New opportunity for students
Thu, 01/12/2017 - 12:35am
By:
Cara L Foster
Twenty students of the Parkinson Memorial Secondary School are being given the opportunity to be the first in Barbados to be involved in a community-based peace-building project called Triple H.
The Triple H (Help, Hope, and Heal) Youth Development Programme is being held under the IMPACT Justice’s (The Improved Access to Justice in the Caribbean) Alternative Dispute Resolution Project, in collaboration with the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus (UWI). The programme is being spearheaded by Professor Velma Newton, Regional Project Director of the IMPACT Justice Project.
Speaking yesterday at a launch, Prof. Newton said it was a very special occasion for them and hopefully for the students involved because it was the first one.
Michele Gibson, the Senior Development Officer of the High Commission of Canada, addressed those persons present in the institution’s hall yesterday and revealed that the 20 students that were selected – ten boys and ten girls – would undergo a seven-week training programme where focus would be on conflict resolution, spiritual development, making best choices in terms of social development, academic development, team work through sports and dealing with community issues.
She added that the programme will be co-ordinated by the school’s Principal, Ian Holder; Bishop Dr. Jason Gordon; Ron Cameron, who is from the International Institute of Restorative Practices in Canada; Errol Griffith from the Power of Choice Programme; retired Station Sergeant O’Neale Small; Cecilia Babb, the IMPACT Justice’s Gender Equality Consultant; and Lennox Ellis, sports coach. Gibson assured that the facilitators all have the skills and experiences that students who are a part of the programme can learn from.
Gibson ventured on, saying that she hoped that even though only 20 students have been selected for training, their success in the programme will reflect positively on the entire school. She noted that “every student and teacher is, by extension, a part of the programme”.