Jong Bonaire Progress Report 2007

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• Preparing for the Future
  When asked if they thought Jong Bonaire is helping them
  prepare for their future, almost 80% of the teens said ‘yes’while
  10% said they didn’t know and 10% said ‘no’. Below are some
  of the answers the teens gave when asked to explain how Jong
  Bonaire is helping them prepare for the future. (translated)
  Doing Better at School
  Fully 86% of the members said that the help they get with
  their homework is helping them at school. Here are some of
  their explanations as to how this ‘guia ku tarea’ activity helps
  them. (translated)
  The computer activities remain the most popular, followed by
  a number of sports activities: roller hockey, futsal, ping pong,
  volleyball and basketball. Kushina Kontentu, where the teens
  learn to cook, also scored well. Almost 10% of teens even said
  their favorite activity was doing homework.
  Focusing on Results. As donors and supporters of the youth center Jong Bonaire, you want to know not only how
  your contributions are used (the programs) but also what sort of results the center has produced. With this report we will
  try to focus on both, although the long-term impact is much more difficult to demonstrate than short-term results. Longterm
  results are difficult to measure mainly because one of the primary goals of the youth center is ‘prevention’ and it is
  almost impossible to show that something did not happen or to prove a negative. However, another goal of the center is
  to help teens find future work directions and for this the evidence is beginning to show. This Progress Report 2007 will focus
  on ongoing measurable results and will also show you some of the longer-term impact that is starting to be seen in the community.
  We will then cover some of the activities for 2007.
  Ongoing Measurements To determine short-term results, Jong Bonaire is constantly
  conducting research with the teen members and with their
  parents to ensure that the center and its programs are meeting
  the needs and expectations of our target audience as well as
  meeting our own goals.
  Results of research conducted with the teens at the end of
  2007 showed a 95% satisfaction level with Jong Bonaire by the
  teen members and a 93% satisfaction with the activities.
  When asked if their parents were satisfied with the youth center,
  90% said yes. (Separate research will be done with parents
  in 2008.)
  Starting in September 2007 the center had a total of 177
  members with 73 of them filling out the research questionnaire.
  Research with the staff later showed that almost 15% of
  the teens had serious behavioral problems that needed special
  attention. So in November, social worker Jona Chirino was
  brought in for several hours each week to work with the problem
  teens and their families. One early result of this intervention
  was that one of the ‘problem’teens was later named Hoben
  di Siman (Member of the Week).
  Progress
  Report
  2007
  Staff member Judith Mijers helps Jong Bonaire members
  with their homework before the activities begin.
  “Jong Bonaire teaches you discipline.”
  “I learn how to work in a group and ‘attend to’ others.”
  “It helps you socialize with others and teaches you
  respect.”
  “From sports I can remain in good condition.”
  “JB really helps me with my school homework.”
  “The activities can help in my life, like learning to
  cook.”
  “From the help with homework my grades at school are
  bunita (beautiful).”
  “ At home I can’t work on my homework and my parents
  don’t have time to help me.”
  “I have learned to comport myself better in the classroom.”
  “Jong Bonaire has a special person to help me with
  math.”
  “My grades at school are going up.”
  “I can use the computers at Jong Bonaire for the projects
  I have to make for school.”
  Long-term Impact While results from on-going research with teens and
  parents show that the program and activities are
  remaining on target and relevant to the teens and their
  development, we still want to know how Jong Bonaire
  might be helping the members and the community
  long-term. Starting in 2008 we hope to start a formal
  long-term follow-up project but for now we must rely
  on some of the success stories we have at hand. And
  after eight years of operation, the stories are beginning
  to be told. Many of the Jong Bonaire ‘graduates’ are
  now productive members of the Bonaire community
  and are also serving as volunteers.These three portraits
  of some of the first members are good examples of the
  positive effect the center has had.
