GoodHeart | Stellar Foundation opens new worlds for youth

WESTERN BUREAU:

Romulus Deenah just wanted to take his new friends sailing. But there was one problem: some of them couldn’t swim. It was an ironic, though not uncommon, reality on an island surrounded by the Caribbean Sea, where many Jamaicans grow up without learning to swim. But helping his friends clear that hurdle set something much larger in motion. Nearly four years later, Stellar Gents has evolved into the Stellar Foundation. This summer, it welcomed six students from Mount Alvernia High School in Montego Bay as its first cohort of girls.

Over four weeks, the girls sailed, visited an airport control tower and explored careers in law and construction. They also learnt about policing, self-defence, financial literacy, cooking and dining etiquette, and participated in health and wellness activities. Each received $40,000 to help purchase essentials for the new school year.

Now 21, Deenah is a Jamaican-Canadian computer science student living in Canada. At the heart of the foundation is a philosophy born from that first summer, one centred on not just telling young people what is possible but exposing them to it.

WHERE IT STARTED

The idea dates back to October 2022 when Deenah transferred from Herbert Morrison Technical High School to Cornwall College during Grade 11.

It was an unsettling time to change schools. With Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations approaching, Deenah was trying to find his footing in a new environment. What he found was friendship.

“The people that I met at Cornwall were so nice to me, and I wanted to just hang out with them all summer and do a bunch of activities,” he recalled.

That was when the obstacle to sailing surfaced. Deenah arranged swimming lessons, and once the boys were comfortable in the water, took them sailing. Gym sessions and other activities followed.

But something unexpected happened. The adults they met through those activities began sharing their experiences and life lessons with the youngsters. Deenah saw how much young people could gain simply by entering unfamiliar spaces and meeting people they might never otherwise encounter.

“There are a lot of areas of life that some people, unfortunately, don’t get exposed to … certain sports, meeting certain individuals in business,” he added.

So he broadened the activities to include interactions with people in business, the workforce and different professions. And Stellar Gents was born.

This year, Deenah deliberately changed course. After initially building the programme around boys, he wanted to see what Stellar could do for young women.

“I did a year with all guys. I wanted to do a year with all girls,” he told GoodHeart. “I wanted to kind of push into empowering women, especially young women in Jamaica.”

The six Mount Alvernia students met on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Their career interests, identified during the application process, helped Deenah shape some of the activities.

Two of the girls were interested in law, so a lawyer was invited to discuss the profession. Police officers provided self-defence training and introduced the group to policing, while a financial professional from Scotiabank spoke with them. A chef guided the girls in preparing chicken Alfredo, Deenah led dining etiquette and book club sessions, and his father, a physiotherapist, conducted gym sessions.

DEEPEST IMPRESSIONS

The programme also extended beyond the classroom, with those experiences appearing to leave some of the deepest impressions.

For Ashley McLean, sailing was the standout. “It was really fun and something that I wasn’t sure I would experience and actually enjoy over the summer,” she said. More importantly, it changed the way she thought about opportunities.

“It helped me realise that if there’s a chance to do something I actually want to try, then I should take it because I wouldn’t know if it would happen again.”

McLean said the programme pushed her out of her comfort zone and boosted her confidence. The session with the lawyer also encouraged her to consider career paths she had not previously explored.

Bethany Davis’s most memorable moment came high above the ground.

“My favourite part of the programme was when we visited the tower at the airport and learned about aviation,” she said. Although she identified the construction workshop as having the greatest impact, the experience clearly left her curious about other worlds.

Tiffany Banner found the legal session particularly valuable.

“The Talk with a Lawyer workshop had the biggest impact on me because it gave me useful insight into the legal field and helped me understand more about what it is like to pursue a career in law,” she said.

She also reported feeling more confident and comfortable expressing herself and would like to see entrepreneurship and leadership added to future programmes.

janet.silvera@gleanerjm.com