Boys’ Brigade celebrates Founders Week

By Melissa Bryant
Reporter~SKNVibes.com

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – IN commemoration of Founders Week, the Boys’ Brigade Island Council (BBIC) held a church service at the Dieppe Bay Methodist Church on Sunday, October 26.

The service was chaired by former Boys’ Brigadier Stanley Franks and was attended by a large number of the organisation’s past and present members.

It also featured performances and readings by notable former members including Ian ‘Patches’ Liburd, Project Manager of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the Integrating Watershed and Coastal Area Management (IWCAM); Michael Morton, Chairman of the TDC Group of Companies; the Hon. Sam Condor, Deputy Prime Minister; and the Hon. Rupert Herbert, Minister of Health.

Since its inception in 1918 and its revitalisation in 1955 by Maurice Hillier, the Boys’ Brigade has grown to include seven national branches and a membership of over 200 boys. They are classified into three categories based on age: five to eight-year-olds are ‘ankle biters’, juniors are nine to eleven-year-olds and 12 to 16-year-olds fall into the senior category.
Each branch meets weekly to recite prayers, perform drills, engage in physical activity and participate in some sort of community project.

BBIC President Eustace Warner expressed his pleasure at the participation of past members and stated that the organisation’s objective is “to advance the kingdom of Christ among boys”.

“The Boys’ Brigade is a Christian organisation built to teach discipline and to promote the development of traits such as obedience, self-respect, discipline and all the things that encompass being a true Christian man.

“The vision of Sir Alexander Smith [founder of the Boys’ Brigade] was that the Boys’ Brigade movement would attract young boys, prepare them for the future and prevent them from getting into trouble. I am sure that the former members gathered here today can attest to the fact that their membership helped them through life and taught them the various disciplines to bring them to maturity.”