In a powerful display of community solidarity, 400 primary school pupils marched through Bridgetown on Friday, launching a police-led anti-violence campaign aimed at teaching conflict resolution to young people.
The Saving Our Sons initiative, spearheaded by the New Orleans Community Police Outpost, brought together four area primary schools in a bid to address rising concerns about youth violence.
Students from Westbury Primary, St Ambrose Primary, Wesley Hall Juniors and St Mary’s Primary took part in the walk along with their teachers and parents from Kensington Mall in Fontabelle to Golden Square Freedom Park.
Sergeant Wendell Weekes said this programme was aimed at teaching young people, especially young men, about conflict resolution.
“Our objective of this is in relation to the violence that we are having, in relation to our sons, our men, and we are trying to find a way to show them how to solve conflict in our community,” he said. “These four schools are within our catchment area. We are attached to the central police station and these are the four schools that we deal with on a regular basis. We teach things like road safety and conflict resolution and bullying.
“This is absolutely important. I see it as a driving force for what we in the Barbados Police Service are trying to do. One of our focuses is to teach the young people how to solve conflict instead of resorting to actual violence; we want to teach them how to solve conflict, how to be a friend, how to be family, teach them how to present love among each other, that’s what we are trying to do.”
Crime prevention minister and MP for the City of Bridgetown Corey Lane congratulated the New Orleans community officers and the schools for starting a creative programme aimed at helping young people avoid conflict.
“It sends a message where students could be here with their peace message demonstrating that they want peace in their country and as everybody knows, we’ve got to start here. This is where it starts,” Lane said. “When I think about crime prevention, this is what I think about. Many people mix it up with crime fighting and I have to reiterate, what we are about in the national crime prevention programme is starting here, starting with the parents, starting at the root and not necessarily at the fruit. I leave the fruit for the crime fighters, which are the police, but I really want to deal with the root of the problem. So I am elated and I’m very happy to be here. It is a really great turnout of not just students but parents, teachers, and wellwishers.”
The students received a warm welcome as they walked through Bridgetown. Many onlookers shouted words of encouragement and took videos and pictures. Some of the placards the students used to send a strong message read: Stop Violence Start Peace; Peace no War; and Lead with Kindness.
After the walk, some of the pupils expressed concern about violence in schools. They advised their peers to use words instead of weapons and stop getting flustered over minor things.
sheriabrathwaite@barbadostoday.bb
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