March to Highlight 30 Years of Youth Development

Basseterre, St. Kitts, May 15, 2013 (SKNIS): The twenty-nine year history of the Department of Youth Empowerment’s Summer Residential Camp will be celebrated this Friday (May 17) as persons take to the streets of Basseterre for a parade, marking three decades of life changing development.

Shannon Cannonier, a camp volunteer for the past five years currently attached to the Department, explained “it’s our 30th anniversary and we want to launch the camp in a grand way with this upcoming march.”

A number of primary and secondary school students who would have attended the two-week event in the past are expected to attend along with older campers, group leaders and volunteers. The march begins at Greenlands at 2:30 p.m. and ends at the back of the National Museum (Old Treasury Building) on the Bay Road. A brief ceremony will then be held to mark the occasion and introduce the candidates for the inaugural group leaders’ pageant.

This year’s camp will run from July 21 to August 04, at the Beach Allen Primary School and more than 200 children are expected to attend. The camp provides fun and safe avenues for youth between 8 to 16 years to interact with peers in a setting that develops social and technical skills. These include art and craft, entrepreneurship, agriculture, woodwork, dance, drumming, an introduction to Taiwan’s culture and others.

Director of Youth Empowerment Geoffrey Hanley said that a number of special activities will be held to commemorate the anniversary. He pledged that the Department will continue to engage youth in creative ways to realize their development potential.

Persons can register for the camp at the Department of Youth Empowerment on Church Street or online at www.youth.gov.kn. Registration ends on June 3, 2013.