Page2A - THE CHARLOTTE POST - Thursday,July 1,1993
Clarence Johnson's
Job Is To Get City's
Youth Off To Work
FHOTOMEMCKLENBUKG DEPT. OF SOCIAL SERVICES
JO^ participant Dorothy Abell (left) is congratulated by
Mecklenbtug Cotmty socbd worker Loretta Richardson af
ter finishing the program.
Program For JOBS
Continued From Page lA
burg County In 1990. There
are 650 participants In
Mecklenburg, one of 75 N.C.
counties with the program.
JOBS Is paid for by money
from county, state, and fed
eral governments.
The program Is comprised
of a team of participants and
social workers. They must
both make a commitment to
the participant's success.
Participants' commitment is
expressed through their ef
forts to make progress.
The first step they take In
the JOBS program Is they
must first make a written
plan. This plan Is called
their employability or
"work" plan. The plan Is
made of activities that par
ticipants need In order to
reach specific goals. It must
Include at least 20 or more
hours of activities per week.
Within the workplan are
components to help prepare
participants. Those compo
nents are assessment. Job
readiness, education (for
those still in high school
and below), skills traming,
post-secondary education,
work experience, on the Job
training, and Job search.
The assessment Includes
testing and meetmgs to help
the participant decide what
career is best for them. "It
gives them a better sense of
reality." During this time
they attend an orientation
and find out all the informa
tion needed for their success
within the program. This is
also when they get a chance
to meet other participants.
In order to keep a record of
what participants have done,
they are asked to fill out
timesheets. The participant
is to fill them out daily and
turn them in to a social
worker every month.
For every good program
there is always some nega
tive, and according to Veron
ica Miller, JOBS has its
share as well. Miller, 23 and
mother of two, has been for
three years and is studying
criminal Justice. She said
some of the rules are cumber
some, but overall, JOBS of
fers hope to people who may
not have other options.
"No matter what I was not
going to be on welfare for the
rest my life and JOBS was a
stepping stone to get me In
volved with other program/'
Continued From Page lA
ages 18-24. The goal is to edu
cate and find employment
for youngsters who may have
gotten off track.
Johnson is the director of
the Jobs program at Christ
The King Church on East
17th Street and works with
15 to 20 youths per session.
"The only (admission) cri
teria we have for the kids is
that they be between 18 and
24 and that they want to bet
ter their lives," Johnson
said.
Most of the program's par
ticipants are high school
dropouts living in public
housing. "Originally, (the
program) was started to help
alleviate the unemployment
problems of black males but
we found that sisters are
having the same problems,"
Johnson said.
Students are In class 8:30
a.m.-l 1:20 a.m. at the Double
Oaks Center. In the after
noon they have workshops
on the problems that keep
most people from being suc
cessful. Speakers are brought
in to give insight and in
struct In areas ranging from
drug abuse to time manage
ment.
Johnson says that it Is im
portant to have African
Americans as speakers for a
number of different reasons.
"We try to bring in people
like Stanley Graham and
Ahmad Daniels and other
speakers who look like them
so the kids will feel that they
can listen to them," he said.
"If they see these people. It's
easier for them to relate and
know that they can make It,
too."
The academic portion of
the program is run In accor
dance with CPCC's 11 week
quarter system. Instructors
help the youths work toward
a GED or high school diplo
ma in a specialized setting.
The environment makes it
easier for kids who may not
benefit from a "normal"
school setting.
Johnson says many of the
kids could be productive if
given encouragement and
the right environment.
"A lot of young people have
a lot to share but Just get
turned around... because
parents don't have the re
sources to help them and fo
cus them in the right direc
tion," he said.
Other factors can hinder
the progress of many partici
pants. But Saint Francis
does everything that it can to
assist the participants and
make it possible for them to
complete the course.
According to Johnson,
there Is an incentive system
set up to encourage partici
pants to persevere and com
plete the program.
