The long vacation period is almost here. We’ve been preparing for a whole year and yet the month of June seems to have sneaked up on us surprising us into the realization that 2008 is half done. Last week we bade farewell to one of our best volunteers, Joanna Burt-Kinderman and her family, who were pillars of support.

We know there are other such pillars in the community and if you have no qualification and experience but have patience, fortitude and love for children, whose behaviours are sometimes quite unlovable, we would gladly welcome you aboard. I must also thank our four stalwarts, viz. Wilmot (Father) Connor, Clynton Richardson, Carmen Lloyd and Marcel Fahie and my dear neighbour Lee (Bastoh) Reid, who continue to give of themselves unstintingly. I also thank in advance a couple of new volunteers with whom the conversation has just begun. No names yet. They will get their own space.

This year, as promised since 2007, the focus of the Anguilla Stingray Music summer programme will be on parents who will engage in a series of seminars and workshops scheduled to begin on Monday 7th July. With the assistance of the Ministry of Social Development, young parents with young children in Anguilla will have the opportunity to meet with a number of resource persons and facilitators to help us all learn better how to support them in the often challenging role as parents. When we met with a small group of young parents last year, these were the priority areas that they identified:

1. Elements of Effective Parenting (the importance of breast feeding and bonding, planting seeds for you and your child’s success, raising healthy, self-reliant children, addressing gender inequalities).

2. Reducing & Managing Stress in Family Life (expressing and managing emotions, establishing and maintaining healthy relationships, coping with impaired family relationships).

3.Managing Sexuality (understanding human sexuality, managing your own sexuality, teaching children about their sexuality).

4. Financing Family Needs and Wants (inadequate finances/low income, no income, stretching the dollar, budgeting).

5. Time Management for Working Parents (two jobs or what? Is self-employment an option? How much time is enough time with children? How can employers help?)

6. Community Support for Young Parents (identifying existing forms of support, identifying gaps in existing support, ensuring child care and protection, discipline and punishment – who has the authority to punish your child? Do you know what to do if your child gets in trouble?)

7. Improving the Quality of Family Life (spiritual growth in family life, looking after yourself while raising children).
This week, meetings with resource persons are being finalized to ensure that there is a shared vision for facilitating the process. The aim is to secure outcomes of maximum participation by the parents in attendance and to produce careful documentation that will help families, communities, churches, public and private sector agencies and civil society organizations to respond more adequately with programming and other resources.

One of the persistent challenges is already evident in the competition for sponsorships at this time of year with carnival approaching. I am not sure if Anguilla has the phenomenon of an increase in live births 9 months after carnival that some of the other countries experience. If we do, and writing this is reminding me that I must find out, then potential sponsors need to join us in thinking preventively so that there is a reduction in the number of unwanted pregnancies and births to young people not yet ready for the job but who got caught. A long time ago, I was one of those young people so this is not just the Youth Social Worker talking. This is the voice of experience.

That voice also says that young persons need to be supported to help them get to the point of registration. Five young persons have already called up to express interest but others need your intervention. They need to know about the programme, they need to know what numbers to call (729-9596 and 497-2878), they may need a friend to be there with them to make the call, they may need help filling out a simple registration form, they may need help with transportation and they may need help with child care. Regarding the latter, depending on the numbers that indicate the need for help with transportation and child care, these will be provided. It means that parents who do not have anyone to leave small children with during the sessions can bring them along and have someone relieve them of the usual responsibilities so they will not be distracted. Those who are breastfeeding will not have a problem. I am always especially happy to provide support for young mothers committed to breastfeeding and this is a conversation we dearly need to have with employers.
Another interesting aspect of the programme is the involvement of two young women who are pursuing degrees in Social Work in Holland and who have chosen Anguilla and the Stingray Programme as the place to do their summer internship. There definitely seems to be a Stingray-students from Holland connection as, two years ago, we had another young woman of Anguillian stock playing the same role. She was a blessing so I look forward to a double portion. It is no secret that when it comes to Stingray and in fact, youth and community in general, I am a shameless beggar so I also look forward to being blessed by whatever forms of support you can offer.

In closing I extend a special invitation to young fathers of young children. In the same breath I highly commend the Department of Social Development for its current initiatives designed to strengthen the relationship between fathers and sons. This is an insightful programme but I will let the Department tell you the story themselves. The public sector is not very good at sharing the positive things they do, and we beat them up very badly when we have negative experiences, so if DSD wants me to do the telling for them I will, but first I have to ask. Watch This Space.

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