Buxton youth encouraging positive change in his community

Buxtonian Owen Jeffery who hopes to be a role model for young men in this village 

At just 20 years old, Owen Jeffrey has been making a positive impact on the youths in his community, as he seeks to be a role model for many who may have no one to look out for them. He has, in fact, devoted his life to building a business that he says can motivate other youths to do better with their lives.

Born and raised in Buxton Village, on the East Coast Demerara, Owen looked around to see that there were not many persons in his community who could have served as good examples to the youths, and he thought to himself that he could definitely make a difference.

“Growing up, it is really hard to get role models. So I am looking in the environment and thinking, ‘We can do better than this you know.’ This is not what I want for the environment, nor what I want for myself,” he expressed during an interview with the BIG Smith News Watch.

Instead of going down a path of identifying who should and should not serve as role models, Owen decided to take it upon himself. “Instead of looking to see what others can do, I am creating a brand that can impact positively on the youths, so I am not just doing this as another source of income, I am also motivating the youths as well.”

The brand that he is referring to is a clothing business that he started up and is continuing to develop. “I am trying to show them a better path; that you can do legal stuff to live life and be successful.”

Some of Owen’s work

Although employed fulltime with the Deeds Registry in Guyana, Owen’s passion lies in building his PG (Positive Generation) Clothing Brand.

At just 17 years old, he started the business, although not having the materials and equipment needed to execute the kind of job that he had in mind. Nevertheless, he started with what he had, and now he uses the money he makes from his day job to build the business that is closest to his heart.

“PG Clothing is a fashion outlet whereby I am not just selling stuff to people. The main objective is to motivate youths and anyone in general,” he pointed out. Apart from the PG brand, Owen customizes t-shirts and other pieces of clothing.

It all started when he created a group with some of his friends with the aim of promoting positivity. One of the members, Ronaldo Teixeira, suggested that they all get t-shirts, so as to help them in promoting whatever they were at the time.

“He (Teixeira) was like, I can do this t-shirt design myself, and from then my whole mindset changed and I got a different perspective. He pushed me beyond my limitations,” he reflected.

Owen displays a bit of his craft

And this fit right into his personality because ever since he was a child, Owen said he was always dressing up his mom, and then she would go to him for advice on how she was looking each time she was leaving the house.

Meanwhile, he says others have already started responding positively to his initiative. “A friend of mine saw what I do and he reached out to me. I showed him how to create his own brand, showing him how to custom make t-shirts, and now he also created a clothing brand.”

Owen works hard to build his business, as he continues pushing himself late into the nights after he gets home from work. “Right now, I am focusing on growing my business by achieving a wider base of clientele to be able to run this business full-time.”

“I want to do what I actually love to do full-time, so this day job is a blessing because it helps me grow my business,” he expressed.

And he certainly doesn’t mind if others take up the same business that he is doing. In fact, he is willing to teach them. His hope is to be able to help, especially those youths who may have a dream like him.

Owen is currently working on a promotion for December when he plans to have on hand some hoodies and sweaters.

“People can win some stuff. It’s going to be something big and different. I’ve never done anything like this, but I am taking the risk, because I want to give back to those who have been supporting me over the years,” he said.