"WE CAN take back Jamaica and I think the Police Youth Clubs (PYC) are the perfect place to start," says president Rory Griffiths.

Griffiths is confident that the youths of the Kingston Western Police Division can and will be vanguards of change in Jamaica through their respective clubs.

The Sunday Gleaner yesterday met several young men and women at the forefront at the Kingston Western Police Youth Clubs Council's annual prayer breakfast, held at St Andrew Technical High School.

The council is made up of members of the various clubs in the division.

Maintain good relations

Griffiths says PYCs are relevant in communities because they provide an opportunity for residents to maintain a good relationship with the police. The clubs, he says, also build unity in communities.

"Some people are afraid to go into other areas of the communities because of existing tensions, so we are trying to eliminate that fear," says Griffiths, who also represents the Eagle Hikers PYC in Denham Town.

Griffiths' club, for example, hosts fund-raising activities and invites members from other communities in the area.

"This only works sometimes, because we are not getting 100 per cent support from the community," he laments.

It is unfortunate, he says, that some people are of the view that people from the inner city cannot excel.

"But we are going to show them that positive changes can happen in our communities. We are making the change," he declares.

One club, Presi-dential Click, in Tivoli Gardens, has already debunked the myth that youth clubs are just a place for the young to meet and play games and sports. This club has adopted the SOS Children's Village in St Andrew and the Milk Lane Golden Age Home in west Kingston.

"Our children and elderly need our love and support, so we have to go out there and assist them," says Cassandra Hurd, treasurer of Presidential Click Police Youth Club.

petrina.francis@gleanerjm.com