Ah camp full ah yo yo

Ah wish ah was among dem Cubs camping at Villa, just to see what it’s like to sleep under ah tent again pon de hard ground; way ah would ah get to brush-up pon de finer life-skills: kitchen duties, cleaning yuh shoes, personal deportment tips, etc.

It blessed me heart to see all eighteen youngsters N-Joy-N camp-life under dey Cub Akela (leader) Andre Cadogan.{{more}} Excitement beaming on dey faces just being to-gather foh dey first taste ah camp-life, de all night (no sleep) experience, de campfire songs and games, story-telling, basic astronomy. Cadougan is ah good guy, ah “Real Man”! We need more dedicated far-dads like him in today’s world; more men willing to give of dey please-her time and skills to Men-t’her our young men. In spite of his busy work schedule as ah branch manager at FCIB, Andre sees ah need in our lickle youths and dem and way he could help, so he decides to do sum-ting to help fill dah void, as Lie-Za does put it “help stop de male extinction”.

Ah year ago, he got ah Cub Pack going at his son’s school, Windsor Primary, and believe me, just being among dem at de camp-site, ah could sense in dat short twelve month period dem youths have found demselves ah role model ah Hero!

Interestingly, ah saw ah couple kids playing wid Yo Yo and ah was told dat de name of de camp was “Camp YO YO” as in “Youth Organized, Youth Outstanding, dey was actually ah Yo Yo spinning competition. When ah visited, de lickle lads were getting ready to do dey “Swimmer’s Badge” test and later de were going to give Villa beach ah clean-up! Lie-Za want to diss Andre, she say is since he marry into de France/Ballantyne family of Guides and Rangers, his mother-in-law Jeanette is who teach him bout camp. Thanks Andre, yuh doing ah hell-of-ah-lot foh our youngsters!

TRAINING AND MORE TRAINING

Ah next thing ah wish foh, is dat ah did know bout CPR i.e. Cardio-Pulmonary-Resuscitation, pumping breath of life into people rescued from drowning and so on. Donkey years ago, when ah was ah scout ah did ah thing in First Aid called, Artificial Respiration, basically pumping water out ah de stomach and lung, I am told dat is obsolete. However ah felt inadequate last Monday at Rawacou Beach when ah watched de young lady’s lifeless body lying on de sand, and all ah could ah do was to ask de crowd to stand back and allow de life-savers room and air; folks were doing one and everything at de same time, pumping de stomach, mouth to mouth, people panicking while friends and relatives crying, ah still not convinced dat ah trained person in CPR was at wuk, was ah sad sight. She was probably already dead when she was fished out of de water.

Since we are ah people dat love we beach picnic, den we need to correct or be more prepared foh any such reoccurrences in de future. Firstly, more people need to be trained in Life Saving (drowning) and CPR. Maybe dat could be an assignment foh de Coast Guard in conjunction wid de API. Ah television series showing how to rescue someone who is drowning, and how to apply CPR should now be ah priority.

Secondly, trained Beach Guards wid life-saving equipment, should be hired and placed on all beaches to patrol daily. Yes ah know no money dey to pay dem, dat’s why yuh will never stop hearing me talk bout dat four million “Vote Yes” money; not until every cent is paid back. And we could do wid more signs along de sea front, graphic signs dat would drive living fear in those who dare to plunge in de water.

On second thought, ah wonder if any Danger Sign could stop Vincent-shuns from defying death. When we were leaving de beach late Monday afternoon; right on de very spot way earlier, de young lady met her death and four others narrowly escaped, were some folks bathing like nothing ever happened. Sorry, but ah will not wash me foot pon Rawacou beach if even ah wearing ah life-belt. And on dat sad note, is gone ah gone again.

One Love Bassy

Bassy Alexander is a land surveyor, folklorist and social commentator.