Fathers to be honored at special ceremony this Sunday
By Ryan Haas
Reporter-SKNVibes.com
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| Travis Douglas, President of the Young Father’s Association |
BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS-THIS Father’s Day (June 15th) will be doubly celebrated by the Young Fathers Association (YFA) of Sandy Point, as they honor two outstanding fathers and mark the fifth anniversary of the community organization.
Travis Douglas, President of the YFA, told SKNVibes.com that this year’s Father’s Day ceremony will “highlight the values and qualities that are exhibited by role model dads in the community,” as emphasized by this year’s theme of ‘Fathers and Children in Unity bring out the best in a Community.’
Thomas Martin and Aurelstine Warner will be the guests of honor at the celebration, which will be held at 4 p.m. at Downy Street in Sandy Point.
“Martin is a bus driver and really wonderful role model,” said Douglas. “A lot of the time you see bus drivers that pass right by children, but not Martin. Sometimes I see him with nothing but kids on his bus, even though it means he won’t make as much money as the other drivers just because those kids have to get home.”
The second honoree of the night will be a former teacher at the Sandy Point Primary School. ~~Adz:Right~~
“Warner served for years and years at the school. He was a father in the school and a father at home, and even though he’s retired now we feel he deserves to be honored for the example he set,” said Douglas.
In addition to these men, the YFA plans to praise two of the older fathers in the Sandy Point community, Ishmael Hodge and Alfred Paul, for being role models to the younger generation of dads.
“A lot of children are being led astray these days, and a lot of father’s are not being there because of the choices they make,” said the YFA President. “The dads need to be the role models and step up to the plate.”
This year’s celebration is expected to be a fun-filled event for the whole family as there will be a magician, live music, a speech about crime in the community, scripture reading, food and drink and games.
As the event will mark the YFA’s fifth anniversary, Douglas said it is of special significance to the group, which he admitted has been more work than anyone had anticipated when they first formed in 2004.
“We’ve had a lot of people over the years say they want to help out, but they quit after awhile because they say they have other things to do. So, we are always looking for committed father’s that want to make a difference and set an example.
“Our sponsors at Cable & Wireless, The Cable, Daniel’s Trading Center, Carib Brewery and all the others have really supported us over the years and helped us to make small donations to help men be better fathers to their children,” said Douglas. “We hope that we will get more support from the community in the future and be able to make an even bigger difference as we grow.”
The President made it clear that the event was not designed as a ‘boys only’ club, and invited mothers to come out to the night’s proceedings as well.
“Father’s Day is a touching day for fathers and some mothers too, because lots of moms have to carry the weight of being fathers as well,” he said. “My own mother, Valerie Douglas, had four kids at an early age and she still managed to raise all of us and keep us on the right path.
“The YFA wants to celebrate those role models of good parenting, and help mothers and fathers realize that their differences should not get in the way of caring for their children.”
