By Liz Rahaman
More than 90 percent of the inmates, who are under the age of 30, are from broken homes, said Valentine Hodge, Arch Deacon of the St. Georges’ Anglican Church.
The Deacon attributed a number of factors — but more particularly that of broken homes — for the increase in violent crimes in the Federation.
Hodge, who also serves as Chaplin of Her Majesty’s Prisons, made those statements on Wednesday, the National Day of Prayer.
Broken homes are one of the primary reasons for the breakdown in the value for life … parents are not taking their duties seriously, he lamented.
The focus that day was to put an end to violent crimes, pray for better family life and better responsible citizens, the Deacon said.
“This is one reason why we feel the need to pray so that God can intervene and change hearts to teach parents of a better way of living and let them be more faithful to their vows to look after their children to grow up in the love and fear of God,” he said, but showed little enthusiasm for the present youthful generation that is expected to govern the country in years to come.
“They are remanded in gangs, they meet each other in gangs when they go there and the same sort of disagreements continue in the prison. So this is the type of market, to which we have brought our pigs for sale and it’s a very, very unfortunate situation.
It seems to me that things are not going to get any better, it is going to get worse unless something dynamic is done.”
Against this background, he lamented that the agents of socialisation, being the home, the church, the school and the community, are to be blamed for the situation.
Everybody has to take corporate responsibility for the situation, he added and stressed that
the church congregate for a maximum of two hours per week, the school assemble for five hours each day, but that the home is there for 24 hours and seven days a week.
“And so the parents, both mother and father, have to look after the children. The home has to be a place where you have guidance, love and care from the mother and father…But the illegitimacy (parenting by teenagers) is on the increase. This is the reason why we have got to pray to God to intervene and show us a way.”
He further cited that the tradition of children attending Sunday-School Classes is not being followed and this has impacted negatively on children not being inculcated with the teachings of the Christian Faith of love, brotherhood and keeping the Ten Commandments.
Hodge was asked if the church is doing enough to be effective in the socialisation process, Arch Deacon Hodge said the lack of financial and human resources prevent the church from being proactive.
“If we had the money and the time we would do more, but there is a limitation as to how much we can reach out in terms of our buildings, our outreach programmes, in terms of social centres where our children can meet with their parents… we have a man-power problem and a money problem, “ he said, but hastened to add that the church continues to prepare the gospel from the pulpit.
“Our doors are open and people find the church when they are in crises …and we have counselling areas and interviews for parents when the children are born so that they can be alerted to their roles and responsibilities as parents and God parents.”
The church, he pointed out, has been doing what it can, but has not always received the full cooperation needed from the parents and the congregation.
“As an institution, we have things in place, but as individual units, there is a breakdown by and large,” Hodge said.
In this context, he expressed optimism that for the first time in the history of the Federation, all churches have bonded together in prayers for the good of the nation.
“This is the beginning of many things…we have began to sink our differences in order to save ourselves.”
Arch Deacon Hodge, an Angolan by birth, recalled that when he first came to St. Kitts in the early 1960’s, life in St. Kitts/Nevis was different as compared with today.
“There was neighbourliness where everybody looked out for each other in those days…life was so different, a murder was rear…there was friendliness and family life was integrated. The statistics then were 10 murders in 10 months, but in more recent times we had five murders in March….so it shows you what is happening, it’s a different dimension now.”
In support of the Deacon’s assessment of the broken home, Pastor Analdo Bailey of the Pentecostal Church of God told The Observer that based on recently statistics; most homes in the Federation are headed by a single female parent.
“We know now that men are no longer a provider as in the past so most women have to be out there working away from home and the children are left to fend for themselves.
Part of the problem that confronts us as a nation, is how can we help to parent children from broken homes,” Bailey said.
He made a strong appeal for men to “keep their pants on” and not to be caught up in the belief that their manhood lies in how many women they can conquer and the number of children they can have.
“That is something of a plantation mentality, where we are seen as studs to produce off-springs. That is not only sewing wild oats, but it is the seed of destruction in our community…Children need a mother and a father in a home to nurture them,” Bailey said.
Commenting on the prevalence of crimes in the society, Pastor Bailey noted that more young people are involved in the act today then in previous times.
“It tells me that there is some alienation on the part of these young people. It tells me that what we consider as scared, right and just, they seem not to share the same ideas, so we have to go back to the basics and in still in our young people that there some ingredients that glue a society together, decency, honesty and integrity, and that is what the church preaches,” he added.
Meanwhile, in brief remarks to this newspaper, Leaders of both the governing ruling Party and the Opposition People’s Action Movement (PAM) stood united in their support for the national day of prayers and youth rally held on Wednesday evening that culminated at the St. George’s Church.
Deputy Prime Minister Sam Condor pledged the assistance and support of the Ministry of Youth and that of the government.
“We hope that it grow from strength to strength for the benefit of the nation, but in particular, for the young people,” Condor said.
Leader of the PAM, Lindsay Grant, noted that, “we are at a critical juncture of our nation’s history. St. Kitts/Nevis is still a Christian Community and if this is what it takes to ensure that our country remains united and also, that we fight the forces of criminality in the country, I think it is important.”
The three-days of Prayers that began on Wednesday and end today, can be deemed a historical event, since it is the first time that all denominations have collaborated on one objective, the Youth Impact Ministries, the Christian Council and the Evangelical Association.
