The Jah Light Community Project (JLCP) began when a parent, friends, and their children decided to get more involved, combat boredom, and enjoy themselves in the local parks of North Halifax.
When Andrew first started encouraging his children and others to be more active, he never envisioned the path it would take.
Since their formal inception in 2019, against the backdrop of the first COVID-19 lockdown, JLCP found that isolation and loneliness were having a terrible effect on young people’s health and well-being.
Since then, the Jah Light Community Project has been organising and supporting children and young people across North Halifax to embrace physical fitness programmes using the outdoors as the site for learning and getting to stay in touch.
The JLCP is a BAME-led organisation, with 90% of its management board and senior practitioners from the African and Caribbean communities.
The social enterprise originally started out with a focus on young people within these communities, however, Andrew and his team realised the struggles faced by youths were extended beyond specific communities, affecting all communities.
Jah Light Community Project takes the time to develop the personal, social and educational development of children and young people through a range of physical and health-related programmes.
Young people participate in intergenerational-inspired wellness seminars/workshops; and actively participate in health and fitness sessions delivered outdoors and indoors, for example, such as boxercise, and circuit training amongst others.
These activities and workshops help to improve the confidence of young people, allowing them to feel more positive and self-assured which will enable them to avoid being bullied or falling behind, as well as positive changes in lifestyles and an increased awareness of future and career opportunities arising from inspirational mentoring from Andrew and his team.
Andrew said:
“Jah Light Community Project is about bringing people together in a simpler format, delivering health, fitness and conscientiousness”
JLCP goes back to basics, giving our local youth the opportunity to escape the pressures of social media, lead an active lifestyle, and make connections with other like-minded individuals.
The group is fully committed to giving young people a sense of direction and belonging, whilst also allowing them to respect their environment, achieve their dreams and signpost to other services where more support is needed.
Jah Light Community Project hopes to expand in the future and is currently looking for a more permanent home where activities will be able to be held indoors due to weather conditions. If you are able to help with this, please contact Andrew at: jlcommunityproject@gmail.com For more information regarding JLCP, you can visit their website.
