Basseterre, St. Kitts, February 14, 2019 (S.T.E.P.) — Activities on the calendar of events marking the second anniversary of the Skills Training Empowerment Programme (STEP) continued on Wednesday February 13, with the launch of the Community Enhancement and Beautification Competition at Stone Fort Estate Yard, next to Bloody River.
The week of activities is being observed under the theme ‘Showcasing skills, Empowering people for life’ and in launching the competition, Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for the STEP Mr Osbert DeSuza said it aimed at showcasing skills of persons working on the STEP community enhancement groups.
“As we move around the island we realise that the STEP has quite a number of persons who are engaged in community enhancement and we thought when we were planning the week of activities that it will be advisable to showcase the skills of these individuals,” said Mr DeSuza. “I want to appeal to them to take what we are doing here this morning very seriously. It is a competition – there will be a winner and I guess everybody will try to ensure that they win.”
According to the Permanent Secretary, the community enhancement and beautification competition will be held among the different communities, including Stone Fort, Sandy Point, Cayon, Lodge, Conaree, Molineux, and Saddlers. The Challengers STEP Community Enhancement Group is the one working on the Stone Fort site, where colours of the National Flag have been used to decorate the surroundings.
Other objectives of the competition, Mr DeSuza added, are to enhance and beautify the environment at or near sites of national significance; to promote a sustainable approach to the community enhancement programme of the country; and to increase public awareness of the role and impact of the community enhancement teams that are involved in the STEP to provide a safe and uplifting environment to support the tourism industry.
“We have interacted extensively with the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Agriculture to seek some support and some guidelines for what we are doing here this morning,” noted Mr DeSuza. “On behalf of the management of the STEP and my own behalf, I want to thank them very much for the support that they have provided to the STEP office in relation to this enhancement and beautification competition.”
The ceremony, which was attended by Director of STEP Mr Wendell Wattley, STEP Field Coordinator Mr William Phillip, and supervisor of the STEP Challengers Community Enhancement Group Ms Jewel Pelle, was chaired by Mr Emile Greene, Chairman of the steering committee of the second anniversary of the STEP Week of Activities.
What was happening at Stone Fort, according to Mr Greene who is also Quality Assurance Coordinator/Consultant of the STEP, was a perfect example showcasing the landscaping skills of the STEP’s community enhancement groups.
“I believe in the next few weeks and months as the beautification fever spreads around St. Kitts, then more and more persons will see the training that these persons have been exposed to,” noted Mr Greene.
