Children pose for a photograph in Bellevue shortly after they returned from a bus tour of the island.
MARIGOT–Foundation for Hope and Music Development and SXM Horizon collaborated on organising a bus tour of the island for the children in the community on Sunday afternoon, November 5.
“We noticed that after the hurricanes children were quite traumatized by the events so we decided to give them an outing to help them get over the effects the storms had on them,” explained Foundation President Paul Whit. “We wanted it to be a fun outing so there was entertainment and singing on the bus, and in Philipsburg at the Cultural Centre they enjoyed a drink and a snack or popcorn.
“We had 89 kids take part, and 24 of them were from the Nina Duverly School shelter because their homes were damaged or destroyed. Parents gave us authorization to take them on the tour. Children need activities, no matter the age, and what goes through their minds now can manifest itself either positively or negatively in years to come. To avoid the negative aspect, we have to pay serious attention to them.
“The Kid’s Splash we did before was a great success with the pools and different activities so we are planning to do that again, and also we want to organise a mobile Coney Island that we can take from district to district.”
Whit said the plan was to have a psychologist on the bus to accompany the children, but that did not work out.
“Still, we have more plans and programmes to put in place working with the Collectivité. I’m pleased to say the bus tour for the elderly on the same day was also a success and they enjoyed it. Normally, every year we organise a Thanksgiving event for the elderly, but this year we have no location. But, we will make sure the Bethany Home have their party and we will do our party in our district. We will definitely do something for them because we have a lot to be thankful for,” Whit emphasised.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/70794-foundation-organizes-post-irma-island-tour-for-children
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