The Department of Youth and Culture held a press briefing on Monday 17th April, 2023, to launch Volunteerism and Mentorship Week which runs from April 17th to April 22nd.
The week was geared towards sensitizing persons in the community of the Department’s agenda to develop a cadre of volunteers and mentors who would be willing to assist in various areas of work related to meeting the needs of developing young people.
Senior Programme Officer in the Department of Youth and Culture, Mrs. Joleyne Robin-Williams, outlined the volunteerism and mentorship programme and mentioned the work being done by the existing volunteers and entities.
“In 2015,” she said, “the Anguilla Service Corp was officially launched as a programme through the Department of Youth and Culture. The main aim of this programme is to promote national volunteerism and mentorship operating under the following goals: 1. to establish a national volunteerism and mentorship programme; 2. to utilise and capitalise on the skills and expertise of various young persons within the community of Anguilla; 3. to expose unengaged youth to employment opportunities; 4. to encourage, develop and support the culture of Anguilla; and 5. to cement working relationships and social responsibilities with the private sector and government.”
“The Anguilla Service Corp is led by the Department of Youth and Culture. However, recommendations are made through a Management Advisory Board which comprises persons from the public and private sector. To the Chair, Mrs. Angelina Carty, and her team, we are thankful for your support throughout the years,” Mrs. Robin-Williams said.
“It is with great pride that we are here today at the launch of Volunteerism and Mentorship Week,” she added. “Since the implementation of the Anguilla Service Corps, we are proud to report that there are approximately 140 volunteers and mentors registered in our national pool.”
“These volunteers and mentors,” she went on, “are deployed at various outlets throughout Anguilla, including such places as the Department of Social Development; the Department of Probation; Zenaida Haven; His Majesty’s Prison; Hope Centre in Sandy Hill; Hershel Gumbs Community Support Centre in The Valley; and the Blowing Point and West End Youth Development Centre.”
“We also provide support by special request,” she said, “to young entrepreneurs who are in need of business mentors, and who are part of the Get-Set Entrepreneurial Training programme.”
Director of the Department of Youth Culture, Ms. Avon Carty said there are four bodies under the purview of the Department: The Anguilla National Youth Council which is the oldest youth organisation in Anguilla; The National Youth Ambassador Corps which has as its Dean, Mr. Devon Carter; The Youth Parliamentarians; and The Student Council, with one in each school.
Ms. Carty asked the public to recognise the inter-linkages of the four youth bodies and the need for mentors and volunteers to work along with the various youth groups. Additionally, the Department of Youth and Culture features a National Youth Awards every two years, and these awards include the recognition of mentors and volunteers.
“The Department of Education is pleased to collaborate with the Department of Youth and Culture in the launch of its Volunteerism and Mentorship Week,” Communications Officer in the Department of Education, Ms. Carla Harris, said. “It dovetails well for us in an initiative which we are about to launch, namely the Student Leaders and Mentors Training.”
“The Students Councils are an important part of any school’s management and leadership system,” she said. “We must ensure that there is continued training for students who lead. This training is part of our Child Friendly School Initiative and was funded by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth Development Office through UNICEF.”
The Honourable Minister of Innovation, Sustainability and the Environment, Mrs. Quincia Gumbs-Marie, in her brief address, said that “as a community we must give meaning to the adage which says ‘it takes a village to raise a child’.”
Mrs. Gumbs-Marie was filling in for the Honourable Minister of Youth and Culture Ms. Dee-Ann Kentish-Rogers.
Minister Gumbs-Marie who is an existing volunteer, said: “There is a saying that goes, ‘You make a living by what you get, and you make life by what you give.’ I think that is the foundation of what volunteerism is all about. In my current capacity as an existing volunteer, I can attest to the fact that volunteerism has given me an opportunity to get to where I am now at.”
“It is through the sponsorship of programs like the Youth Council, the Youth Ambassador Corps, and the mentorship programme that we ensure knowledge is continually being generated within our communities,” she said. “Often, when people find problems in their communities, they would ask what is Government doing about it. They would say Government needs to intervene. But we must all bring to life the old adages: ‘Many hands make work light’ and ‘It takes a village to raise a child’.”
“These truths speak about the importance of community and the giving of our time. They speak to the value of volunteerism and community building. Through volunteerism, we must ensure that we are a part of the institutions that we look to for making changes in lives,” the Minister said.
Other speakers at the launch included the Dean of the Youth Ambassador Corps, Mr. Devon Carter; Manager of the West End Community Development Centre, Mr. Jeison Jose Bryan; and Programme Officer at the Department of Youth and Culture, Ms. Kemoloy Murphy.
