The Bethel High School (BHS) Young Leaders 2017 have embarked on some projects under the sub-theme “Impacting health in our school community through volunteerism”, with the RBC Young Leaders 2017 general theme being “I am We… Volunteering for Impact”.

The BHS young leaders have chosen to focus on health, to promote healthy living among the population.

According to the BHS Young Leaders, “today’s world is becoming more health-conscious and St Vincent needs to be headed in that direction also. Without good health, life has no meaning.”

BHS projects thus far included:

* Clean-up of the back of the school (4th Form building) that was used as a urinal and garbage dump and had a putrid smell.

* Clean-up of the Campden Park playing field and scrubbing pavilion which is utilised by the school and community.

* Repainting of the chalkboards which looked terrible and caused a strain on students’ eyes.

* Installing white boards to reduce the amount of chalk dust in the classroom environment.

* Creating proper drainage and paving the water-pipe area where water previously settled and created a mosquito breeding site.

Future plans include:

* Water day – NO sale of sodas during recess, but rather a distribution of water to encourage students to drink more water, which is healthier.

* Fruits day – Sale of fruits during recess, instead of artificial snacks and fatty foods.

* Clean class competition to encourage cleanliness among our students.

* Visit to the elderly to hand out packages and volunteer where necessary.

* Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) seminars for our students.

* Feed the homeless in Kingstown.

* Free community health fair at the school compound tomorrow, Saturday, May 6, at 9 a.m., with services such as blood pressure and blood sugar tests, HIV tests, body scans, sports therapy, condom distribution and more.