Director, Youth Affairs, Cleviston Hunte, Personal Assistant, Hasani Evelyn, and campers of the St. Martin’s Mangrove Primary School camp the tye-dying of a T shirt. (F. Belgrave/BGIS)
Government summer camps have been given a positive report by the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment.
This followed a recent tour of the camps island wide by Minister Charles Griffith and members of his team, where he determined that they were a success.
Minister Griffith, reflecting on his visit to some camps and interacting with campers and camp officials, stated that the 47 camps with over 3,000 campers and no major incidents were a “blessing”.
He said: “I’m very, very pleased about the outcome of what I saw at the camps. It is evident that the children totally enjoyed themselves; every single camp that I would have visited and asked the campers about the camp, all of them totally enjoyed the experience.”
The Minister added: “The level of craft that I saw this year would probably match any year in terms of production of craft items at the summer camps. So, I think it really was a good thing coming out of COVID to restart the camps. A lot of parents depend on our camps every year to provide that structured environment, where children can go and engage, and this year was not a disappointment at all.”
The camps, which typically start the last week in June and run for five weeks, hosted children ages four to 15 and offered activities centred around dance, craft and digital media production.
Camps visited during the tour included those located at the National Disabilities Unit, the Ann Hill School, the Chesterfield Brewster Youth Empowerment Centre and St. Martin’s Mangrove Primary; St. John’s Primary and Cuthbert Moore Primary Schools.
The Minister thanked all who were involved in the camps, including the volunteers and camp directors.
The touring party also consisted of Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Yolande Howard; Director, Youth Affairs, Cleviston Hunte; Principal Youth Development Officer, Andrea Titus; Manager, YES, Ryan Moseley; Senior Youth Commissioners, Wendy. Holder, Elizabeth Bowen and Ivor Worrell; Youth Commissioner, Carolyn Garnes; PRO/Liaison Officer, Wanda Reid-Beckles and Youth Projects Coordinator, David Denny.