St. James Junior Ambassador Programme gets started

THE St. James Parish Independence Committee commenced its Junior Ambassador Programme for primary and secondary school students within that parish on Monday.

The programme, which is part of the St. James Parish Ambassadors 2016 project, “Celebrating Who We Are: Proud of Our Heritage”, is designed to create a strong and lasting sense of community commitment, nationalism among children, and expose them to the parish.

It will also encourage them to engage with parishioners, get involved in community activities, and provide training towards their self-development, while instilling a sense of national pride and what it means to be Barbadian.

The first workshop took place at the St. James Parish Church Annex, bringing together students of Frederick Smith, Gordon Greenidge Primary, St. Silas Primary and St. Albans Primary.

During the opening, Project Co-ordinator, Rhonda Bryan-Hutson, also disclosed that the students will be working alongside the Parish Ambassadors and committee.

“In your schools, you are going to be showing and demonstrating what it is to be an ambassador – how a young person is supposed to carry themselves, how to represent your parish and share confidently with others what you know about St. James. Also, you are going to be playing an active role in community activities and events, to make sure that your parish is the best that it can be,” she told the students.

Jessica Parris of the Community Independence Celebrations Secretariat (CICS) got the session started with an interactive lesson about the CICS, parish independence committee, programmes, role of ambassador, etc.

However, over the next six months, other workshop sessions will include: knowing your parish, self-esteem, communication skills, conflict resolution, importance of community service and public speaking. (TL)