By Cecelia Campbell Livingston
Arising from a concern to address the needs of women from low-income households and filled with a desire to see them change their circumstances and build greater economic and social resilience, Everton Robinson started the Pathway Skyline initiative.
It is a centre that is committed to addressing the welfare of individuals by facilitating the educational and professional development of the vulnerable in Old Harbour and its environs.
Robinson said it was during the COVID-19 pandemic that the idea came about, along with the desire to provide educational learning tools to children.
Filled with the idea, he had no way of implementing it until he heard about the Canada Fund. He was swift in submitting his proposal and was over the moon when it was selected in May 2022.
Now that the initiative was successfully executed, Robinson shared the big moments with the Freedom Come Rain newspaper.
“The programme was able to improve the relationship between parents and children through the lessons and experiences shared during the parental workshops. All twenty vulnerable children that participated in the three-week summer school programme received back-to-school care packages for the new school year,” he highlighted.
Twenty parents took part in the parental workshops, with nine of them choosing to sit the customer service competency examinations at HEART NSTA and being successful in obtaining certification.
Robinson noted that seeing parents who before did not have any prospects of being employed and some moving on to build or expand their small businesses are among the rewarding moments for him.
Community wise, he said the various sessions that zoned in on attitudinal behaviour and other social graces brought about positive changes and were instrumental in improving relationships among the individual beneficiaries and by extension, improved how they related to the wider community.
Robinson recalled that, “The most outstanding moment was the graduation ceremony that was held at the Davis Primary and Infant School, where parents who previously displayed low self-esteem started to demonstrate a greater sense of purpose and a clear sense of direction in their future plans. The awarding of the certificates of participation was expressed as another milestone achievement, especially for those who were graduating for the first time.”
Born and raised in the small district of Mason River, Kellits, Clarendon, Robinson studied agricultural science at Elim Agricultural School in St. Elizabeth. He went to study in Cuba on a scholarship, where he obtained a master’s in agricultural engineering.
Passionate about landscaping and community development, he merges his two loves, by seeking to bring about change in those he comes in contact with.
Robinson’s ultimate goal is to continue to impact the lives and livelihoods of people and help them become more self-sufficient through the sustained growth of the Pathway Skyline Rejuvenation Centre (PSRC), which is located in Sylvester Drive, Bannister Dist, Old Harbour, St. Catherine.
And when he is not engaged in trying to make a difference, relaxation for him is fishing, gardening and horseback riding.