PHOTO: The rehabilitated disadvantaged youth
By Augustine Octavius, augustineoctavius@gmail.com
Twenty eight disadvantaged youths locally called “Zogos” have been re-united with their families, following one-year of rehabilitation and training in various professional skills at the Destiny Recovery Program in Paynesville.
The re-union program, which coincided with the fifth graduation exercises of the disadvantaged youths, was held at the Redeem Church of God in Neezoe Junction over the weekend.
Speaking during the ceremony, the visionary of the Destiny Recovery Program, Reverend Jerry Saway, appealed for local and international support for his institution in order to rehabilitate disadvantaged youths and give training that will make contribute meaningfully to the society.
He vowed to break down all ghettos throughout the country by using the persuasive means through which these disadvantaged youths will be recruited and rehabilitated in order to make the existence of ghettos irrelevant.
According to Reverend Saway, the church’s premises currently hosting the new group of disadvantaged youths, is overcrowded.
And as such, he said there is an urgent need for assistance to accommodate the growing number of disadvantaged youths seeking admission into the program.
He added that the three-story building, when completed, will go a long way in hosting a large number of disadvantage youths from all over the country because he is intending to decentralize the program throughout the country.
The vision bearer of the Destiny Recovery Program expressed the hope that most of these disadvantaged youths will be productive citizens, once they are rehabilitated and trained with marketable skills to improve their lives and contribute to the society.
Rev. Jerry Saway
The guest speaker at the ceremony, the Deputy Executive Director at the National Disaster Management Agency, Augustine Tamba cautioned parents against giving up on the altitudes of the children who are involved in the abuses of drugs.
According to him, the issue of high rate of disadvantaged youths is a national disaster because a large segment of the country’s population has been affected by drugs consumption and criminality.
He appealed for assistance to the Destiny Recovery Program, in order to reduce the high number of disadvantaged youths on the streets in the counties
Recently, a survey conducted by the New Life Recovery Center revealed that 156,000 disadvantaged youths are said to be roaming throughout the various parts of Liberia.
The Center described them as precious diamond who are needed to be rehabilitated, trained and provided skills, in order to determine the value and their talents they possess in the rebuilding process in the country.