Participants are given an
allowance for books, bus fare
and other necessities for
school. Everybody who fin
ishes high school is afforded
$125. If a student works on a
given Job for six months they
get another $125; for a year
$150. They also have to dem
onstrate responsibility and
respect for program rules.
Quality people who care
about the community and
black youth are needed to be
mentors or to share experi
ences. Johnson says that it
also has been a struggle to get
businesses to respond posi
tively to the program.
In spite of the hardships,
Johnson heralds the pro
gram as being a worthwhile
venture for participants and
instructors.
"I definitely get attached to
them. A lot have potential
and you can see it in them
and you try to get it out," he
said.
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(Off W. Trade - Near The Old Garr Auditorium)
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Touring AfHca: Gabon
By Dr. Paula Newsome
SPECIAL TO THE POST
Gabon, the host country of
the second Afrlcan-Afrlcan
American Summit, is locat
ed right on the equator. The
climate is hot and humid all
year with two rainy and two
dry seasons. The country,
102,317 square miles In size,
is about the size of Colorado.
The capital city of Gabon is
LlbrevlUe, but there are sev
eral other major cities in
cluding Port-Gentll and
Francevllle.
The total population of
Gabon is 1.2 million with
275,000 living in Libreville.
Almost all the Gabonese peo
ple are of Bantu origin (peo
ple who are thought to have
originated from Central
and/or Southern Africa).
The largest clan of people in
Gabon are members of the
Fang ethnic group. Other
major groups of people in
clude the Myene, Bapounou,
Eschira, Bandjabl, and Ba-
teke/Obamba. Boundaries
between theses groups of peo
ple are almost nonexistent
as the Gabonese are less divi
sive by group than any other
country in Africa. While
there are languages that are
indigenous to the various
clans, French is the official
language.
Major religions practiced
in Gabon Include Christiani
ty, Islam, and Indigenous re
ligions.
Education in Gabon is
much like here: It is manda
tory until age 16. The reality
of the educational system
however is that only 14 per
cent of students attend high
school or technical school
and only 2 percent attend
college or professional
school.
Health care Is not good with
Gabon, like the United
States, using a fee for service
system. Infant mortality is
very high with over 10 per
cent deaths for every 1000
live births. Life expectancy
for people is only 52 years.
There are only 120,000 sal-
i arled workers in Gabon. Of
this salaried work force, 65
percent work in agriculture,
30 perceni. in Industry and
commerce, and 5 percent are
employed in the services and
government.
Little Is
known or re
corded about
life m Gabon
before the
Europeans
Invaded in
the 15th cen
tury. In fact,
the name
Gabon is
from the
Portuguese
word gabao
which is a coat with a sleeve
and hood resembling the
shape of the Como River es
tuary. The coast became a
center of the African holo
caust and slave trade.
The Dutch, British and
French came in the 16th cen
tury with the Gabonese
chiefs signing a treaty with
Newsome
the French to serve as protec
tors of the Gabonese in 1839
and 1841. American mis
sionaries Invaded and esta
blished a mission at Baraka
which is now Libreville, in
1842. In 1849, the French
captured a slave ship and re
leased passengers at the
mouth of the Como River.
The Africans who were re
leased named this settlement
Libreville which means "free
town."
The French occupied Gab
on in 1885 but did not steal it
or "colonize" it until 1903 for
its bountiful resources like
petroleum, manganese, ura
nium, Iron, and wood. In
1910, Gabon became one of
four territories which were
known as French Equatorial
Africa, a federation that ex
isted until 1959. The territo
ries proclaimed their inde
pendence in 1960 and
became the Central African
Republic, Chad, Congo, and
Gabon.
The current government, a
unicameral republic, has a
single legislative house with
See GABON On Page 3A
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Pastors School
July 6 thru August 12
Registration: June 21 - July 5
Classes to be held at: 1501N. 1-85 Service Road
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