Ross University staff/students contribute to Cadet training!
By Stanford Conway
Editor-in-Chief- SKNVibes.com
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| Junior members of the SKNDF Cadet Corps training under the guidance of John Brake and Jill Singsanka |
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – MEMBERS of the St. Kitts and Nevis Defence Force’s Cadet Corps have added a new physical activity to their training programme; thanks to staff members and students of the Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine.
Two employees and two students of the Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine, for the fourth consecutive Saturday, have been teaching members of the SKNDF Cadet Corps the art of rugby on the Camp Springfield playground.
When visited by SKNVibes last Saturday, Public Affairs Officer Lieutenant Kayode Sutton said, “Today you see the Cadets are holding balls, they are throwing balls around and having fun; they are not holding weapons, they are not holding guns, they are not shooting people, and this is the kind of option that we are trying to propagate for young people in the society.”
Sutton explained that the weekend training camp [Saturdays only] is to prepare the Cadets for the upcoming challenges they would face in the International Challenge Cadet Camp scheduled for St. Vincent later in the year.
“This form of training is to keep them physically fit and also to provide them a fair chance to compete against their peers from the region, as well as an opportunity to learn a new game,” he said.
Sutton said the initiative was born out of his meeting with a member of staff of Ross University, who willingly accepted the challenge of teaching the youths and introducing a new sporting activity to their training curriculum.
He pointed out that the training started with lone instructor John Brake, but over the weeks it has increased to four and others have signalled their intention to make it larger. ~~Adz:Right~~
Speaking with Blake, a Canadian employed at Ross University, he told SKNVibes that he was a junior rugby coach in his homeland, and after a lengthy conversation with Sutton he was ready to assist in strengthening the core values within members of the Cadet Corps.
“I understand that the goal of the Cadet Corps is to develop core values in the children and youths in the Federation…to give them something productive to do. Certainly the children are enjoying the rugby training and the people we have spoken to in the military are very supportive of it,” Brake said.
He stressed that they were not officially sent by the university to impart their knowledge of the game, “but what we can do officially is to develop more ties with the community and try to do some outreach programmes”.
Brake suggested that more benefactors in the community should get a little more active, for anytime one gets an opportunity to deal with children it would result in positive outcomes.
Brake noted that he had seen a lot of good coming out of sports in Canada and believes with the right input and attitude the same could happen to young people in St. Kitts and Nevis.
Apart from Brake, the other employee from the university that participated in the training session is Brandon Weaver while the two students are Jill Singsanka and Jessica Silver.
The youngest member of the Cadet Corps present at Saturday’s training, Kajon Parris (11), told SKNVibes that though rugby is new to him, he enjoys playing it. “It keeps you active and fit…and I would like to invite all those young gang members to forget about guns and get involved in sports or some activity that will make them better citizens in our community.”
Parris would like to see more young people like himself joining the Cadet Corps and pointed out that “the minds of the older ones who are in gangs are corrupted, but they can still come to the Cadet Corps and make a positive change in their lives”.
Thirteen-year-old Craig Nisbett, the shortest among the group, also had a message for those within his age group. He said playing rugby is fun and “I wish many of those teenagers who are turning to gangs could join the Cadets Corps. The Cadet Corps is the best gang for me. It has taught me discipline, how to cook, march and do many other things. And I am appealing to some of my friends and even gang members to come and join the Cadet Corps and learn to do good things and not to shoot people.”
Sutton said he was grateful to the rugby instructors from the university for their help in assisting to mold the young minds to be productive rather than walking the streets and getting involved in criminal activities.
“We will continue to work hard with the limited resources, we will continue to reach out to businesses in the community and appeal to them to support the Cadet Corps financially or otherwise, so that whatever project that we have going for these young people will be successful; because without funding we cannot do too many things,” Sutton said.
He pointed out that the Cadet Corps is an investment in the young and also an investment in the future of the Federation. “Because when we have young people getting involved in productive activities it will help them to develop their minds, help them to become good citizens and, in turn, they will become the next generation of workforce in the society. So, this is an investment that will deter young people from breaking in to other people’s homes and becoming gang members.”
The Public Affairs Officer declared that one of the aims is to use members of the Cadet Corps as models for young people to see that there are other options and ways to deal with certain situations in life.
“If they put their minds to it, exert themselves and be committed to the cause they can become successful citizens and there are many ways to do it. So, we will continue to move forward with this programme and I am certain that we will continue to grow because the number of Cadets are also growing in the different schools,” he said.
Sutton is also appealing to parents to support their children and encourage them to get involved in developmental activities such as being in the Cadet Corps.
He also stated that plans are on the front burner to seek assistance from the management of Ross University to officially contribute to the development of members of the Cadet Corps.
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Members of the SKNDF Cadet Corps pose for our cameraman with the four volunteers from Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine on the flanks
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Senior members of the SKNDF Cadet Corps training under the guidance of Brandon Weaver and Jessica Silver
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