I am writing this edition of Celebration of Youth from London, England. This majestic city has all of the luxuries of the modern world as well as much history. Anguilla is, of course, an overseas territory of England and therefore there is a large connection between the two in terms of history, governmental proceedings, and culture. During my travels here, I have played tennis at the prestigious Queens Club as well as other tennis facilities. In my interaction with Londoners who have been, or live in Anguilla, they all make the same comments about the opportunities for children in both London and Anguilla.

In western civilization, there is always a class struggle in many different areas and facets. People are always competing to find better jobs, put their children in the right schools, find the right coach to give classes, buy the best cars, find the perfect home, etc… In doing so, one can always move up in the social ranks and provide a better life for their families. In a place such as London, most all activities that can contribute to the development of children in an extra curricular way are mostly reserved for the privileged. Taking dance, music, golf, or tennis classes is quite difficult as they are expensive and the best coaches and teachers have no time. There is an immense amount of competition between parents to get their children into the right things so that they can grow up and be better equipped to deal with the punches life throws.
Of course this rat race for the best schools, and the best coaches, and the best everything is not just for Londoners, but in the most of the first world countries. It has always baffled me why people and organizations in Anguilla have to beg for support and have to beg for children to come and participate. Parents, in general, just do not make a special effort to involve their children in anything that has a fee associated to it. People always want things for free and there are many things that children can participate in for no charge, but we must face it, any program that is worth attending has to have funding. Programs are generally successful for a few obvious reasons. First, the person or staff that runs it are very good teachers or administrators. Second, the equipment or materials used is top notch. Third, the parents support it by volunteering and helping in any way they can. Now, the first two take money as the staff has to be paid and the materials must be bought. Parental involvement is also a must as they are pivotal in terms of the organization working effectively because of their relationship with their own children.

Quite frankly, I am aware of so many programs in Anguilla that are fantastic and can greatly benefit the children, but far too often, parents do not want their children to get involved because of there being a small fee or because they do not get along with one of the staff or because the clientele in some programs may be predominately expat or whatever the reason might be. Yet, now, I cannot help thinking while I am here in London about all those kids who wish they could play tennis, football, rugby, golf, cricket, or take a guitar lesson who cannot because there is not enough space and it is extremely expensive. Honestly, I am not familiar with one program in Anguilla that is too expensive. If anything, the majority are completely inexpensive. Anguilla is lucky to have so many opportunities for its children when you think about from another perspective. Please support the many programs in Anguilla that are dedicated to helping the youth!

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