Magistrate calls for a National Youth Service to save island’s wayward young people
“I WOULD like to see every 16- to 22-year-old have some form of youth service.”
This was the call from Coroner Faith Marshall-Harris as she delivered the feature address at a recent Barbados Youth Service (BYS) Passing Out Parade.
The well-respected Magistrate said she believes this path would yield excellent results for the nation, having seen the positive impact on the lives of boys and girls who were in the grip of marijuana and lashing out in violence at the slightest glance in their direction.
“So I have a dream where the BYS is concerned. I have a dream that more youngsters in Barbados could experience the loving care, one-on-one counselling, the development and the nurturing that each BYS trainee gets.”
“If we can only but find the money to have a National Youth Service, I can see an entire generation being transformed and made into better citizens,” she expressed.
She went on to say that young people who find themselves neglecting to espouse good, traditional values would then “be revived” and spark the continuous rescuing of families.
The Magistrate further pointed to one of her most pressing concerns regarding young fathers.
“We are going to have to go through a whole re-education process. We have a number of young men before the courts who are ‘daddies’ and I want our young men to start remembering that they are supposed to bring up the next generation. You must look after your children.
“We have far too many young women who are bringing up children single-handedly and, while they may be trying to make a good job of it, in this day and age, it is too much of a challenge. We need both mother and father raising our children,” she stressed.
Marshall-Harris then opined that should an entrant in her proposed National Youth Service be unemployed or not in full-time study, he or she should be inducted into a mandatory year of the programme; and for those who are employed or in full-time study, some form of community service and teaching by way of camps would be applicable.
“I think it should be like a revolving loan process, where some of the skills gained be passed on,” she stated. (EL).
(Source http://www.barbadosadvocate.com/newsitem.asp?more=local&NewsID=21707)
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