Day #21 youth panel

Today started off slow in training but after we lunch we went to a youth panel, it was a grate experience. We had 6 young men and woman who talked to us. The first was a young man who was educated and interested in theater. He expressed the fact that many people in St. Lucia don't think that you can be a dancer, or that art is really a career that you can have. The next was a 19 year old boy who had drooped out of school but had found his way back onto the right track. He talked to us about bulling in schools, drug, gang activity and how he discovered what it was like to be on the right track. After that was a young woman who decided that he community needed a change so she started a program where young kids come come and work on the communities well being together. It became a safe place for young boys and girls who had challenging home lives. It was sad to her about the abuse, mental and physical and what they had to do to survive in the world that they are living in. One of the most touching stories came from a girl who was almost raped by one of her teachers, she became a teen mother at the age of 17. She talked about why their is so much teen pregnancy, about HIV/AIDS, and how men treat woman in the Eastern Caribbean. One of my favorite speakers works in the National skills development center, it is one of the most amazing places, they take in people who have little to no life skills and train then for careers. It is a program that offers internships along with the education in a work environment. They also offer HIV/AIDS and other STD teasing, free contraception as well. Last but not least we had a young man who was influenced by a peace corps volunteer who came in 2007 if i remember correctly he started a pole vaulting program. To this day they have competitions and he went to represent St. Lucia and got second place. I think its so amazing to see some ones secondary working so effectively. He was promoting healthy habits and sports. The day ended well and now I am off to bed because I need an early night.