by Curlan Campbell
- Rev. Prescod wants Grenada faith-based organisations to help raise EC$20,000
- Funds are for The Boys To Men: Rites of Passage programme
- Programme in pipeline for some time for implementation
The Superintendent Minister of the Methodist Church in Grenada Rev. Sylbert Prescod is looking to mobilise other faith-based organisations in Grenada to raise EC$20,000 to help fund a men’s intervention programme.
While this programme was in the pipeline for some time for implementation, the recent cases of robberies in Grenada coupled with the steady decline in moral values among our youthful population have prompted the Methodist minister to call on other faith-based organisations to assist due to the urgent need for such a programme.
The programme “The Boys To Men: Rites of Passage programme” (BTM), is founded by Harold Ian Jeffers from Trinidad and Tobago, an experienced social worker and counsellor who is also instrumental in pioneering the developmental programme designed to build leadership skills of young men to positively improve their lives.
Rev. Prescod indicated that this programme is long overdue, pointing to the steady decline of moral values and the rise of youth delinquency and criminal behaviour among young men in society. “The crime rate while it is relatively low in the Caribbean is still causing concern and particularly around this yuletide season, it is quite troubling from the standpoint that it’s mainly men and it is young people mostly involved. So I believe we need to arrest the problem as early as we can by working with other stakeholders to craft a better society,” he said.
The aim is to train 20 men to use pragmatic approaches to positively engage adolescent men, providing support and guidance throughout their adolescent life into adulthood.
“If we have to do it as an individual church it is going to be a challenge for us because it cost EC$20,000 — $1,000 for each participant. But if we have other churches or other agencies partnering with us, then it will be much easier to initiate the programme,” he said.
These participants will in turn train other men in society, therefore, creating a rippling effect, but for this programme to be a success, the church must bring together other faith-based organisations to join this effect in a bid to save the nation’s youth at risk, since this project will be an expensive venture.
