St Ignatius Youth Activity Week a success
A ‘Youth Activity Week’, a regular event organised by the Catholic Church in the village of St Ignatius, near Lethem, Rupununi, has become a vital programme for many youths as it offers vital skills for empowerment.
During August 12-19, the event was attended by more than 20 boys and girls from ages 8 to 16.
The activity week was organised by parish priest, Fr. Tim Curtis who, sadly, has since returned to the UK after completing his term of service. However, hands-on supervision was provided by Brother Edwin and Brother Leonardo.
“We were able to put on three activities this year. These included hymn singing, use of computers, and carpentry skills,” said Brother Edwin in an interview with Guyana Times Sunday Magazine.
The Catholic Church compound at St Ignatius has a recently upgraded library and resource centre, with a number of computers available for use for adults and children, and the centre was used specifically to promote computer learning during this event.
“This (computer) is very popular with children who do not normally have access to this kind of technology, and we are here to make sure they learn to use some of the features as well as play games,” Brother Leonardo mentioned.
Hymn-singing is a regular feature of the church’s Youth Activity Week but remains very popular with the children as the Brothers try to incorporate more modern approaches to traditional singing.
Sixteen-year-old Sylvia Alexander, a participant, said she enjoyed learning new hymns, but most of all she liked the spiritual sessions when she and other youths were encouraged to use their imagination to gain better understanding of some of the stories in the Bible; when Jesus fed the 5,000 and when he healed the paralyzed man, for instance.
A new feature this year was the sessions on carpentry skills training under the supervision of CUSO volunteer Eddie Doyle, a carpentry skills instructor at the Cary Elwes Woodwork Training Centre located at the Catholic Church compound.
“This is a fantastic opportunity to capture the enthusiasm of young children at an early age, so the interest stays with them as they grow older,” Doyle commented.
The children were instructed in the use of basic tools and simple machinery, and given projects to make chopping boards. But because they were such quick learners, Doyle had to give them another project, this time to make two pairs of cricket bats for the church and, if there was still time, they could each make one for themselves.
“It was lovely to see their enthusiasm and the look of concentration on their faces as they work,” Doyle recalled.
Cheryl Hernandez, the only girl who attended the carpentry sessions, was delighted to take the chopping board home for her mother. Her 9-year-old brother Ezekiel was so small that he sometimes had to stand on a platform to reach the work table, but he proudly walked away with his own cricket bat.
Fifteen-year-old Theodore Alexander said he really enjoyed learning to use proper tools and creating things, while Leandra Ny-A-Fook and Waidan Hernandez said they loved the sessions so much they wished it could go on longer so that they could learn more.
The ‘Youth Activity Week’ is not a one-off event. The Catholic Church normally holds a couple of these events every year, and at least one of them is held during the school holidays in August. (By Behi Barzegar, Development Management Consultant/Enterprise Development Specialist, Lethem, Region Nine)
