YUTE MENTORING A LIFE CHANGER FOR YOUNG MOTHER

In 2010 Ann-Marie Baker was the mother of an eight year old daughter and two sons, aged one and three years. She was unemployed, unqualified and one of so many inner city youngsters facing a bleak future. Though she had completed high school, her mother – also a single mother – could not afford the exam fees, so Ann-Marie was not able to sit her CXC examinations. Only one of the three fathers of her children was helping to support his child. Her only other income was from her occasional “hustling” (selling) in downtown Kingston.

Today, thanks to skills training provided through the Youth Upliftment Through Employment (YUTE) programme, and the critical additional support of her dedicated YUTE mentor, business executive Nick Abbott, Ann Marie is in a very different place in her life.

Describing his mentee’s advancement, Mr. Abbott notes: “I have been working with Ann-Marie for four years and I can see real progress. As a YUTE participant, she completed Levels 1 and 2 in Food Preparation at HEART Trust NTA and while not working in that field, she has been employed for two years by a small business which manages short-term rental apartments.”

Initially hired to provide cleaning services to the company, “she now looks after purchasing consumable supplies, manages the petty cash budget and checks in guests. All three of her children now attend school regularly with the eldest having just started her first year at a traditional high school,” Abbott said.

Mr. Abbott sees further positive possibilities of this YUTE success story as significant for not just one but four lives, adding, “I see the biggest benefit being…if as a result of acquiring skills, earning a living and being mentored, her children can break the vicious cycle of poverty which entraps so many of our people.”

According to Ann-Marie, “the YUTE programme has been a very big life-changer for me. You know, we inner-city kids, with no help, we’re going to fall back. My relationship with Mr. Abbott has been very great. He would encourage me, and I would use him as a strength, just watching how he goes along every day.”

Ann-Marie believes the YUTE Mentoring programme should be a national programme. “A lot of kids need someone like Mr. Abbott to look up to. In the inner city, you don’t have many people who give you the drive to do anything- someone who gets up every day and goes out there. So you want to be like him; this gives you the drive to get up every day knowing that you want something out of life, because you have someone to look up to, and you don’t want to displease this person,” she explains.

Although Ann-Marie says that food preparation has been her passion since school days, she says she is happy with her current job in housekeeping and administration, as she has gained additional skills with which she has become comfortable .

Originally from England, Mr. Abbott came to Jamaica nearly a decade ago, after living for many years in Canada. Now Country Manager for the Jamaican subsidiary of a Swedish insurance company, he was recruited as a YUTE mentor while he was Director of Customer Care at FLOW (Columbus Communications), a corporate supporter of the YUTE programme.

Regarding Ann-Marie’s progress, he points to improved inter-personal skills as a particular success, which he attributes to her meeting a variety of people through his introductions and through her job.

He adds: “The relationship now is a little different, but in the early days, I helped her with some basic English and Mathematics. We met nearly every week when Ann-Marie would come to my office. We did a couple of activities with her family, with her kids. We sat and talked a lot about issues and tried to find solutions and a way through challenges.”

“She was very focused when we first met, but I think she has now translated that focus into better discipline, in terms of being punctual, getting jobs completed effectively, and not just meeting targets but trying to go beyond what is required. She has also gained technical skills, the ability to do basic work in Microsoft Excel and Word.

“Mentoring Ann-Marie has been a great experience for me,” Mr. Abbott concludes, “I certainly agree with those who say that if you don’t get a lot from it yourself, you are probably not doing it right.”

 

Ann-Marie Baker, successful graduate of the Youth Upliftment Through Employment (YUTE) programme, and her mentor insurance executive Nick Abbott, chat about her on-going progress. The benefits of her training at HEART NTA through YUTE were complemented by the priceless advice, grooming and encouragement provided by Mr. Abbott through the YUTE Mentoring programme. Today Ann-Marie works with a small business which manages short-term apartment rentals, all her children attend school regularly, and this young mother declares that the YUTE Mentoring programme should be a national effort, as so many inner city youth like her really need this kind of support.