Eleven members of Anguilla Junior Red Cross left the island on Saturday July 25 to attend a Regional Youth Camp in St. Vincent. Two adult Red Cross Members, Ms. Agnita Hodge and Ms. Doretha Hennis, accompanied themh.

Junior Red Cross members

The annual two-week gathering, which focuses on persons from five to thirty-five years old brings together youth from across the region. The participants engaged in a number of workshops covering issues such as HIV/AIDS, Leadershipg, First Aid and Blood Donation.

Youth and Peer Education Subcommittee Head, Mr. Trevor Queeley, noted that the local campers were ambassadors for Anguilla. He said many countries would be represented including international delegates from the International Committee of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (ICRC). He hoped that the local delegation would learn about other types of activities. “Hopefully they would see what others are doing in terms of Red Cross work, what Red Cross is really about [and] they would come back and share the knowledge with all their peers,” he said.

Queeley commented that there would be numerous reporting systems during the camp: blogs, Face Book, Tweeter, Flicker and “every possible means of getting the message out there, getting updated out there, on a daily basis. Everyone will be able to see what’s going on in the camp from day one…” He hoped that the young people would be better trained by the end of the exercise.

Red Cross Member 18-year-old Shakaro Richardson remarked that Red Cross taught him “a lot” in such areas as Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and other life-saving techniques. Richardson said the group prepared for the camp for about eight months. He expected it to be fun and even more educational than what was done locally. He looked forward to “the experience” of interacting with his Red Cross counterparts from “different Caribbean countries.”

President of the Junior Red Cross, Jiva Niles, has been a member of the organization for three years. The 16-year-old has been president for two years. She said there were many differences between the Junior Red Cross she joined and the present Junior Red Cross. Miss Niles pointed to an increase in membership as well as a definite rise in its community activity. “We have trained several persons in first aid, we visit the Senior Citizen’s Home and did other community service activities such as beach clean-up drives,” she said.

Niles was still not comfortable with the membership of the Junior Red Cross and thought it could be increased further. She stressed that Red Cross was the ideal organization to join. “Young people out there have the impression that this is something boring. Initially, that is how I felt but having joined I realized that it really is not. In serving humanity, which is our aim, we also have a lot of fun,” she said. The 16-year-old added that membership leads to positive social development, and remarked that it was “what you make it.”

Niles expected the trip to be very informative. She commented that activities in Anguilla may be limited but the St. Vincent Camp should expand the group’s knowledge base. According to the Junior President, her group would use the information it received to further develop the organization. She also expected to “meet new people, socialize and have fun.”

Miss Niles reminded her fellow travelers that they were representing Anguilla, that they should be patriotic, they should conduct themselves in “a satisfactory manner” and they should use the information they learn.

President of the Anguilla Red Cross, Mr. Ash Hodge, acknowledged what he described as a tremendous amount of work by the Junior Branch to raise funds leading up to their trip. He said they did “a great job in preparation for the trip, engaging in a lot of activities,” and encouraged them to make the trip useful by “having a good time, learning and bring the knowledge back home.”

Mr. Hodge told the group that they were ambassadors of Anguilla in three ways: they represented the Junior Red Cross, they represented Red Cross overall and they represented the whole island. He said they would need to conduct themselves accordingly.

President Hodge cautioned that, with Swine Flu in the region, members of the delegation needed to be careful and make sure they were safe. He urged them to stay clear of persons exhibiting any flu-like symptoms during the camp.

The latest group of Junior Red Cross in Anguilla is about two years old and received an injection of new energy in September last year. Presently, there are about 30 members, mainly of high school age. The general aim of the Youth and Peer Education Subcommittee is to target young people and groom them in the seven ‘Fundamental Principles’ of the organization with the expectation that they would recognize its importance in the community and take on the mantle of the seniors in the future.

The camp is in its sixth year. In the past, countries such as St. Vincent (this is St. Vincent’s second hosting), St. Kitts and Antigua hosted it. This is Anguilla’s first year at the Regional Youth Camp and it is fielding the largest contingent. The Junior Red Cross expects to return to Anguilla on August 3.

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