ON Sunday, over 60 Bartica youths graduated from the Inaugural Youth Development Camp hosted by the town’s queen, Dahlia Richmond.

This three-week camp built confidence, character, and educated participants in the areas of English, Spanish and Arts & Craft, and is slated to be an annual activity that the town will host for its young people.

Mayor Gifford Marshall strongly believes that this will make a tremendous difference in the lives of the youth in Bartica. He commended the queen for her excellent execution and hopes the camp will strengthen year after year. “This is an activity that I as Mayor endorsed and I believe that it will only grow from strength to strength, and in the coming years that Bartica will continue to benefit from this programme and activity. The energy, wisdom, zeal and passion Dahlia brought to this activity are admirable and for this we are grateful,” Gifford said.

He added that the council recently started a campaign “be the change you want to see”, where they have been encouraging persons to be the change they want to see in their town, instead of sitting, criticising and condemning. And, Dahlia demonstrated exactly what they were advocating for, he said.

“She is a true ambassador of being the change you want to see. She would have identified that there is need for activities for our young people, and she demonstrated that meaningfully despite the financial constraints.”

The queen expressed how happy she was to see the change she has contributed to the

children’s lives, explaining that they all came from different backgrounds and circumstances, and being able to put a smile on their faces and making a positive intervention into not just their education, but also their happiness was quite heart-warming.

She believes that Bartica possesses a wealth of talent and potential but opportunities are limited, and it is her dream to create as many opportunities as she can to make a positive contribution to the lives of young people.

The graduates were all saddened at the fact that the camp came to an end, but were happy to have been involved in the activities. One child shared that she has learnt a great deal and will share the knowledge gained with her friends at school. Another said that she was not as brave as she has become. She was taught at the camp to believe in herself.

Parents present at the graduation were all proud of their children’s achievement.

They believe that more opportunities like the camp should be created to keep their children occupied and involved in constructive activities.

This camp is earmarked to be an annual activity for the town, along with other beneficial activities for the young people.