BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – A call was made for members of the St. Kitts-Nevis society to provide trustworthy and positive examples for the Federation’s youths to follow and emulate as one of the possible solutions to the crime situation currently being experienced.
The call was made by the Head and Founder of Operation Future (OF), Officer Lauston Percival, who spoke exclusively with SKNVibes.
The programme was designed to provide positive alternatives to criminal activity to primary and secondary school children, thereby producing productive members of society. Constable Percival explained that one of the mottos of the operation is “Lead by example”. He is encouraging everyone to make that special effort to live wholesome lives, bearing in mind that anyone can be idolised by any child.
“Children are very impressionable and once they get a particular impression about someone, it is very difficult to get rid of it. So, I am asking that people make a special effort to live their lives remembering that at any point in time they can be looked at as a role model by one of our little ones. Imagine just how damaging it would be when these children are looking up to us and they find that we are not what expected...I am begging us all to set the right example.”
As part of the operation, upstanding members of the community are invited to accompany the team on visits to schools around the island and to speak to the students about the many positives of being law-abiding citizens.
Constable Percival explained that finding people of good character is sometimes a difficult task. He explained that his team is dedicated to seeking out such persons and presenting them to the Federation’s youth as that beacon of light permeating the darkness.
“We can’t just get any and everybody to come along with us. You must be somebody of good character and we know people like this are hard to find. Even within our force, we can’t just walk with any police officer, because we know how delicate children are and they only want to see you do one bad thing and they won’t forget it. And if you go to them, having done that bad thing, you can’t tell them not to do that same thing when they saw you do something bad. So we want persons of good character so that the children can have somebody to look at and do what they are doing.”
Since the conception of the programme in 2006, it has reached some 7 000 students. According to Percival, although the full effect of the programme would not be immediately felt, “we are seeing the change in some of the primary schools, but we don’t expect a drastic turnaround right away. It’s a process and we are going to stick to it”.