  Ruviano ‘Pichon’ Josephia
  Ruviano joined Jong Bonaire when it opened in 1999
  and was always active in the many sports programs
  offered at the center. After he finished secondary
  school he went to work for several years at a local
  supermarket, stocking the cold room. He also volunteered
  to help with sports activities at Jong Bonaire
  after work. When he realized he enjoyed working with
  the teens, he decided it was time for a job change.
  Ruviano joined our staff at Jong Bonaire in January of
  2007 and now works as a trainer and youth leader in
  sports, primarily roller hockey, futsal, futbòl, ping pong
  and volley ball. The teens respond well to the leadership
  of Ruviano and this suggests that there may be
  more potential leaders among our former members.
  Duvan Rios
  Duvan was also one of the first members of Jong
  Bonaire and is another great success story. Duvan participated
  in the scuba diving program offered at Jong
  Bonaire and earned his dive certification. After that he
  began working at Plaza Resort for two years as a dive
  master and then moved on to become a Park Ranger
  with the Bonaire Marine Park and even helped train
  some of the Junior Park Rangers from Jong Bonaire. During
  all this time Duvan returned to help as a volunteer at the youth
  center and also played on the ‘former member roller hockey
  team’. He also gave advice to the teens such as: “Listen to your
  parents.” And: “Help care for our environment.” “Do your
  best because you are the future of Bonaire.”Duvan follows his
  own advice and has now moved forward again to join the
  Coast Guard.
  Edgar ‘ Magic Ed’ Janga
  Another early member of Jong Bonaire was Ed Janga who has
  just returned to Bonaire after getting his MBO Bouwkunde
  degree in Aruba. It was at Jong Bonaire that Ed got his start
  in magic at age 16 and today it plays a major role in his life.
  He has started his own business, Magic Ed Entertainment,
  which creates parties and festivals for people and includes
  food, party supplies and the entertainment (717-9802). He
  runs this business in addition to holding down a day job with
  a local architect and also volunteering at Jong Bonaire. Ed
  says he spent most of his afternoons at Jong Bonaire and
  learned a lot, including how to use computers and the internet.
  Ed says the help he got at Jong Bonaire with his homework
  was very important to him and the leaders also helped
  him achieve his goals. He now works with the teens to help
  teach them how to manage their time more effectively and
  how to get better results in school.
  Jong Bonaire 2 2007
  Pichon, center, coaches members in roller hockey
  and also organizes tournaments for the teens.
  Staff member Lisa Marchena presents an Award of Appreciation
  to former member Duvan Rios, for his help in
  coaching the roller hockey team.
  “Magic Ed“Janga (red tie) introduces his new company to
  the Bonaire community at a press conference.
  How Funds Are Used We know donors are also interested in how the funds they
  provide are used. One well-known measure of responsibility is
  the percent of funds spent on the administration of a foundation.
  Since the governing board of this organization consists
  of only unpaid volunteers, the administrative costs are kept
  quite low. For the year 2007, only 4% of funding went toward
  non-program related overhead so that 96% of income could be
  devoted to programs and salaries for the leaders to create and
  run the activities and the facility. We would also like to point
  out that the financial records of Jong Bonaire are open to all
  funders and donors. Annual and semi-annual reports (in
  Dutch) and quarterly financial reports (in English) are available
  for any donor who wishes to receive them.
  Activities in 2007 Several times a year the teens select activities in which they
  want to participate. The programs and activities change
  throughout the year and from year-to-year in an effort to deal
  with teen ‘boredom’ and to meet the changing interests of the
  members. Below is an outline of some of the programs and
  activities offered in 2007.
  Activities Aimed at Future Jobs
  A number of activities are offered each year which help teens
  uncover their interests and which could lead them toward
  future employment.
  KREBO (Krea Boluntario)
  For seven years now the center has offered a training program
  for teens who want to work with younger children. This year
  38 teens enrolled in the training before school was out in June
  and then spent all of July working in four community centers
  and four different kreshes with summer vacation activities for
  children. The teens learn how to work with small children,
  how to exchange ideas with others, how to create a fun environment
  for children and how to comport themselves in a
  working situation. The program operates in cooperation with
  SEBIKI and FESBO.
