Tackling the issues head-on

There will never be a dull moment in the Vincentian sporting sphere, because, as soon one issue is remedied, another emerges from almost nowhere to keep the momentum going.{{more}}

The latest topical issue is the recent spill-off from the hosting of the annual Inter-Secondary Schools Athletics Championships, last Thursday at the Arnos Vale Playing Field.

Incomprehensible to many, the discussions which were consequential from the staging of the annual event, which is a red letter day in the local schools’ calendar, was not the performances of the athletes, but the social effects which trail behind.

Guidance is absent, as some of the operators of business establishments have been transformed into financial mercenaries, with absolutely no regard for who become victims of their uncaring short-term thinking, losing sight of the fact that problems extrapolate in the future.

So, whilst the authorities have been able to lock down the violent activities which accompanied the championships some years ago, a larger and more telling social avalanche seems lurking under the shadows of good intent.

The sideshows of accepted intoxication among the young persons, who use the yearly championships to get some visible reckoning, sends that message of an upcoming population in search of knowing their real purpose on earth and the art of good living.

But what is manifested at the time of the staging of such events, the wanton disregard for self, property, the profanity, the scanty dressing and a general lowering of conduct, are deeper societal challenges which are spawned at other links of human existence.

Therefore, it is an undeniable fact that our society is fast losing grip on many of the moral values which fashioned our nation over many generations.

Parents and their children are in competition for the same mode of dress and for the same space in the entertainment spots.

Unfortunately too, in many instances, the children hold the key as to what obtains in the homes.

These are also mixed with the virtual disappearance of youth clubs and organizations, which acted as a buffer for when the homes had fallen short.

What is coming out with a loud bang is that the home, that first school for the teaching of ethics, self-control and the need to preserve one’s spiritual being, has been served with an eviction notice.

This is not to say that we are beyond the point of redemption; however, too many persons are not seeking to tackle head on the issues confronting our youths.

The “hands in the air” attitude is seeping into our schemata and it is also worrying that some elders have conceded that we are presiding over a lost generation and that the young people are a generation of vipers.

No one needs to play back the sights and sounds of last Thursday, but acknowledge that there are issues at hand which require a wholesale and immediate focus of attention.

The move by the local constabulary to pull the plug on the planned after parties, whilst keeping the peace elsewhere, is just one way of tabbing the situation.

So, we first have to go back to the old, but apt adage, that it takes a village to raise a child.

One set of advice points to the call on the authorities to ensure that such activities are conducted under the guidelines of schools, which will require the wearing of respective school uniforms.

But the attending issues cannot be an attack on one front, as small island developing states like ours, are hamstrung in the provision of sustainable development opportunities for its people.

The lack of organisational structure, transparency and accountability juxtapose an inherent challenge, so in such environments, there is an increasing need for mentorship, grassroots programmes and the implementation and activities, inclusive of all abilities and gender.

Again, there must be a greater focus on after school programmes as a safety net for overall literacy, as it is at these times that much of the apathy and callousness are germinated.

The instituting of vocational coach educators, focussing on making the participants and the community the agents of change, is paramount.

Such programmes must be fashioned to engage, mobilise, and reconstitute the notion of self-help, self-respect and self-worth.

And, above all, our society needs to rekindle that all important spiritual fire.