THE story of Otis James helping to transform the lives of many underprivileged youth in Clarendon defies the stereotypical image of a philanthropist.

He is a young, thriving plumber, who is just about making enough money to care for himself and his family.

He did not complete high school, but enrolled in the Portmore Heart Academy to become a certified plumber, and is now intent on helping others.

His story is not unfamiliar — a fatherless inner-city youth beating the odds to make something of himself. What sets him apart, however, is that he wants to help others achieve something he didn’t — a complete formal education.

Looking for a way to keep alive his dream of becoming a Mathematics teacher, James recovered from the humiliation of being expelled from high school in 1997 to create one of the most progressive and inclusive youth programmes in this part of the island — the James and Friends Education Programme.

The foundation, established some seven years ago, is geared towards raising funds to help send children — mostly from violence-plagued communities in Clarendon — to school daily.

“We are a programme that deals with people who have vision,” James told the Jamaica Observer Central. “We are not looking to raise money to feed poor people, we are trying to help youths who have a vision, but (lack) financial support, to become something in life.

“We don’t just look at youths who are getting ‘A’s, we also help those who just want a skill, because a lot of the bright kids leave school and are not making any meaningful contribution to the country,” he added.

The programme, he said, started with just a few children and little financial assistance, but has since increased in terms of both participation and sponsorship.

“When I started the programme a lot of the business people did not want to give me any support, so at that time it was just a few of us, but once they realised that it was a credible thing more people came on board. Today, we have over 70 students going to school and sponsors from right across the board: lawyers, doctors, entrepreneurs, people who sell in the market and so forth.

“It is not about money, it is about the love. Once you have love for children and you see the need of a particular youth, you can help him because you have kids who only need $100 to go school,” James added.

Fifteen years ago, James was one of those inner-city youth from a single-parent household looking for a purpose in life. He got caught up in the wrong crowd, however, and was expelled from Denbigh High School.

That moment, he said, was the turning point in his life, and today he gives credit to his principal at the time, Joan Wint, for taking such a bold, but decisive step.

“I don’t have anything against her,” he said. “At the time, she was doing what she thought was best for me, and it was at that time that I realised that I had to make something of my life and win back her trust.”

That day did come, and Wint was so impressed that she decided to join the organisation. She now acts as the general secretary for the James and Friends Education Programme.

“I am really proud of him. Not only did he go back to school and became a certified plumber, but he is also giving back to his community, and what makes this programme so (successful), is the fact that he has managed to get a wide cross-section of business people in the parish to come on,” she said.

So far, 19-year-old Glenmuir High student Rosheika Grant, 12-year-old Tasha-Gaye Monroe of Denbigh High, and Glenmuir High first-former Shemoe Collash seem to be the biggest success stories of the programme.

Grant will be moving on to the University of the West Indies this August to study journalism, while Monroe and Collash are excelling in high school after scoring top marks in the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT).

“We even have people in their 30s who go through the programme,” said James. “We focus more on the younger youths, but if we see (an adult) who is really interested in achieving something, we will try to help,” said James, who explained that the organisation had a breakfast programme for the students.

To add credibility to the foundation, James said he has developed a file, specific to the needs of each child, which details how the sponsorship dollar is spent.

“Every weekend I ride all over Clarendon collecting money and then leave it at different shops in the communities so that the children can get it to go to school. The kids would just go to a particular shop in their community and sign for the money each morning, because we not giving it to the parents, and at the end of the month the teachers verify that they come to school each day. They can’t take the money and skip school because we will find out,” he said.

The programme is gaining momentum, with a number of new sponsors pledging their support for next school year. As such, James and his directors — including Wint, Garth Young, Dr Clement Williams, Robert Burke Green, Myrtle Roye and Dr Richard Watson — are planning to increase the number of participants to 100 by September.

“I was attracted to the programme by the fact that he (James) is so young, but is showing a great interest in the education of our children,” said Kevin Ingram, manager of National Commercial Bank, May Pen.

“There is also a lot of accountability and that is very important,” he added.