‘A’ Division Children Camp concludes on “good note”

Aug 15, 2014 News

“From now on you will never pass Tiger Bay and see me involved in a fight or an argument because I am a better person now and I was taught how to control my anger.”

From left: Pastor Eworth Williams, Commander for ‘E’ Division, Calvin Brutus, Commander Clifton Hicken and Asst. Commissioner Balram Persaud along with some of the children and parents.

This was the emphatic assertion of 12-year-old Daniel Smith, a Tiger Bay resident at the completion of a four-day camp last Saturday, which was organized by the Police ‘A’ Division.
Smith said that the camp has taught him a lot about life and the “importance of loving the people around you, being kind and respectful, and willing to teach those around you.”
“I learnt a lot about public speaking and domestic violence. If you see your parents fighting then you should go and inform a relative or the nearest police station,” the lad reflected.
The camp commenced two Tuesdays ago at Hauraruni on the Linden/ Soesdyke Highway with a total from 57 children from Tiger Bay and Albouystown in Georgetown.
The children who participated were between the ages of 12 and 17. They were exposed to craftwork, educational talks, road safety awareness, public speaking, religious education and games.
The exercise was the brainchild of ‘A’ Division Commander Clifton Hicken who is said to have a love for children.
“If he is in a bad mood and you know that you’re about to be sent home, then just bring a child in front of him and everything is back to normal… you might even get promoted,” one of his ranks joked.
According to the camp supervisor, Desiree Fowler, the camp ended on a good note and was a success. She said that the participants were excellent and “had a blast”.
The young males played a game of football with men from the Hauraruni Football team and were able to equal their rivals in terms of the score at the end of the game.
Pastor Eworth Williams who counseled the children said that he was surprised when he saw some of the paintings the children did.
“We have some really skillful young people here… I put ‘E’ for my name, ‘A’ for my daughter and ‘K’ for my wife’s name on my shirt, but when I thought that I would have been the best, I saw some outstanding paintings,” the pastor said.
He added, “I saw one man, his partner’s name is Candace and he painted ‘Candy Crush’ on his shirt.”
Commander Hicken congratulated the children for the cooperation and hard work they had exhibited, despite coming from different backgrounds.
He added that, “I trust that when you go back to your (respective) communities, you would aid the process by telling your peers, ‘no, don’t do that, that is wrong.’
According to the Commander, sometime this week, he will be meeting with representatives from the Ministry of Human Services and the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, to see if a building in Tiger Bay can be rehabilitated so that the children can continue their craftwork while Albouystown is being developed at the same time.
Assistant Commissioner of Police, Balram Persaud, encouraged the children to continue the good work and always respect each other.
The camp ended with the quote, “When you are down to nothing, God is always up to something.”

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