National Youth Leadership Conference for the Reconstruction of Haiti

With generous support from the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, The MasterCard Foundation, and the Inter-American Development Bank, IDEJEN and YouthBuild International launched the first JENKA National Youth Leadership Conference on the Reconstruction of Haiti on December 13.  The Honorable Minister of Social Affairs, Monsieur Francois R. Lafaille officially opened the conference and addressed the JENKA students.  He encouraged the students to transform themselves so that they could play a leadership role in transforming their communities and their country.  The Honorable Secretary of State for Youth, Madame Carline Montas, and the Honorable Secretary of State for Professional Training, Madame Marina Gourgue, also spoke with the students about the importance of young people playing a leadership role in rebuilding their families, their communities, and their country. 

As IDEJEN Executive Director Madame Guerda Previlon noted, "Young people have a critical role to play in the reconstruction of Haiti.  We need physical reconstruction and that is necessary.  But it is not enough.  We need to come up with new solutions, new ways of thinking, and new values."  One of the goals of the conference is for the JENKA students to vote for candidates to represent them on the JENKA National Youth Leadership Committee. 

One of the students enrolled at the Gressier training center, Jean Louis Jeff, age 23, said he was very excited to have the opportunity to participate in the conference.  "This conference has helped me develop my leadership capacity.  It raised my understanding of what leadership is.  With this conference, I will be able to contribute more to my community."

Over 150 youth attended from nine JENKA training centers and other youth organizations located throughout the country.