Basseterre, St. Kitts, May 30, 2018 (SKNIS): This year’s hosting of the 35th Annual Summer Residential Camp will see quite a number of changes that are in line with the youth development agenda outlined in the Federal Youth Policy 2017-2022.
For years, the main theme of the camp was “Developing Children for Today and Tomorrow” but it has now changed to “Developing Leaders for Today and Tomorrow.” Organizers at the Department of Youth Empowerment have separated the focus of the July 15 to 29 summer camp to hone in on leadership training for dorm leaders and volunteers in the first week, which will be followed by the developmental programme for the 8 to 16-year-old participants.
“The first week will just be dorm leaders alone and they will be undergoing a full week of training spearheaded by the Community, Family and Youth Resilience (CFYR). They will be looking at developing their capacity to train young people to develop life skills,” said Pierre Liburd, Acting Director of the Department of Youth Empowerment.
The skills will be put into practice in the second week, July 22 to 29, as 150 campers turnout for the annual event, which has become quite popular among the youth population. The numbers are reduced from the customary 250 young people that attend.
“We recognise that we weren’t necessarily getting through to all 250 and while it does pain us to have to turn away young people, in order to be as effective as possible, we have to make some decisions and stick to some workable numbers in order to make sure that the resources that we have are able to be effectively utilized to properly address the needs of young persons,” Mr. Liburd stated.
Fun activities such as water day, speed sports, gospel night, field trips, talent show, and the camp banquet will be held over the one week period.
Using the new camp format, the acting youth director explained that officials are positive that the imparted leadership techniques will prove beneficial to the persons on camp, who will then go on to share these skills with their peers in communities across St. Kitts and Nevis.
Registration for camp leaders and camp participants is currently open. Application forms are available from the Office of the Department of Youth Empowerment located on the top floor of The Cable Building on Cayon Street. Telephone 662-6054 for further information.
