Sports Contributor – Delroy Alexander
The Florida Association for Volunteer Action in the Caribbean and the Americas, Inc. (FAVACA) has been assisting Sacred Sports Foundation in Saint Lucia with training & technical assistance to help guide, counsel and mentor girls between the ages of 13-25 in a range of life skills in conjunction with their Girls2Womens sports development programmes for Caribbean youth.
FAVACA volunteer counselors Mrs. Sebrenah V. Phillips & Mrs. Earther M. Wright spent a week in Saint Lucia working with Upton Gardens Girls Centre, the Island’s only female behavioral facility.
Subjects covered ranged from: Basic personal hygiene, HIV /AIDS, Teaching & encouraging decision-making, Leadership skills and financial literacy followed by basic netball and salsa lessons.
In addition, Seventy (70) young ladies from George Charles Secondary School were treated to a full day of interactive activities and role playing to promote interest and encourage personal creativity.
Executive Director of Sacred Sports Foundation , Nova Alexander says ‘Caribbean young women face a number of social challenges that effect them in a variety of ways, from low self esteem to a lack of knowledge about contraception and sexually transmitted diseases not to mention the impact of early pregnancy to a lack of viable employment opportunities.
Certificates awarded to participants at the Upton Gardens Girls Centre.
We are delighted to be given the opportunity to work with such a well established organization such as FAVACA to assist in our efforts to develop programmes that educate and assist in the process of social inclusion through sport.
FAVACA conducted evening sessions with the Department of Gender Relations and RISE and also spoke at length to the Saint Lucia women’s U19 & U23 National Cricket & Netball teams
The Florida Association for Volunteer Action in the Caribbean and the Americas, Inc. (FAVACA), is a private not for profit organization formed in 1982 by Florida Governor (now former U.S. Senator) Bob Graham.
FAVACA’s Florida International Volunteer Corps is the only program of its kind in the country and enjoys statutory authority under Section 288.0251 Florida Statutes.
A state appropriation, voted annually since 1986, provides a funding base for an estimated 100 volunteer missions to Latin America and the Caribbean each year. FAVACA establishes sustainable partnerships between non-governmental organizations, universities, government agencies and businesses in Florida and the Caribbean and Latin America.
