Defence Force, JA offer unique camp for teens

THE TT Defence Force (TTDF) has partnered with Junior Achievement (JA) to provide 34 teenaged males with a motivational camping experience.

“Let today be the first day of the rest of your lifetime,” camp co-ordinator Major David Benjamin, told the youths, aged 13 to 17, as he welcomed them to an orientation exercise at the Holiness Revival Ministries auditorium, Woodbrook, Port of Spain, on July 20.

The Youth Empowerment Camp is the first youth camp of its kind to be facilitated by the TTDF, said a media release.

The two-week camp offers a unique live-in experience at Teteron, Chaguaramas, for the participants who are drawn from communities throughout Trinidad.

Projects will include camping activities, competitive sporting events, nature hikes, a talent show, kayaking and mountain biking. The camp ends with in an awards ceremony on August 1.

Giving some insight into the camp Benjamin told the teens what to expect: “This is not a boot camp. This camp is about making you a man. Apart from the camping activities, you will learn about etiquette, personal life skills, how to dress, how to present yourself, how you build self-confidence. There will be no corporal punishment but if you don’t behave yourself, your parents will hear about it. We want you to walk in with an empty toolbox and walk out with a box full of tools you will use for your entire life.”

Part of the TTDF mandate, Benjamin pointed out, was to offer support to the national community, with the youth camp designed to offer a wholesome and far-reaching experience for the youths to develop into exemplary young citizens.

JA executive director J Errol Lewis hailed the partnership between JA and the TTDF as “ground-breaking.”

“We at Junior Achievement are thrilled that the senior officers at the Defence Force decided to collaborate with us on this exercise and provide exceptional support for the entire duration of the camp. It will be very intense and they will be devoting the services of experienced tutors trained in counselling and extend quality time to these boys,” Lewis said.

The participants were selected through consultation with their schools, he said.

The campers and their parents were also addressed by Col Ronald Jeffrey, chief staff officer, Defence Force Headquarters, who appealed to the teenagers to make full use of the “golden opportunity” offered to them through the camp. He urged the parents to use the time away from their sons as a time for reflection, adding that they should reinforce and build on what their children would learn at the camp. Jeffrey said the TTDF was proud to partner with JA to offer the teenagers a great experience that should serve to mould them into upstanding young men.

On their arrival at Teteron base later in the day, the boys were given a pep talk by Chief of Defence Staff Commodore Hayden Pritchard.

The camp’s packed itinerary also caters for visits to Coast Guard headquarters at Staubles Bay with a ride on one of its vessels, exploring Chacachacare and Nelson Islands, Macqueripe Bay, the Fire Services Training base at Savonetta, Couva, and the Youth Training Centre (YTC).

A similar camp catering exclusively for teenaged females will start on August 13. Parents who want to register their daughters can contact JA at 471-6946 (Nesta) or 756-1399 (Shaunika).