  Junior Rangers
  Working with STINAPA and the Bonaire Marine Park,
  members of Jong Bonaire have the opportunity to become
  Junior Rangers and spend time working with the Park
  Rangers. They learn about nature and protection of the environment
  in addition to skills such as driving a power boat,
  scuba diving and coral identification. As we’ve seen, the Park
  Ranger position is a viable job opportunity after graduation.
  Nursing
  Starting with the program Club Sosial, the teens learn
  to do volunteer work at the local hospital and old people’s
  home. Those who discover an interest in becoming
  a nurse have a chance to take special training from
  staff at the hospital in a pre-nursing program that has
  been set up in conjunction with Fundashon Mariadal.
  Tourism
  All members of Jong Bonaire participated in the
  Tourism Corporation Bonaire’s Tourist Awareness
  Program in 2007 and a number of teens have also
  trained to become folkloric dancers. The dancers perform
  regularly in Wilhelmina Park when cruise ships
  are visiting. One former member of Jong Bonaire has
  just started school in Aruba to study tourism.
  Scuba Certification
  Working with a number of dive shops on the island,
  Jong Bonaire provides the opportunity for teens to
  learn scuba diving and then move on to certification if
  they are interested. Teens must first know how to
  swim and must also pass the snorkeling program
  before they can move into scuba diving.
  Manicure
  A number to the teens have shown an interest in learning
  manicure, both for themselves and for potential
  future jobs. Experts are brought in to train the teens
  on manicure and also on makeup and hair care.
  Kushina Kontentu
  Here the teens learn about nutrition and food preparation.
  In addition to learning skills for future work they
  also learn important lessons to help care for themselves
  once they are out of the home. They especially enjoy
  eating the results of their work.
  Other Useful Skills
  Other activities that will help the teens as they seek
  employment in the future include computer and internet
  training, photography, the Jong Bonaire newspaper,
  website building and even horseback riding where the
  teens learned to care for the animals and had to help
  clean out the stalls. The teens also held several
  fundraising events where they raised money to help
  fund some of their activities. In 2007 they held a car
  wash, a Bar-B-Q and also helped with the Annual
  Swim to Klein Bonaire and the Annual Fun Triathlon.
  Jong Bonaire 3 2007
  Some of the Jong Bonaire teens who learned to work with
  young children in the KREBO program.
  Jong Bonaire folkloric dancers with youth leader
  Senaida Janga during a cruise ship performance.
  Activities for Personal Development
  Helping teens learn self esteem is an important part of
  the training at Jong Bonaire and a number of activities
  throughout the year are aimed at this goal.
  Youth Leadership Training
  Funded by SNAYDP, Jong Bonaire offered specialized
  training courses in leadership with 39 teens receiving
  their certificate of achievement. Topics studied
  included working together in a team, responsibilities
  of a leader, how to develop a plan and organize activities,
  how to pick priorities and also how to participate
  in meetings and how record the actions of a meeting.
  It is expected that these teens can go on to help teach
  and lead their peers.
  Volunteering in the Community
  Each year there are a number of programs to involve
  the members in their community. These include helping
  at the hospital, the old people’s home, the animal
  shelter or with the Turtle Conservation group. Jong
  Bonaire also has an ongoing program where the teens
  teach computer and Internet skills to people 60 years
  old and above. At the end of the year a group of the
  teens spent part of their holiday preparing 115 packages
  of donated dolls and then hosted a Christmas
  party for less advantaged children.Through these programs
  the teens learn how to become active members
  of their community and in 2007 one member, Shaina
  Tokaai was named Volunteer of the Year for the bario
  of Tera Kora.
  Creative Activities and Competitions
  The youth center also hosts several competitions
  where the teens display their talents before the entire
  group of members and large public audiences as well.
