by Donella Hosten
On Monday, 30 October 2017, a group of Students with Right Attitudes (SRA), their coordinator, and a community-based group from St John, paid a visit to the home of Sir Carlyle Glean, Grenada’s former Governor General.
Sir Carlyle was the first ever Chief Mentor of the SRA programme, and, according to their National Coordinator, Milton Coy, they saw it fitting to visit the former GG as part of their activities for October, the Month of the Elderly. Coy said the SRA programme provides an opportunity for students to learn the importance of having the right attitude, and October is the month selected to honour those who have paved the way for them.
The visit described by Coy as ‘solemn,’ brought smiles to the faces of Sir Carlyle and his wife, who reside in Palmiste St John. The students sat and chatted with the couple, and were provided with resounding words of wisdom by the stalwart, who assured them that respect is a very important characteristic that they should all strive for. “Our attitudes to others are very important.”
The SRA programme exists in secondary and primary schools island-wide, and they have been actively involved in national activities. With October being celebrated as the month of the child and the month of the elderly, students were privy to visit and spent quality time with persons at the Bel Air Home, the Chichester Nursing Home and the Grand Anse Home for the Aged.
“I believe that the SRA programme is something that is needed, given that in the society today there are a lot of cultural invasions,” Coy commented. The students involved in the Programme are being exposed to issues pertaining to the rights of both children and elderly. They also teach their students the importance of respect, discipline, commitment and loyalty, core values that their former chief mentor has high regards for.
Sir Carlyle was commended for his many attributes, which provided motivation, inspiration and guidance for the students. The visit concluded with an informal session where they dined with the former GG. The SRA will announce their next chief mentor on the International Day for Tolerance, 16 November 2017, during their next national activity.
