Keisha Hill, Staff Reporter

Baris Johnson shows how to dribble the ball at his junior football camp now on at the Waterhouse Mini Stadium. - Norman Grindley/Deputy Chief Photographer

When you think of inner-city communities in Jamaica, the words squalor, poverty, crime and hopelessness readily come to mind, but Baris Johnson and friends are looking to change this mindset through the Inner-city Youth Development Programme, focusing on community development through sports and academics.

The programme which kicked off on Saturday, February 2, at the Waterhouse Mini Stadium, is aiming to bring back family values and parental involvement in the socialisation of children within Waterhouse and surrounding inner-city communities.

"We want to try and uplift these communities by bringing back the family setting. Too many homes are headed by single parents. And, as a result, the life span of these children has been shortened," Johnson said.

Negative influences

"There are too many negative influences in their surroundings and without proper parental guidance they will gravitate to these influences. If we can change the mindset, starting with the children, the conditions in these communities will improve over time."

According to Johnson, the programme is expected to take place on Saturdays until the end of August and will include football training and academics for children age seven to 13 years.

Two training camps, he said, are in the pipeline for the Easter and Summer holidays, which will facilitate more children.

He is encouraging parents in these communities to attend the sessions with their children and become more involved in their children's formative years. Citing the overwhelming turnout of children in attendance at the first session, Johnson is confident that the programme will be successful.

No family network

"These children are bright, they just need to develop the right attitude and improve their self-esteem. The level of interest from the parents is low and the family network is not there. With the negative influences through music, television and others, these children need a positive avenue to channel their energy," he said.

With assistance from Gregory Hall, goalkeeper for Waterhouse FC, Marcelle Gayle, coach of Water-house Under-13 and Under-20 teams, and Andrew Fuller, former coach at Drews Avenue Primary, Johnson is hoping that along with sponsors TankWeld, Locker Room Sports and Wata, they can make a difference in the lives of these children.

"Based on the positive response from the communities, this programme is not something we want to stop and hopefully we can turn it into an annual event. We do not want to give the children hope and then leave them hanging," he concluded.