  Arte di Palabra
  This is a Papiamentu language competition between
  youth on Bonaire and also on other islands. The teens
  present their own poetry, songs, stories or other creative
  talent according to a theme. The theme for 2007
  was “Know, value and live your culture” and was held
  in cooperation with SKAL (the department of art and
  literature for the island). Twelve teens presented their
  work to a full house one night with Gavianca Frans
  winning the competition and the chance to compete in
  Curacao where she was awarded one of the prizes.
  Drum Band
  A new activity was started this year, the Jong Bonaire
  Drumband under the instruction of Leroy Sedney. The group
  performed at several of the center’s activities during the year.
  Song Festival and Mr. & Miss Jong Bonaire
  In these competitions participating teens present their talents
  before the entire group of teen members, parents and other
  guests. One of the song festival winners, Jonathan Clarinda,
  went on to become the winner in the island’s Tumba competition
  in 2007. For the Mr. and Miss Jong Bonaire contest,
  well-known event organizer Angelo Domacasse helps train
  the teens to present themselves professionally before the
  crowd and judges.
  Hoben di Siman and Hoben di Aña
  Each week the staff selects a student of the week (Hoben di
  Siman) based on their participation, enthusiasm and improvement.
  Then twice a year a student of the year (the Hoben di
  Aña) is selected, one at the end of the school year in June and
  one at the end of the calendar year in December. This recognition
  is important for helping develop self-esteem and confidence
  in the teens and also for recognizing excellence. In June,
  Annehelis Silberie was named Hoben di Aña for the school
  year 2006-2007. In December, during the Christmas Dinner,
  Jamal Trinidat was named Hoben di Aña for 2007.
  Sports Competitions
  Competitive sports activities help give the teens focus and
  teach them the importance of teamwork as well as personal
  training. In 2007 competitions were held for ping pong, futsal,
  dominoes, roller hockey, volley ball, and football. Jong
  Bonaire’s ping pong team traveled to Venezuela and Aruba in
  cooperation with SEDREBO to participate in International
  ping pong tournaments. Two teens brought home prizes for
  first and third place in the Aruba tournament.
  Jong Bonaire 4 2007
  Annehelis Silberie (left) with her mother and Jamal
  Trinidat (right) were named Hoben Di Aña in 2007.
  The Jong Bonaire Drum band performs for the members.
  Sudeska Thodé shows members of a 60+ club
  how to use the Internet.
  Teens also participated in the Mini-Fun Triathlon co-sponsored
  by City Cafe to celebrate City’s tenth anniversary.
  Huub Groot of City Cafe also organized a fundraising event
  that provided NAfl 10,000 for Jong Bonaire. The Seventh
  Annual Swim to Klein Bonaire brought over 350 participants
  to Eden Beach with the help of sponsors Bon Fisiotherapie
  and Sunbelt Realty.
  Education and Prevention Programs
  In addition to providing help with homework each afternoon
  before the activities begin, the youth center also organizes a
  number of trainings and workshops for teens and their parents.
  We also offer a program called ‘Interkambio’ where the
  teens can discuss and work on personal problems and difficult
  issues facing the teens today, like drugs, alcohol and teen pregnancy.
  There were four Prevention Seminars offered to the
  teens in 2007: one on ‘How to Deal with Conflict’, one on
  criminality and sex called: ‘Think Before You Act’; one dealing
  with personal Hygiene and another on ‘Tentamentu.”
  During the workshops the teens become involved by creating
  a skit or working in small groups or other activities to bring
  the message home. During 2007 parents were involved in a
  workshop with their children teens on teen sexuality. This was
  an experiment that was very successful. Families were also
  involved when Jong Bonaire hosted Dia di Famia (Family
  Day) and Dia di Derecha di Mucha (Rights of Children Day).
  Activities Just for Fun
  In addition to all the regular programs and activities, the center
  also offers activities just for fun. Often these are held on
  Friday afternoons and involve trips into Bonaire’s natural environment.
