Opportunity fair opens eyes of Cambridge residents

Residents of Cambridge in St James were recently exposed to potential employment prospects and given lessons on how to make themselves marketable, during an opportunity fair, which was hosted by the Cambridge Tri-Star Police Youth Club.

The fair, which was the first of its kind in the community, was held in collaboration with the Social Development Commission. It was sponsored by the Spanish-Jamaican Foundation.

Organisations such as the Peace Management Initiative, the Child Development Agency, the Consumer Affairs Commission, the Rural Agricultural Development Authority, the Jamaica Fire Brigade, and the Blood Bank were on hand with information booths and displays,.

Caroline Wright, the public relations officer for the Cambridge Tri-Star Police Youth Club, said the fair was also used to promote the community as a safe one for persons to live in and do business.

"We came together and decided to do this event for the community, because we want our community to be a better place and a safe haven for persons to come and be a part of," said Wright.

"The fair is the first of its kind ... . As a youth club, we have not decided how often to hold it as yet, so we just want to see how this one works in order to do others," added Wright.

Vanessa Meggoe, project manager for the Spanish-Jamaican Foundation, said that the opportunity fair in Cambridge coincided with the Foundation's series of activities for its 10th anniversary celebration.

"The reason we are sponsoring this event is because it is our 10th anniversary, and we have several 10th anniversary projects ... . For each project, we give $100,000, and they are community-based projects, and this is one of them," said Meggoe.

"We gave the money to put on this opportunity fair because we wanted to give the persons in the community a chance to see what services are out there, and what chances they have for employment. So we are very proud to sponsor this event this year," Meggoe.