SINT MAARTEN (SOUTH REWARD) – The members of the Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset gathered at the St. Dominic High School to paint a peace mural in efforts to promote peace among the youth. The concept, design and painting were done by students of the St. Dominic High School with the guidance of their Art teacher, Mr. Sikkes, and members of the Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset.
One of Rotary’s key area of focus involves promoting peace and Rotary clubs worldwide initiate projects centered around the ideal of peace. Given the constant uproar among the youth in our community and in the schools, the Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset felt a sense of urgency to tackle the issue head-on. The intention behind the painting of the peace mural is that it would serve as a daily inspiration to the students, faculty and staff and a reminder on the importance of exhibiting peace. The peace mural includes a peace dove and peace symbol along with the quote, “Remember That Peace Starts with You”.
“It is evident that we are experiencing challenges with our youth, however, ignoring and constantly pointing out their wrongdoings without addressing it is not the solution. Whether it is peace of mind or peace on Earth, it all begins with service clubs such as Rotary to guide them in making an effort to be more calm and pleasant in their words and actions,” Rotary Sunset’s Youth Service Chair Kimberley Duzong stated.
The Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset is dedicated to constructively impacting our youth and plans to paint similar peace murals in as many schools on both sides of the island as possible. A heartfelt thank you is extended to the management of the St. Dominic High School for the opportunity to execute our vision of the peace mural and to Mr. Sikkes and the students of his Art class for sharing their talent in designing and assistance in painting the mural.
The Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset meets on the second and fourth Monday of the month at Carl N Sons Unique Inn and Conference Facilities in Cole Bay at 7:30pm. Due to COVID-19, the club currently meets via Zoom. The club can be contacted via email at rotarysxmsunset@gmail.com or via the official Facebook page at facebook.com/rotarysxmsunset.
