More about the HEON PROJECT
The HEON Project originated as a result of a Youth Consultation held in Kingston Jamaica where eighteen (18) youth leaders from across the Caribbean met in “My World, My SIDS” Youth Consultation on the prospect of Youth in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in the Caribbean Region. Jenella Edwards represented Grenada at this Consultation and the delegates at the Caribbean Regional Youth Consultation selected five priority issues to be addressed including; Education, Good Governance, Climate Change, Health Care and Social Protection and all pledged their commitments to pursue follow-up work in their respective countries.
Edwards’ commitment for Grenada was ‘Youth Empowerment through academic achievement and the improvement of one’s skills and abilities’. Hence she formed a committee and started the HEON Project to fulfill Grenada’s commitment and this undertaking will continue for the academic year 2015-2017.
In order to ensure sustainable development of our Human Resources; our youth must be empowered to contribute meaningfully to the advancement of our community and this Tri- island State of Grenada, Carriacou & Petite Martinique.
At present, too many students, possessing enormous potential are deprived of the opportunity to attend a Tertiary Institution due to financial constraints and little or no help from outside sources. This significantly restricts the ability of families, communities and island like Grenada to improve their human resources in an efficient manner towards sustainable development.
Therefore, in an effort to contribute however small, to the sustainable development of this island, we need to ensure the empowerment of youth through education and the improvement of their skills and abilities. Additionally, each student given the opportunity to attend a Tertiary Institution will reduce and hopefully curb some of the social ills as violence, vandalism, theft among others.
In light of this, through the HEON Project, efforts will be made to secure commitments from our citizens, community and national organizations for financial and other resources so as to provide a significant number of students with the opportunity to attend a T.A Marryshow Community College.
Objectives
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To empower young people through academic advancement and the improvement of their skills and abilities
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To ensure that disadvantaged students are afforded the opportunity to attend a Tertiary Institution
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To increase the employability of our youth in order to sustain themselves and families.
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To assist in community development through the work of each successful applicant.
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To assist in creating a responsible citizenry and life-long learners to contribute to the growth and development of our island.
Procedure
The assistance is given to students based on the following two categories:
-Merit
-Financial Need
In order to assist students most deserving of the assistance, the team has to ensure that the process is transparent and each student is evaluated thoroughly.
A thorough evaluation of the socio-economic background must be conducted and recommendations can be made by a teacher or residents in the same community of the said student to the HEON team.
The students can be recommended by the principal or a teacher upon completing secondary school or can directly apply for assistance from the Heon Project. (Application form)
The selection of awardees will be done by the Heon Committee which includes members from different parishes and profession and representatives from social and interests organizations.