Army opens Buxton youth holiday camp

Aug 07, 2008 News

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As part of its mandate to contribute to the national development of the country, the Guyana Defence Force yesterday officially declared opened its annual three-week youth holiday camp in Buxton, East Coast Demerara.
Its main aim is to target the youths of the once troubled community with the hope of enabling them to lead a productive life and to lure them away from criminal activities that have plagued the community for several years.
“Hopefully in the next 15 years we will have some of you being members of the Guyana Defence Force. And those who choose not to be members of the Guyana Defence Force, certainly we expect that you will take your education seriously and take your role in society in the future just as serious,” said Colonel Mark Phillips who delivered the feature address to parents and participants of the programme.
Colonel Phillips said that the army was pleased to be in Buxton in a different capacity to the one to which people have grown accustomed.
“Here we are today in Buxton not only in the maintenance of law and order in support of the Guyana Police Force, but here to assist you in the development of the youth,” he said.
In the face of a negative image that has developed over the past years, Colonel Phillips reminded the gathering that Buxton played an integral role in the post emancipation village movement in the colony of British Guiana.
This, he said, is a legacy which saw Buxton as one of the main producers of some stalwarts in the field of education.
“A number of great educators were produced by your village and it is only fitting that the Guyana Defence Force return from time to time not only to support the police in the maintenance of law and order but to be here and be fully involved in the development of the youths of Buxton,” said Colonel Phillips who also noted that the future of the Guyana Defence Force and all other institutions in the country depends on how we nurture the youths.
The idea behind the Buxton youth camp was born out of a meeting between some prominent Guyanese and the hierarchy of the Guyana Defence Force during the unpredictable period in the village history when criminal activities threatened to undermine the welfare of the community.
 Dr Rupert Roopnarine, who was part of that initial meeting, outlined the process leading up to the first holiday camp in 2002.
He explained that a number of persons in the city like many others throughout the country had concerns about the developments that were taking place in Buxton.
This concern led to a meeting with the Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force and other senior officers, and to the commencement of the holiday camp.
“The GDF sent up a very large contingent of officers who met with the members of the community, and it was out of that meeting in the community that the suggestion about activities like this camp came about. So that the first suggestion of this activity came from Buxton itself,” Dr. Roopnarine explained.
He said that this initiative is further evidence of the building of a relationship between the GDF and the people and children of Buxton, which he said goes back many years.
“We want to really recapture some of that spirit and some of that feeling,” he stated.
The GDF is seen by many as the driving force behind the restoration of the Buxton/Friendship community to some semblance of order, especially since the Guyana Police Force became overwhelmed by the criminal elements who had used the village as a safe haven.   
The holiday camp which caters for children between the ages of nine and 20 years old is being co-coordinated by Eric Phillips, who gave an outline of some of the activities in which the youths would be engaged over the next three weeks.
He explained that the camp is designed to improve the skills of young people in Buxton, and to continue the relationship between the GDF and the Buxton community.
The camp consists of several dimensions.
“Everyday we have courses and skills development. We have computer skills being taught, profit making, drama, we have dance, we have soccer, cricket, basketball and gymnastics,” Phillips explained.
In addition, there will be field trips that will broaden the minds of the young folks as well as enable them to interact positively with the Guyana Defence Force.
Yesterday, the participants of the camp visited the Museum of African Heritage, the Providence Stadium and the Demerara Harbour Bridge.
In addition, several children from the Buxton holiday camp will be participating in CARIFESTA 2008 which commences in a few weeks.
A source in the GDF told this newspaper that the programme in Buxton costs about $5M and may be expanded to other communities in the future.

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