Some of the Red Cross and CIFSEF braiding course graduates.
SIMPSON BAY--Sixteen students graduated from the Red Cross and Caribbean Institute for Social Education Foundation (CIFSEF) braiding and air-conditioning maintenance courses in a ceremony held on Thursday, March 11.
These courses are part of the Red Cross livelihoods project, which sought to help people develop professional skills. The project is part of the Red Cross Hurricane Irma recovery programme.
“St. Maarten’s economy is mostly dependent on tourism and, after [Hurricane – Ed.] Irma, job opportunities decreased. Due to the economic impact of the pandemic, again many people lost their jobs. With the livelihoods project, the Red Cross aimed to provide participants with different sources of income and/or more skills to be more versatile on the job market,” said Red Cross in a press release on Friday.
Some 142 persons have enrolled in one of seven courses since the project’s inception. A total of 64 students received their certificates between February and March alone.
“The graduations were very emotional,” said Red Cross project manager Fernando Suárez Jiménez. “[The participants] exude confidence and energy to take what they have learned a step further. We have seen some great business plans developing.”
The courses offered in the livelihoods project were air-conditioning maintenance courses offered through CIFSEF and National Institute for Professional Advancement (NIPA); a maritime course conducted by Kidz at Sea Foundation; and sewing, braiding and hair salon, manicure and pedicure, and baking courses by CIFSEF.
Red Cross also offered training in building construction though its home and roof repair project, with 50 of these persons enrolling in a follow-up micro-entrepreneurship course offered by Produce Wealth Revolution (PWR) Agency. A total of 36 of these 50 participants later received small grants to start their own businesses.
Thursday’s ceremony was one of the last in the livelihoods project’s lifetime, as the project is ending later this year. The final course – an air-conditioning maintenance course offered through NIPA – is slated to come to a close at the end of May. Twenty students are enrolled in this course, which was initially delayed due to COVID-19.
Red Cross will wind down its Hurricane Irma recovery programme in the coming months. Afterwards it will continue with regular activities such as disaster preparedness and response, clothing donation drives and providing first-aid at events.
For more information about the Red Cross, persons can visit the website
www.redcross.sx.
