Basseterre, St. Kitts, February 19, 2019 (SKNIS): The Lodge Explorers Club was launched on February 17 at the Violet Petty Primary School, making it the sixth Explorers Club to be commissioned in the Federation, adding 72 children to the hundreds of community explorers in St. Kitts and Nevis. At the launch, a website and Facebook page for the group were also unveiled.
Prime Minister and Minister of National Security, Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris, congratulated the new Explorers, noting that they are the present and future of the society and he has confidence in their abilities to deliver.
“There are more good people than there are bad people in the world and when good people like us take a stand for justice and peace, the entire country rises to its highest heights,” said Prime Minister Harris, while encouraging the Explorers to find positive role models in their communities.
“The only difference between them and the role models is the question of the choices they will make regarding their own lives. If they can conceive it and imagine it, they can make a wonderful story for themselves, their families and for their community and that is what we wish for them,” he said.
He told the Explorers that “gang life is no life” and encouraged the parents to teach their children to say no to gangs.
“The only thing that we are certain will happen in gangs is that they will lose their lives sooner rather than later. We have to start early to cut off the growth and attraction for gangs in our society,” stated the prime minister.
Also present at the launch were Deputy Speaker of the House, Senator Akilah Byron-Nisbett; Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of National Security, Osmond Petty; Representative from the High Command of the Police, Assistant Commissioner of Police Andrew Mitchell; Retired Major General and National Security Advisor, Stewart Saunders; Crime Specialist and Consultant, Dr. Neals Chitan, and keynote speaker, Dr. Vance Gilbert.
The Explorers Groups were first launched in 2017 as a part of the Community Policing Initiative involving children from ages 4 -17 years old with an aim to provide a safe haven for children in the communities in which they are formed. Information on the Explorers Group can be found on their website at rscnpfyouthexplorers.com and on Facebook at the “RSCNPF Youth Explorers.”
