A RIGHT MOVE FOR YOUTH AND ANGUILLA

One truth in Anguilla is that regardless of the political fallout and financial difficulty assailing the island, there are some positive steps being taken which, if successful, should do a whole lot of good for many of our people, particularly the younger generation.

In most, if not all, of these plausible efforts, the Ministry of Social Development appears to be taking a predominant role. Just within a matter of days there were three main events of much note and excellence. The first was the 5th Annual Primary Schools Award Ceremony on Thursday, November 17, sponsored by ANGLEC, during which 84 students were awarded for their outstanding performance in the Test of Standards. This was a big encouragement to all students, parents and teachers and did much to inspire our children to aim at, and achieve, excellence in education and thereby placing a bright future within their grasp.

The second event was the launching of the booklet “Safeguarding Children in Anguilla – a Policy Guideline”, on Friday, November 18. This was indeed a step in the right direction with assistance from the Department for International Development, under the Safeguarding of Children in the Overseas Territories Project, in partnership with the Ministry of Social Development and various other stakeholders. The fact is that in order to work towards the health advancement of Anguilla, as an emerging island nation, all concerned must work together to shape a positive future for our children, as the booklet so rightly concludes.
If there ever was a time when Anguilla urgently needed to safeguard its children, it is now. The cases and harmful effects of physical, sexual and emotional abuse and neglect are now all too common and demeaning. Gone are the days in traditional Anguilla when the philosophical phrase that it takes “a village to raise a child” was actually put into practice in Anguilla. Today, many children stand to be disadvantaged, deprived and abused in some form or the other. Unless there is indeed some official policy guideline to safeguard them, Anguilla can eventually find itself in much difficulty with its most precious resource and future in serious trouble.

The third event was the Technical & Vocational Education & Training (TVET) Stakeholder Roundtable discussion on Monday, November 21. It was almost akin to the safeguarding of children event referred to above. In a way, it carried the same caring concern for young people, and Anguilla, in that it takes into account the future and educational welfare of our young people and the interest of the island as well.

It addresses a situation where there are a growing number of youngsters who are not academically inclined, but possess other personal and societal skills and values. The “think tanks”, as the many roundtable participants may be described, took into account that such youth might experience neglect and discrimination in the local job market while, in fact, their technical skills in various trades can be honed to make them important contributors to national development and even stem a potential tide of discontent and violence. Certainly, by setting out to address this so-called inequality now, may be a saving grace in the future.

Ever so often it has been seen that persons, skilled in various technical trades, are even greater income earners than those who are academically-inclined and pursue careers in various glorified professions. It has been proven that unless there are skilled and technical people in most of the employment sectors, few organisations can function effectively. As a consequence, there is an increasing need for skilled persons whose contribution and worth cannot be under-estimated.

There will obviously be a need for technical training programmes, and here the Anguilla CommunityCollege has an important role to play. It must pay attention to those needs which could not be met years earlier due to the absence of a separate technical school on the island. It is not known what some of the conclusions and recommendations that emanated from the roundtable are, but the hope is that it was a very useful and fruitful event.

The Ministry of Social Development ought to be highly commended for its engagement in the above events which also adds much to its current Literacy Project. Overall, it is a right move for young people and Anguilla on a whole.