CCC changed my life

NINETEEN-YEAR-OLD Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) graduate Precious Joseph crossed the stage just two weeks after giving birth to her son Sekanyi Primus, who was present at the event. Joseph was a graduate of the 1901 cycle of trainees, belonging to the CCC's central divison.

“I started with him, I should finish with him and I brought him to the graduation to show you shouldn’t doubt yourself when you end up in a situation like us,” said the young mother.

Completing the training during her third trimester of pregnancy proved very difficult at times, but she said had it not been for her son, she might not have continued.

Following the death of her grandmother whom she was caring for, Joseph trained for six months in CCC to be a geriatric nurse.

Joseph told Newsday of the challenges she faced when she expressed her hopes of joining the programme.

She said, “It had a lot of people who didn’t believe in me. One of the commanders told me, 'If I was the regional manager I would make you come back next cycle because you not gonna finish.'”

Despite the hostility, Joseph still believed CCC changed her life, as it not only taught her skills in her chosen field, but lessons for life on parenting and abuse of various forms.

Joseph recommends the CCC programme to “anybody that is willing to learn a skill or trade.”

Though Government only extended the programme for another two years, according to Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of National Security Glenda Jennings-Smith who was at the event, Joseph believes it will exist for years to come and hopes to enrol her son when he is old enough.

When asked what support she had in raising baby Sekanyi, Joseph said, “(CCC) is my family support. Despite little family problems at home, these people here are my family.”

She also thanked the CCC staff for their investment, specifically her regional manager David Seales who she said had been her role model through it all.

After graduating, Joseph will be working as a geriatric nurse at a local hospital but hopes to open her own home for the elderly in the future. She also hopes to become an officer in the Fire Services.

For now, however, Joseph says her main priority is looking after her two-week-old son who she describes as her "everything."