CHILDREN of the depressed Georgetown communities of Rosemary Lane (Tiger Bay) and Albuoystown were on Saturday returned to their homes after a week-long camping exercise conducted along the Linden/Soesdyke Highway by the police in A Division concluded.

That camping exercise had involved the children in several outdoor and indoor activities, as well as classroom sessions.

All sub-divisional station officers within the police ‘A’ Division were present at Saturday’s closing ceremony, including the Traffic Officer and ‘A’ Division Commander Clifton Hicken.
This camp was declared open last Tuesday by Commander Hicken, and was declared closed on Saturday by Assistant Police Commissioner Balram Persaud, performing the duties of police commissioner. He wished the children well in the future when they would have to practise the values they had learnt at the camp.

Assistant Commissioner Persaud told the children that, like diamonds, they need to be taken out of their various places of origin and be polished and groomed to become what they want to be; and that is a process that takes time and commitment, especially to those willing to invest in them.

Saturday was Assistant Commissioner Balram Persaud’s second visit to the campsite, where he interacted with the campers.
Also speaking to the children was Pastor Ewart, who was responsible for the spiritual aspect of the camp, and who got the children engaged in morning devotions. Camp mother, Deputy Superintendent Denise Fowler, and ‘A’ Division Commander Clifton Hicken also addressed the children.

The camp was deemed a success, and according to Hicken, the camp was not just arrived at out of thin air, but rather, there was much consideration and planning with respect to the initiative. He said that the distance of the camp’s location from the city was also part of the plan, since it allowed the police and camp supervisors to have the children brought to an area or location where distraction were minimal and where the children’s attention span could have been widened.
He alluded to the many children and their various cultures and backgrounds, while pointing to the efforts of the camp mother and supervisors in being able to work with the children in a manner where they were able to understand the way of life and of each other, although they came from different communities.

To show their appreciation to the police for the opportunity of being at camp, the children did dramatic pieces and several votes of thanks.
Written By Leroy Smith