CAP gets kids off the street and onto the farm 

By Ryan Haas
Reporter-SKNVibes.com

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts-THE Community Achievers Project (CAP) had a very successful relaunch of its farming programme Saturday (Jan. 17), with over fifty children dedicating themselves to learning about the importance of agriculture.

Located in Half Way Tree, the Riches of the Earth farm is owned by Sydney ‘Cuppie’ Berkeley and has over a quarter-acre of land dedicated to farming by the children of CAP.

Founder of the project, Victoria Baucom said that even though she and Berkeley had tried before to get children to work the farm, they believed their second attempt at the venture would be more successful.

“We started this originally for the children in the Buckleys, McKnight and Irish Town areas in April of 2007. Sydney and I thought we could do it from our love…but we found out that unless we have some kind of parental support for the troubled children it is just not going to work,” Baucom said.

It was pointed out by Baucom that the loss of over half the children originally involved in the farming programme would not stop their ambition, though she viewed it as a setback.

“I’d lost a group of kids from my original group and I’ve seen some of them in handcuffs. I’ve seen them going to jail and it breaks my heart. I am just imploring to parents to please come out with your kids and spend one day a month with us.

If you can come out for just one hour a month we will be successful and see a turnaround in the attitudes of our children.”

With roughly twenty children from the original group, the addition of Tucker-Clarke Primary students, led by Teacher Shorna

Maynard, support from the Taiwanese Technical Mission and the Ministry of Agriculture and the Boys club expected to join soon, Baucom said that CAP is poised to make a real difference in children’s lives in 2009.~~Adz:Left~~

“We’re not going to give up on these children, and the criminals are not going to win,” Baucom said of the relaunched programme. “I believe that if we can show we have love inside of us instead of hate, envy and jealousy, then we can turn around the attitudes of our children.”

The CAP founder has set an ambitious goal of having the overgrown quarter acre of land producing within a six month period.
Director of Agriculture Ashton Stanley also visited the farm on Saturday and said that he believed it was an important programme deserving of parents’ attention.

“The major outcome that we are looking for is the development of the youths, and I would support that with anything I can do. You could do very well from a quarter acre of land and have enough to sell to create some form of sustainability for the whole project,” he said.

Stanley added that if the project reaches its goal of having the children develop the land themselves and make a profit from their work, he believes they will begin to see agriculture as a “viable career opportunity”.