Thirty young men from the March Pen and Corlettes roads communities of St Catherine, are being trained by the Ministry of National Security as lifeguards and will be deployed to hotels upon completion of their training.

This was revealed in Spanish Town on Tuesday by permanent secretary in Ministry of National Security, Major Richard Reese. The men are said to be the first batch to be trained as lifeguard under the ministry's Community Security Initiative, where special inner-city communities are targeted to make youths more productive.

Agents of change

The 30 participants will start their training in Kingston today

Reese, in his message, implored the participants to be agents of change.

"I know that you can help in changing the views of persons outside of your community. You are very talented persons who are specially selected and you are blessed that spaces are awaiting your employment," he told the men.

Reese, who recently left the correctional service as commissioner of corrections, related stories about how hard work, dedication and discipline had helped him climb social and professional ladders. He told them that, despite the hardship, if they were disciplined, nothing could stop them.

Community initiative

The Community Security Initiative is a project that started in 2002 and has been implemented Mud Town, Matthews Lane and other depressed communities in the Corporate Area.

According to Patricia Balls, head of the Community Security Initiative, the cost for training the 30 men is over $200,000.

Persons willing to participate in the training programme must be able to read at the ninth grade level. In addition to swimming, they will also be taught ethics and basic survival skills.

'I know that you can help in changing the views of persons outside of your community. You are very talented persons who are specially selected and you are blessed that spaces are awaiting your employment.'