Camps aim ‘to teach not babysit’

The National summer camps are not there to babysit children, says Minister of Youth Charles Griffith.

Last Tuesday, at the beginning of a tour of the camp at Shirley Chisholm Primary School in Vauxhall, Christ Church, Griffith said the camps were innovative and would be beneficial to campers.

“This is an annual programme and one of the things we hope to do is to do more than craft. We have embarked on a number of programmes that will benefit the youngsters. We’ve embedded some life skills in some of the camps so it is not just a play and fun situation as would usually happen in the past.

“It is a holistic thing in terms of the camp; we’re not babysitting. We have been trying as much as possible to deliver skills to all of the campers at these locations,” he said.

Griffith said there were just under 3 000 campers at 47 locations. He said he hoped some of the skills being taught would take the campers to NIFCA (National Independence Festival Of Creative Arts), adding that they were also learning about entrepreneurship and digital media.

“This is a good time to be a young person within Barbados. We have programmes that stretch from the block culture right up to the youth MC (master of ceremonies) programmes. So all you need to do is to contact the ministry and get a list of some of our training programmes and you’ll realise that there is absolutely no need for youngsters in this country to turn to violence because of opportunities that we’re providing,” he said.

The minister said Government had invested $500 000 into the five-week camps this year, which were manned by more than 400 volunteers from the Volunteer Connect initiative. He said this proved the spirit of volunteerism was alive and well.

The camps, geared for children aged four to 15, end tomorrow.

The tour included visits to camps at Hilda Skeene Primary School, St Philip; Ellerton Community Centre, St George; Gall Hill Pavilion, St John; Bank Hall Church of the Nazarene, St Michael; and West Terrace Primary School in St James.

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