New King’s Trust cohort begins youth development journey in St George  

Fourteen young Barbadians have embarked on a 12-week leadership and personal development journey under the Commonwealth-wide King’s Trust International Team Programme, which launched its first 2026 cohort at the Glebe Resource Centre in St George on Friday.

Inspector Roger Babb of the Community Relations Department and is crime prevention officer with The Barbados Police Service (TBPS), explained the significance of the moment.  

“This morning we are here at the Glebe Resource Centre, where we are starting the first cohort of the King’s Trust Programme,” he said. “We are here to get basic information from the participants who will eventually start on Monday.”  

What unfolded during the morning session was more than just paperwork and introductions.

“What you’re witnessing, though, is the participants getting familiar with each other, with the expectation that from here onward they will develop as a good team and work to develop themselves through the 12 weeks of the programme,” he said, underscoring the emphasis on unity and teamwork from day one.  

“Yes, it is the first cohort for 2026,” he confirmed, noting that the initiative continues a partnership between TBPS and the King’s Trust International framework that has been in place since 2016.  

“We have about 14 participants here this morning. We expect to have 17 by the start,” he said, pointing to steady interest in the programme, which is open to young people between the ages of 16 and 25.  

The objective is clear. “The programme is all about helping these young persons develop themselves to the stage where they can, you know, go into society, apply for jobs, conduct themselves in a way that will make themselves proud and country proud rather than going towards the criminal element of society.”  

Recruitment, he explained, is deliberate and community-based. “We select through getting former participants to bring in persons, we also advertise through a flyer. And wherever we go, we talk about the programme so that we can make it interesting for young persons to come on board.”  

That outreach has produced measurable impact over the years. “This has been going on since 2016. And today we have about 776 young persons who have passed through this programme. Some have moved into jobs and so on. Some of them have gone back to school, developing themselves so that when they’re ready, they would be fit to go back into society in terms of the work environment.”  

Working alongside him is Sergeant Roger Williams, team coordinator within the King’s Trust International Team Programme, who described the orientation session as a critical first step.  

“Basically, my duties as a team coordinator is to ensure that the team leaders, participants, especially on this day of orientation, they feel comfortable,” he said. “Team leaders have the material, the resources that they need. Participants really settle in and get a feel of the programme in terms of what to expect as they’re about to start a new journey come next week.”  

He outlined the structure awaiting the group once the programme officially begins on Monday.  

“So basically, it’s a 12-week self-development course. So we start with what we call induction. It’s an introduction to the programme where we take them through team-building activities, just help them to get comfortable being in a new environment, meeting persons for the first time, and we take them through the process where we get them to reflect, look at their lives, look at themselves, see where they are at, and develop plans or strategies, you know, to improve their lives.”  

He added: “So we basically help them to evaluate themselves and to see how they can improve on their lives through a structured module.”  

From there, the experience intensifies. “And then we go into the residential phase, where we get to work with them on a closer level, and we get to iron out any challenges that they may have,” he said.  

The residential component, held at the Coast Guard base, introduces challenges and exposure to different experiences. “So we have exercises that we use, such as hiking, there’s an obstacle course, and there are structured sessions that we go through, but it’s at the coast guard, so that they can be exposed to different activities, you know, that will somewhat challenge them, but would push them, you know, to basically get out of their comfort zone and to trust the process and to see, you know, as they challenge themselves, what they’re able to accomplish.”  

Participants will also be required to design and execute community projects. “Then we move into community projects, where they have to plan, they have to raise funds and execute a project. So again, it’s an opportunity for them to give back, it’s an opportunity for them to meet members of the public and to explore a bit more in terms of whether it’s entrepreneurship, or whether it’s going to the field and helping persons on a community level.”  

Beyond physical and community engagement, practical life skills are central to the curriculum. “We bring in resource persons and these resource persons help them along their journey, whether it’s money management, whether it’s working on their curriculum vitae, interview skills, you know, all of these things we focus on so that our participants are well rounded.”  

By the time participants reach the final stretch, he said, “they are actually ready to go into the world of work because they have the soft skills that is needed to thrive in that particular environment.”