BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - THE colour was bright green, the unspoken symbol was balloons and the mode was celebratory last Friday (June 27) when thousands of children - some accompanied by their parents - paraded through the streets of Basseterre as the culminating activity for the 30th Child Month celebration.
The march began in the Greenlands area, made its way through Basseterre and ended at the Independence Square.
At the front of the procession was a banner which visually declared the theme for this year’s celebration - “Childhood at 30...Celebrating our achievements”.
Speckled within the march and providing musical entertainment were four marching bands and two Hi-Fi systems.
As those representing the nation’s future made their way through Basseterre, hundreds lined the streets to observe the many bright-eyed, high-spirited young ones.
At the end of the march, thousands of children filed into the Independence Square where they enjoyed the company of their peers and the different amenities there, including Kids’ Zone and a wide variety of snacks and toys.
Speaking with SKNVibes following the event, Jacqueline Morris, Director of Early Childhood in St. Kitts said she was pleased with the participation in support of the march, noting that it has increased.
“The march this year has been just as supported as in previous times. I don’t see a drop in participation. To my mind there has been an increase in participation of schools, parents... We are satisfied.”
She informed that of the 80-plus early childhood institutions that are in St. Kitts, there was a 95 percent participation rate.
Commenting on the selection of the theme for this year, Morris indicated that after deliberations by the committee, a celebratory theme was agreed upon, especially in light of the achievements of made by the early childhood sector in St. Kitts.
“...There was a unanimous agreement that we should use that theme with the added part... So we first looked at Child Month at 30 then we tweaked it a bit and we agreed to Child Month at 30...Celebrating our achievements. Thirty years is not a small thing. It is a major achievement because we are talking about 30 years of non-stop hyped child month celebration. In other words, we have seen it over the years move from few activities, and the size of the early childhood population to many activities, varied activities and increased participation of both government and private providers and the public in general.
“It takes a lot of time, energy and effort to plan, organise and implement child month activities. So the fact that we kept at it and we have never missed a year and we have never lost our focus, we thought this is a good time to focus and celebrate all of our achievements...That is why we selected this bright coloured T-shirt and all these balloons, because they speak about celebration.”
The Independence Square was abuzz with activity as it not only accommodated the Child Month March participants, but also the organisers and patrons the Eat Local Day and the Sun Fest activities.
