Eight hundred (800) students ages 14 to 18 signed up and are now participating in a summer job program aimed at promoting productive summer activity as well as job opportunities for young people this summer.
President Remengesau Jr. supported the program saying “The young people that are out of school or have graduated from high school or PCC but cannot go anywhere because of COVID, it is important that they are part of this stimulating of the economic and local activities. If we don’t plan anything for them, it will be a long, boring and unproductive summer for them.”
The students are spread amongst 40 agencies including government, semi-autonomous agencies, State governments and NGOs and are getting paid weekly allowances by the government.
One such example is the LEEP (Law Enforcement Leadership Program) under the Ministry of Justice’s Juvenile Justice and Narcotics Enforcement Agency which signed up53 kids with more still coming to register. The program’s specific aim is to conduct education programs aimed at motivating and inspiring kids while keeping them off the streets this summer.
Some of the programs offered by other agencies such as State governments provide different kind of learning exercise for the young people, such as the youth at Ngarchelong State learning the traditional skill of rebuilding old dock (mengadesrabtelul a changerOketol).
The type of tasks assigned is based on age and the younger ones are given tasks that are ageappropriate and the older ones 18-25 are given different jobs from manning the office to road and ground maintenance.
Some parents are happy to have their children constructively occupied for most of the summer and others are grateful for some financial assistance. One parent who is very grateful for the program said, “My son is earning $112 a week. We told him to put some into savings and some for his daily allowance. When the school starts he can help pay for some of his school supplies.”
“This is a special summer, like no other summer of the previous years. We’ve closed our borders but that does not mean that everything has to stay still. It is important we stimulate our domestic environment, in terms of job opportunities and other programs to help us deal with this challenge,” stated President Remengesau Jr. of the student summer employment program.