Monday, March 11, 2013

Youth talk Through Arts - the best ever!

It was definitely not an easy road. I got frustrated, I cried, literally. I thought it would never happen. We worked hard to see to it that this would come to life. My colleague from Barbados, the mother herself provided all the support needed to make this happen. A team of dedicated Volunteers- Marla, Herma, Wendelle, Afua, Richard all played their part in making this happen. Youth Talk Through Arts is the best thing which ever happened to me. In the past few months, i've been inspired, i've learnt alot, i've connected with disconnected youth, i've embraced the arts, i've appreciated people's talent more, i've learnt to ignore, i've learnt to deal with, i've leant to coorperate, i've learnt the importance of "time", i've learnt to make sacrifices, i've learnt how to bit bureaucracy (Wendelle did a great job teaching me :) )...  We've learnt alot...

It all started when Shari Pollard from Barbados decided to allow Youth-IN (UNDP) use her amazing idea to benefit Youth of the Caribbean Region. Shari needs all the credit for a job well done. YTTA was launched in Barbados and soon after was held in St. Lucia, St. Kitts and now Dominica. The Caribbean Youth Think Tank (we) are looking to enroll YTTA in Trinidad, Guyana, Suriname, Haiti, Jamaica, Antigua, Grenada  Bahamas and many other Caribbean islands with the help of UNDP.

A few nights before YTTA St. Lucia, we drove down to Micoud to allow Shari, a professional dancer to assist a local dance group with their talent.  To get to the house, we went through Ravins, went through bush, ; I took a HARD fall. We settled in the backyard of one of the participants. I expected to walk deeper but suddenly music began. It hurt me to see these motivated young people rehearse on hard concrete ground. Not to ask, mosquitoes enjoyed our blood that night. Yes, they performed at YTTA St. Lucia and did well!

Things like these motivate me to work harder. They've showed that despite the situation, they are motivated to excel and ready to showcase.

Every YTTA showcase, I continue to be inspired by the talent in the region. The motivation of Caribbean Youth and the hidden potential within them!

 UNDP provided the opportunity to participate in a conference in Washington DC. With all the pride inside me, I show cased the talent of my fellow St. Lucians and my brothers and sisters in the Region. Those who rehearsed on the concrete grounds. Their final product. Those who rehearsed on the beach. Their Final Product. Those who rehearsed in their yard.  Their finalll product... Those who rehearsed in a tiny office.  Their Final Product!

Join the Caribbean Youth Talk Thank as we rally the Caribbean to give youth a voice!

See you in Dominica on Saturday :D !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!