Youngsters affiliated with the V.I. National Guard and other military units from St. Croix and St. Thomas got together this weekend to build resilience.
The 120 young people spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Divi Carina Bay Beach Resort and Casino on St. Croix attending workshops, eating, socializing and generally having fun.
The V.I. National Guard Family Program Office held its annual “Guard Youth Team Building Workshop” with the aim of building resilience in the youth.
“These programs offer military youth opportunities to learn, grow and prepare for the challenges faced by family members of deployed Guardsmen,” said Eliza Rampersad, the VING state youth coordinator.
Rampersad said the workshops are an opportunity for Guard youth to learn valuable skills and socialize with same-aged peers who share similar experiences associated with being part of a military lifestyle. Rampersad said she actually attended the first workshops the Guard sponsored five years ago.
Many of these children have a deployed family member or a family member who recently returned from deployment.
Workshop topics were respect, responsibility, anti-bullying, conflict resolution, values, self-esteem and perseverance.
Master Sgt. Karen Williams held a workshop on anger management in the banquet room at the casino. In the hands-on part of the workshop the children expressed themselves by constructing masks with tears, frowns and flames.
Airman 1st Class Edwardo Carino, Spec. Sherman Webster, and Staff Sgt. Melinda Gibson presented anti-bullying workshops.
In a nonverbal communication group project the youth built intricate towers out of dry spaghetti noodles and marshmallows. Working as teams they held foam noodles together to form a box, then crammed themselves into it to represent confidence building, support systems, and teamwork.
They also had a movie and game night, and an afternoon of water sports.
Sixty Guardsmen and program volunteers were presenters, mentors and chaperones teaming up with youths between the ages of 7 and 17 who were broken into age groups.
Maj. Sally Petty, who flew over with students from St. Thomas, said this is an excellent opportunity for the children from the territory to get together.
“These kinds of programs are necessary to help mold the children,” said retired Lt. Col. Warrington Tyson Sr., a chaperone from St. Thomas. “The children need to be taught right from wrong.”
He said it was the first time he had seen such a concentrated effort between islands to bring the children together in an effort to instill great values.
“This conference was an excellent way to learn how to cooperate with people,” Glenda Sai Richards, 13 years-old said. “In life we don’t always get to choose who we are next to and spending time with. This put us close together.”
Angel Nibbs, from St. Thomas, said he had such an awesome time he wished the conference would have lasted a week.
