Suriname’s Ministry of Youth Development and Sport (JOS) has kicked off its 2026 Holiday Employment Project, a nationwide initiative that will open up paid seasonal work placements to more than 1,300 young people across the country, while also fostering key professional skills and environmental awareness.
First launched on Monday across multiple districts, the project forms a core component of the national Krin Kondre clean environment action campaign. Beyond providing paid work, the dual mission of the initiative is to help young people build foundational professional experience and instill a shared sense of responsibility for maintaining clean public spaces.
On the first day of implementation, more than 130 young participants started their placements in the Wanica district, working under the supervision of staff from the Ministry of Public Works and Spatial Planning (OWRO). Parallel launches also took place on the same day in the Saramacca, Coronie, and Commewijne districts, bringing a total of roughly 300 young people into the program across these four regions in the opening phase.
According to the Communication Service Suriname, participants will complete 10 days of diverse public-focused work, with activities centered primarily on collecting litter from public streets and school grounds. Before starting their on-the-ground work, all participants completed a two-day introductory training program that covered core themes of workplace safety, personal discipline, collaborative teamwork, and national pride.
Milton Tuart, deputy director of youth centers at JOS, framed the initiative as a long-term investment in Suriname’s younger generation. “We want to raise awareness among young people, stoke national pride, and help them build the practical skills they will need to thrive in their future lives and careers,” Tuart explained.
Across the country, approximately 1,300 young people will gain access to this seasonal work and skills-building opportunity over the coming weeks. Starting from the second week of September, the program will expand to offer adapted work experience placements at social institutions for an additional 50 young people with special needs, tailored to their individual capabilities.
JOS Minister Stephen Tsang emphasized that the project is designed to deliver far more than just extra income for participating youth. Raising public awareness around environmental stewardship, he noted, is a equally central goal of the broader Krin Kondre campaign.
Tsang added that cultivating a new generation that prioritizes clean living environments must start with investing in young people today. “A clean living environment is a shared collective responsibility,” he said. “If you want to live, grow, work, and study in a clean space, you have to take action yourself. We need to stop expecting someone else to do this work for us.”