When I got into politics I thought I could change the world

The role of guiding youths and listening to their concerns is not unusual for newly elected PNM Youth Officer Female, Jennifer Johnson. After all, she has been, for more than two decades, mediator and liasion officer for her children Lee, Nadine and Nikki. The end result of being a hardworking and dedicated mother she said: “They are children who make you proud. You’re happy when you see them come through the door.” The eldest of the lot, Lee, 25, who resides in New Orleans, USA, is a chemical engineer. Nadine is an accounts executive and Nikki is  a human resource manager. The former minister’s early involvement in youth-oriented events where she held the posts of secretary of Youth for Christ in San Fernando in her teenage years, cub leader, and Area commissioner of the Girl Guide Movement for the Victoria Division, she said, “prepared me for the role I eventually played.” Jennifer had been out of the “political spotlight” since her 1986-1991 term in office as Youth, Sport and Culture Minister under the National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR) administration. “After 1991, I concentrated on my personal life. My husband and I have an engineering business which we started in 1990 and between 1990 and 1995 we focused on building the business,” Jennifer told People. Her husband, Frank, a retired Petrotrin employee, heads the mechanical engineering firm “Plant Engineering and Maintenance Services Ltd” based in Marabella.

When the UNC formed government in 1995, Jennifer transferred her loyalty to that regime. However, when she realised that her ideals differed from that of the government at the time, she changed course. She said: “I didn’t like the way the UNC was going and I saw the PNM as the only vehicle to bring about change so I joined it.” In 1997, as an official member of the PNM, she became active in local groups in the Princes Town area and in 2000, she was asked to be part of the opposing party’s Youth League. Now, as Youth Officer Female which is “not a political posting,” she asserted, she acts as a link between the Youth League chaired by Joel Primus, and the party. As she sat in the relaxing area of her St Joseph Village, San Fernando home, from which gives a sprawling view of the central and northern range, Jennifer spoke candidly about her experiences derived from working with the youth in various areas of Trinidad and Tobago. She gave an insight into the “commonly misunderstood,” the youth: “Generally young people are concerned about youth development. They want the opportunity to develop in the way they want to develop. They want the opportunity to take charge in their lives and they are very straightforward. Things are not coloured at all, there is no in-between with them. “They are concerned about fairness and integrity. If you get them young and nurture them you’re gonna get a society that is well-rounded.” One of the best channels to obtain such a society, she said was “education, education, education. I don’t necessarily mean academic learning. We have to find ways of getting young people to know about the world and the role they play in the world. The attempts to get education to the youth is lacking. It must reach the homes so that parents could get involved. There are no two ways about it, education and knowledge.” “I foresee a tough role ahead since the society is in such tumultuous times. There is deviant behaviour, people are not accepting their responsibilities in delivering to the public what they deserve and it represents in the criminal behaviour. We have a lot to do and I think the Youth League, which is community based, is up to it.” Among her objectives are: to develop programmes to identify and prepare the Youth League members to become effective, strong and confident leaders, capable of assuming future leadership roles in the party; and to educate the young people about the importance of Politics and their role in national development.

She added: “When I got into politics in the 1970s, I thought you could change the world and make everything right. I realised that you can’t change the world, but you can make individual contributions to a better society. It’s about identifying who you are and using your skill to the benefit of people around you and to the people who need it. Amidst work with the Party and the family business, Jennifer has to steal time away for relaxation. She is an avid reader and ensures that she is abreast with “what’s happening in the world. I listen to music and go to the gym to keep in shape,” she said as she smiled. When asked of her personal goals, she said: “I have achieved a lot of my life’s ambitions so I just want to concentrate on giving back... I want to give back some of my time and resources and the best way to do it is through developing our young people.”