Mariba Douglas had travelled to her parents’ homeland of Jamaica several times on vacation, but she saw the country in a new light after living and working there for her co-op placement.
Douglas is a fifth-year student in the University of Toronto Scarborough Specialist (Co-op) Program in International Development Studies, and a recipient of a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarship.
In Jamaica, she worked as Youth Program Advisor at the Kingston YMCA through Cuso International. In addition to providing family-oriented programming, the Kingston YMCA offers a remedial studies program for adolescent boys who have been removed from mainstream public schooling because of aggressive behaviour, learning disabilities or other challenges. Douglas supported the development of an updated community engagement strategy, advised and reported on youth programming, and created tools and modules for training.
She also helped lead projects designed to re-engage these students in the joy of learning. In one, she co-chaired a conference – in cooperation with Cuso International and the Canadian High Commission in Jamaica – that challenged ideas of youth leadership and participation. “It was an incredible day featuring community leaders, working professionals, and facilitators who strive to promote positive and transformative spaces for youth across the country,” she says.
On a smaller scale, Douglas co-led a rewards-based reading program. “It was amazing to see how the boys flourished. You could see the positive progression in the types of books they were reading, and in the way that they could communicate what they had read,” she says. “As the students recognized that progress in themselves, they became more enthusiastic about learning.”
“As the students recognized that progress in themselves, they became more enthusiastic about learning," says Douglas.
While both ventures were successful, she says it was disheartening to see how resource constraints limit the YMCA from accomplishing its full mission. “It’s unfortunate, because they’re offering vital programming for an exceptionally vulnerable demographic of young men.”
Douglas keeps in touch with some students and says she continues to be inspired by their resilience. While the next time she visits Jamaica will likely be on vacation with her family, she plans to visit the YMCA to see the next crop of young men working to transform their lives.
The Canadian Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarships (QES) is managed through a unique partnership of Universities Canada, the Rideau Hall Foundation (RHF), Community Foundations of Canada (CFC) and Canadian universities. This program is made possible with financial support from the Government of Canada, provincial governments and the private sector.