"If it wasn't for Valleys Kids, there would be nothing to keep me here," says Sam Terrell, an 18-year-old volunteer at the youth project's Penyrenglyn centre in the northern part of the Rhondda Valley. "I like coming here because it's always happy."
Sam is one of many young people to pass through the centre since it was set up seven years ago. Her comments are not unusual. Apart from lush mountain landscapes reminiscent of Lord of the Rings, the Valleys have had little to offer young people since the collieries closed 20 years ago.
Valleys Kids is equipping its young people with skills that will help them to find jobs with a future. "Most young people don't leave the area because it's easy and safe for them to settle down here and work in a factory," says Sam. Around a fifth of the population of Rhondda Cynon Taf is under 16, while 5.2 per cent is aged 16 to 19, according to the 2001 Census.
The poverty trap
The social and economic decline of the Valleys brought with it the usual poverty-related problems: only 51 per cent of the Rhondda Cynon Taf population is employed, 27 per cent have had a long-term illness and 40 per cent have no qualifications. Young people in Rhydyfelin complain of the "smackheads" who leave needles around the area, while others say adults don't set a good example. "There is underage drinking but it's mostly adults who set a bad example as there are pubs everywhere," says 20-year-old Jonathan Bundy, a volunteer at Penyrenglyn.
But it's not all doom and gloom in the Valleys. Young people roam freely over the mountains, which gives them some great childhood memories, although it also leads to a few forest fires. And economically, things are starting to look up.
Valleys Kids started life as the Penygraig Community Project in 1977.
It changed its name to Valleys Kids in 1999 as funders wanted a narrower focus. Julie Spiller, project co-ordinator for the Penyrenglyn centre and a former member of the tenant and residents' group in the partnership, says: "We have been finding it harder to get volunteers, as a lot more people are getting jobs now, mostly in factories, but also other newer areas of work such as the care sector. And we're finding many teenagers want to go into youth work."
The project started out as a determined partnership of local agencies and voluntary sector community groups, local government, teachers and social workers. The original focus was young offenders, but to tackle the problem effectively meant working with families.
This focus remains an important aspect of today's youth work. The centres provide clubs for young mums, IT classes, film-making, health education, after-school clubs and senior youth clubs. Since its launch in Penygraig, the project has spread to two other areas - Rhydyfelin and Penyrenglyn - and offers an outreach youth service to young people in remote areas. It also leases Little Bryn Gwyn, a cottage on the Gower Peninsula, for residential trips.
The Penyrenglyn centre launched in 1997, originally comprising two dilapidated council houses knocked into one. "When we first got the building, I saw that the kids had graffitied 'FTS' on the door," remembers Spiller. "I found out it stood for 'Fuck the System'. I told them they could leave the graffiti up there because it was their opinion."
However, with funding of 200,000 from the European Regional Development Fund, the National Lottery and the Welsh Assembly Government two years ago, the centre has been refurbished into a bright and airy building, with large rooms for projects, an art studio, offices, and a wide patio at the back.
Higher expectations
Christian Perry, the youth worker for Penyrenglyn, has been working at Valleys Kids for the past 12 years. Overseas visits are an important part of his work, and Perry has taken young people on summer camp trips in the US.
"I get disgusted with kids when they say they'll go on the dole," he explains. "I always try to get them into college and raise their expectations.
Some of the kids, such as Sam, have become volunteers through the TimeBank scheme we run. Four of our young people will be going to New York in November, which they earned by spending a certain amount of time volunteering. It will be the first time abroad for some."
At Rhydyfelin, an area just outside Pontypridd, the Valleys Kids project occupies two sites and offers large workspaces and a great hall, where after-school clubs and senior youth club activities take place, along with events and activities for the whole community. A multi-agency regeneration partnership, including a children and young people's sub-group, meets once a month.
Erika Taylor, project co-ordinator at the Ilan Community Centre on the Glantaff Estate in Rhydyfelin, says: "We involve young people in decision-making, which lets them see that they are capable." The centre is open seven days a week for five- to 25-year-olds, and offers drug advice and access to a sexual health clinic. "The kids want to set up their own youth forum, which we're now planning," says Taylor. "This will need to include those who don't come to the club. Often they don't have the confidence to leave the area."
Most of the Rhondda Valley qualifies for Community First money, a 10-year funding programme of the Welsh Assembly Government for disadvantaged areas in Wales, as well as European Objective One funding. Valleys Kids gets just over 1m a year, a third of which is core funding from Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council, a third comes from Community First, and the rest comes from trusts, corporate funders including Barclays and donations.
Council conflict
Ron Jones, head of youth service at Rhondda Cynon Taf, has nothing but praise for Valleys Kids. He says: "It is a good organisation because it doesn't just involve youth work, but also play and the community." The young people say they prefer Valleys Kids to the council provision. "I don't like the council centre, which is not free, has too many rules, and is all about sport," says Jonathan Bundy. "Teenagers like coming here because they get listened to."
Kayley Butler, 16, from Penyrenglyn, says: "The local authority youth club is horrible and we don't get on with them. My attitude has been improved by this project as before I used to get into fights."
Jones defends his service, saying it is not just about youth centres.
He says: "The youth service provides a whole range of provision, including detached youth work and youth information." But for the young people of the area, Valleys Kids is where they feel at home.
"When I first started here seven years ago, a couple of the kids stole my keys and made duplicates," says Perry. "They snuck into the centre and spent the night there. Although I was cross, I realised it was actually a good sign. They had broken in because the centre was for them and they felt safe."
FILM-MAKING AT VALLEYS KIDS
Film-making projects have become a big part of the work of Valleys Kids. Funding from Film Council organisation First Light in 2001 enabled the Penyrenglyn centre to invest in an Apple Mac computer, a camera and the skills of a professional director and editor who ran workshops.
Christian Perry, the youth worker at Penyrenglyn, says: "The first film the kids did was about living on the estate. They wanted to show the positive side of their area and spent 10 days filming both the dilapidated buildings, and the nicer side. Then they interviewed people on the estate. It ended up being about people fighting for their community and helped push the local council to do something about it."
Valleys Kids also recently received an award from Arts & Business Cymru.
"The kids love performing and expressing themselves, so we are now working on music videos," says Perry. "Some of the young people have worked with the Pop Factory project in Porth, in the Rhondda." Two have already attended local college BTEC courses in media studies.
YOUNG PEOPLE'S VOICES
- I've lived here all my life and I like it. I would like a bike track here. I always come to the club because the youth workers are a laugh, but I would leave the area to get a job. - Shane Evans, 15, Rhydyfelin
- I work in Springfield delivering drinks to schools, but it was hard to find a job here because I had no qualifications. There are smackheads who leave needles around. - Michael Close, 17, Rhydyfelin
- The Valleys are boring as there is nothing to do, but I wouldn't move away from Wales as I'm proud of it. A lot of adults are on the dole, but I want a job so I can stop scrounging. - Kayleigh Hughes, 16, Rhydyfelin
- I work as a plasterer. I did want to be a plumber but couldn't get into college. A lot of people are going into the Army or the police as they are good careers, but I won't leave. - Craig Davies, 16, Rhydyfelin
- I'm doing a media course at college but would like to be a nanny. I will probably have to move to find work. I come to the club because I wanted somewhere you can talk and be listened to. - Rebecca Holman, 20, Penyrenglyn.
