Found at: http://www.anguillaguide.com/article/articleprint/4378/-1/140/
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Big Youth Conference In Anguilla
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A big five-day conference dubbed “Youth Empowerment Solutions” YES, opened in Anguilla on Tuesday this week, with facilitators from ManFocus, a faith-based organisation in Philadelphia, leading the sessions.
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Boys with facilitators at inter-active forum
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It is the largest youth conference organised in recent years with the aim of challenging and empowering young people in Anguilla towards a crime and violence free life. It is the brainchild of Anguillian Pastor, Elliott Harrigan who resides and works in Philadelphia. He is being assisted by three other persons. They are his daughter, Nicole Harrigan-Nash; Social Psychologists Dr. Randolph Walters and Dr. Vincent Calloway and Terry Jones.
One of the events on Tuesday was an interactive forum at the Teachers’ Resource Centre for boys which dealt with various issues affecting boy to manhood life. This was conducted by Dr. Walters and Dr. Calloway.
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Boys with facilitators at inter-active forum
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Another event was the beginning of a three-day extensive training programme in the basement of the Church of God (Holiness) Church on the Queen Elizabeth Avenue for some 50 boys and girls. The aim was to prepare them to serve as the nucleus for the formation of Youth Crime Watch for Anguilla. Terry Jones, the trainer is a member of Youth Crime Watch of America and is based in Florida. The students were selected by the Principal of the Comprehensive School, Ingrid Lake.
The main two –day conference was organised for Thursday and Friday for members of the general public, teachers, policy-makers, church leaders, oranisations and other groups and individuals.
Asked what motivated him to organising the Youth Empowerment Solutions Conference and Crime Watch training, Pastor Harrigan had this to say:
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Boys with facilitators at inter-active forum
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“I remember how I grew up as a young boy in Anguilla and different things were in those days when we had respect for authority and a sense of real identity which was not compromised. When I come back to Anguilla and see how our young people are behaving today and what has happened to our society, in spite of the progress we are making economically, it worries me. In fact, my daughter told me it is that progress that feeds into the problem.
“It can make things worse especially when you don’t have a balance. The kind of misbehaviour and violence among our youth like fighting and killing each other and having no respect for teachers and other persons in authority, breaks my heart. And so I had to pray and ask God to give me something to contribute to make a difference.
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Boys and girls in the crime watch programme
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“The Lord has given me a vision about this social intervention. At the bottom of the problem is a kind of spiritual emptiness, a lack of direction among young people and who they are because something has happened to the home...”
He was grateful to the Government, Social Security and a number of corporate supporters who provided financing for the Youth Empowerment Solutions Conference and related events. He also expressed his gratitude to Donna Banks who took on the leadership of the local organising committee.