possibilities for your life,” he advised the graduates.

Mr. Cushing thanked those persons whose support he described as “invaluable” to the youth on this journey, including their family, friends, and members of the Kari Yu project team. He additionally lauded the “high level of engagement and support” received from government, local partners in the public and private sectors, and from local foundations, all of which he deemed as “a major contributing factor to the project’s success.”

“As partners you advised us on how to make the program better; helped us to develop activities like the Suriname Resocialization Plan; provided training, mentorship, and support for youth leaving detention facilities; and most importantly, provided on-the-job training and full-time jobs. All of these efforts supported young Surinamese embarking on a new phase in life and are accomplishments of which you should be very proud,” he said.

The USAID official also urged more people to come on board, noting that investment in youth was paramount if countries are serious about sustainable growth and development. The cost of not making the investment, he said, “could be far greater.”

Mr. Cushing told the representatives from government, private sector, and civil society that thanks to the successful partnership between the United States Government and the Government and people of Suriname, over 700 youth found jobs in the private sector, 32 started their own small businesses and over 100 continued their education.

He noted that in the juvenile justice component of the program, reforms were made to improve the training and rehabilitation provided for youth in detention and to strengthen the support and services available to them in their communities after release. Government workers, he said, also received training and tools to strengthen their capacity to ensure that the positive impact on Surinamese youth continues after Kari Yu! ends.

During his welcoming remarks, PADF Program Director, Carlo Arze, highlighted the program’s main accomplishments and then presented a publication entitled “Faces and Voices of Kari Yu!” to Mr. Cushing and to the Minister of Justice and Police, Jennifer Van Dijk-Silos, who also addressed the gathering. The publication contains a small sample of the youth whose lives were touched and/or changed by participation in Kari Yu! as told by their mentors and/or career counselors.

Following the ceremony, the graduates participated in a Job & Opportunity Fair where they were able to meet with potential employers. More than 10 companies with entry-level vacancies participated in the Fair.