A ‘royal’ donation

The children of #4 Chapel Land, St Philip now have a new park in which to play and spend quality time together.

This morning, residents of the community thanked 14 participants of the Prince’s Trust International Team Programme who were responsible for creating the park. The participants decided that assisting Leroy Jones, who owns the land where the park was created, was a worthwhile project they wanted to undertake.

The Royal Barbados Police Force (RBPF), in conjunction with Prince’s Trust International, a registered charitable organisation in England and Wales, embarked on a partnership to deliver the Team Programme in Barbados.

The programme is designed to assist young people aged 16-25 who are unemployed or not engaged in any formal aspects of educational or vocational training, and who may be considered “at risk” because of these factors.

Programme Delivery Manager Inspector Roland Cobbler said the significance of programmes such as Prince’s Trust cannot be disputed, taking into consideration that the age range it targets has been identified as the period during which young people are more predisposed to get involved in violence or criminal behaviour.

Inspector Cobbler said the programme has the potential to make a difference in the lives of young people since it was designed to help participants develop their English and Mathematics skills, discover hidden talents, recognize their own strengths, boost confidence and motivation, improve personal skills, and connect closely with their communities through different projects.

The programme was run from the Inch Marlow Pavillion, Christ Church, under the stewardship of Constables Chad Linton and Lisa Forde, who are the team leader and assistant team leader, respectively.

Inspector Cobbler extended gratitude to Sandals Foundation for funding the three Prince’s Trust International programmes which are being conducted simultaneously in the Northern, Southern and Bridgetown areas. He also thanked Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley for supporting the expansion of the programme this year. (AH)