Wilson: Businesses should do more to support the community

July 11, 2017

“There should be a sentiment among the business community that giving back is an obligation or a corporate responsibility.” That’s according to Lenworth Wilson, youth advocate and President of the youth development foundation GIFTED. “Not just look for marketing opportunities so when you sponsor a carnival event, of course tens of thousands would come out; you have a banner in the village and you could see money coming back. But the corporate responsibility of giving back to the community and developing the island; the social fiber of the community is a part of the business responsibility. That is missing,” Wilson argued.
He referred to the time when policeman Officer Gamali Benjamin was killed, and in his view the business community did not contribute or come up with solutions to stem the tide of crime, despite the fact the officer was killed while attempting to stop the robbery of a business. “It’s not seen as a priority and that is something that is leaving much to be desired—the business community taking an active role in giving back to the community whether through their own initiatives or supporting the NGOs,” he added.
Meanwhile, Wilson said there are several facets to youth delinquency. He believes that that the center that caters to youth delinquents, the Miss Lalie Youth Care and Rehabilitation Center, should fall under an inter-ministerial scope rather than just the Ministry of Justice for it to better serve at risk youth. “I think its needs to be inter-ministerial where the Ministry of Education youth culture and sports is active because we have youngsters who fall under compulsory education and also they are children age 12-18 which means we have to secure the rights of the child…and that falls under youth affairs,” Wilson explained. He added that these at risk youth also need health care and mental health support, which falls under the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs addressing their social concerns such as checking with the families etc. “Having an entity like that squarely under the Ministry of Justice, the financial support of institutions like that is supposed to be geared at rehabilitating our at risk youth is not going to be sufficient,” he said.