Operation Future volunteers with their friends at Tyrell-Williams Primary School

The five-year old program, initiated on February 6, 2005, seeks to develop positive life skills in school-age children through entertaining on-site presentations in the hope that the lessons learned will provide dividends as the students mature into young adults, and beyond. It is staffed by volunteers from the Police Force and carefully selected upstanding members of the community, approximately 20 in all.

Officer Lyndita Powell, Operation Future’s PRO, spoke exclusively with The Observer about the program, its goals, and its successes.

“It is a grassroots [organization] in the sense that a couple of police constables came together and decided that something should be done to help the Federation’s youth,” she explained.

Addressing a question pertaining to the overall objectives of the program, and what its young participants should learn from it, Powell informed, “First of all, we want every child to feel that he or she can be their own individual, and not be a crowd follower. … We want them to be drug-free. We want them to be anti-gang. We want them to take care of the elderly. Above all, we want them to be loving, thinking citizens of the Federation – that is our number one goal.”

“We strongly believe that if we can install these things in them, the crime rate will go down,” she opined.

On Saturday, August 7, a special ‘Discovery Club’ summer program will begin, which Powell asserts will be fun for both children and adult volunteers. The young participants will be comprised of 20 students in Grades Four and Five from St. Kitts, and 13 youngsters at the same grade levels in Nevis.

Some of the planned activities include a hike on Mount Liamuiga in St. Kitts, a visit to the Brimstone Hill Fortress, a trip to Nevis Peak, and a Catamaran ride, among other agenda items. Organizers made sure that locations from both of the sister islands were selected as program venues.

The Discovery Club activities are planned to take place on a weekly basis, on either a Saturday or Sunday, each running for approximately four hours. The projected ending date is Sunday, August 29.

“When the program is over, we want the children to be able to go back to school and tell their peers what happened,” Powell said.

In addition to facilitating enjoyable activities, one of Operation Future’s primary aims is to help instill a greater sense of morals and social responsibility in the children. For example, a devotional session is held before each session, as the group believes that the inclusion of God in persons’ everyday lives is a very important factor.

Program volunteers carry the message to a wide variety of locales where they are invited to speak, from industrial work sites, to church functions and hospitals.

Presenting information at venues like PTA meetings is of particular import, according to Powell, “So that the kids and parents will both be in tune with what Operation Future is all about.”

Individual volunteers have ‘adopted’ certain schools, and are on-call to participate in scholastic events like sports days, parent-teachers meetings, and cricket matches.

“One of the things we love about Operation Future is that we spend a lot of time at the schools,” said Powell.

When asked about some of the program’s challenges, she responded, “We have to be firm with the children at times, because we have to let them know that it’s not all about playing and doing things that they ought not to do. But after every session, we remind them that we love them and care for them.”

On lifestyle choices, Operation Future volunteers don’t mince words with the children on the importance of making the right decisions.

“We have to let them know what the consequences will be if they get themselves involved in gangs and guns,” Powell said.

Some presentations focus on educating parents as to the various gang colors, helping them to detect signs that their sons or daughters might have joined such a group.

The content of a typical Operation Future school session involves a group discussion focusing on good goals and bad goals, a jobs/career segment, and a motivational speech.

Although most of the program’s activities are centered on younger children, high school students are also targeted. In addition, Powell expressed the group’s desire to share Operation Future with the rest of the Caribbean down the road.

During the interview, Powell strongly emphasized the collective aspect of the program, positing more than once that there is no ‘I’ in the organization, only ‘We’.

The outlook indeed looks bright for Operation Future, if one were to judge by the number of requests for their presence at various venues, which according to Powell, are increasing tremendously.