  This year one trip was to Washington
  National Park, one to Klein Bonaire, one to 1,000
  Steps and another just to the beach to swim and have
  fun. One Friday bicycles were rented and borrowed so
  the entire group could take a bike tour around the
  island. Another time the teens went kayaking as a
  group. Several party events are also held each year for
  the teens including an annual Graduation Party, a pre-
  Karnaval Jump-in. And again this year the Jong
  Bonaire Kampamentu was held during the spring holidays
  from 4 to 6 April. While it appears to be just for
  fun, the camping activity also has several training elements
  which are wrapped in games and workshops.
  For 2007 the group discussed and played with folkloric
  musical instruments.
  Jong Bonaire 2007 5 Staff member “
  Paco”Veeris (
  left) with the Jong Bonaire
  ping-pong team as they left for Venezuela.
  Züster Kappel surrounded by teens at the workshop on
  sexuality called “Think Before You Act”.
  Teens kayak during one of the ocean outings.
  Team activity during the Kampamentu.
  Jong Bonaire and City Cafe sponsored the Dutch
  theater group Kalebas to perform for the primary
  schools of the island. More than 700 children were
  able to enjoy the show.
  2007 Finances For the year ending December 2007 Jong Bonaire
  operated well within the annual budget of NAfl
  566,800. Approximately one third of this funding
  comes from Dutch funding organizations (USONA
  and AMFO). Another third came from the Island
  Government of Bonaire and the final third came from
  other donors and Jong Bonaire’s fund raising efforts.
  Jong Bonaire’s own contribution comes mostly from
  donations like yours and we would like to say a big
  Thank You! Your donations are supplemented by fund
  raising events like the Swim to Klein Bonaire, the
  Mini-fun Triathlon, kaminatas, BBQs, car washes and
  other events organized by the staff and members.
  The center also derives income from rental of the facilities
  in the evening and weekends as well as from
  membership dues. However, membership dues are, on
  average, only NAfl 15 per month when the family can
  afford to pay. Some families cannot even afford this
  amount so those members are covered by donations
  such as yours. Your help is very much appreciated and
  the center could not function without it.
  If you would care to sponsor one or more members you
  can do so by arranging a monthly transfer of NAfl 25
  per child or make an annual lump-sum donation to
  Jong Bonaire’s bank account (see details at right).
  Your Help Makes the Difference
  Your donations help us provide safe, supervised activities for
  the teenagers of Bonaire each day after school.We couldn’t do
  it without your help. Thank you.
  To make a donation on Bonaire:
  Bank: MCB Bonaire
  Account: 102-71601
  Bank transfer from Holland to Bonaire:
  Gegevens begunstigde:
  Naar rekening: 10271601
  Ten name van: St. Jeugdwerk Jong Bonaire
  Adres: Kralendijk
  Plaats: Bonaire
  Land:Netherlands Antilles
  Bankgegevens begunstigde:
  BIC: MCBKANCUBON
  Omschrijving: Donation in the name of :
  In the USA (a 501(c)3 non-profit charity):
  Friends of Jong Bonaire Foundation
  c/o Sexter & Warmflash
  115 Broadway 15FL
  NYC, NY 10006
  Stichting Jeugdwerk Jong Bonaire
  Kaya Simón Bolívar 16
  Kralendijk, Bonaire
  Netherlands Antilles
  Tel: +599-717-4303 Fax: +599-717-6467
  E-mail:
  Website: http://www.JongBonaire.org
  Jong Bonaire 6 2007
  At the end of 2007 the staff and members created a
  calendar for 2008 featuring photos by the teens and
  staff. The calendar was distributed it to members and
  sponsors in December.
  Staff, members, volunteers and board members provided
  assistance at the Seventh Annual Swim To Klein Bonaire
  that has become an island tradition. In 2007, more than
  350 residents and tourists took part in the big swim which
  is one of our major fund raisers every year.