Minister of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment, Charles Griffith, has spearheaded a pledge to encourage primary school students to keep their country clean.
Addressing the Ashley Lashley Foundation’s “Ecoactive Youth” event at the Garfield Sobers Complex recently, Minister Griffith asked those in attendance to be, “Police Officers” in their homes, schools and communities as it relates to taking care of the environment.
While encouraging the students to speak out when they see adults littering, he said: “When you’re at home and you see the adults in the household, dropping paper and refuge all over the place, that you will speak to that; when you’re in school you must impress on your fellow classmates and your friends to ensure that the school environment is clean.
“And, if you can do that, then you will go a long way in helping us to do and to solve the problems that were create by littering all over this country, and by extension, the world.”
Founder of the Ashley Lashley Foundation, and coordinator of the event, Ashley Lashley, noted the island was experiencing many crises but two of them stood out.
Ms. Lashley, who has set out to educate youngsters about issues they will have to overcome, said: “What we are absolutely passionate about is climate change, since our island is at the frontlines of the climate crisis and then, the dreaded lifestyle diseases called non-communicable diseases.”
Noting that it was estimated that 83 per cent of deaths in Barbados were attributed to NCDs, she stressed that one in every three children here is either overweight or obese.
She also acknowledged that over 70 per cent of Barbadians were aware of the major threats and their impacts on our marine ecosystems, fisheries, agriculture industries, our livelihood and our health.
While giving the rationale behind the initiative, Ms. Lashley stated: “We need to create various avenues where we all can work together to achieve one common goal. So we’re therefore hoping that the continuation of this Ecoactive Youth initiative will see more support from the government and the private sector, to continue to work and support this initiative which started out of the first ever, Barbados Youth Climate Action Summit and Expo.”
The Ashley Lashley Foundation was launched in December 2019. Its primary focus is to bring greater awareness to some of the world’s major social, environmental and health issues. These include the health impacts of climate change and NCDs, particularly in Small Island Developing States.