Seth Dixon (right), a Pathfinder from The Cayman Islands, gives 71-year-old Jane Smith (a shut-in) a hot meal during food distribution in the Church Pen area of St Catherine.

With the increased level of indiscipline and violent attacks on teachers and students, which have resulted in a number of fatalities in recent years, plans are afoot to replicate the programmes of uniformed groups in our schools.

Minister of Education Andrew Holness, in an address to more than 2,000 Adventist Pathfinders and Master Guides on the weekend, said: "There is something to be said about the benefits of having young people involved in uniformed groups."

Holness was speaking at the divine worship service of the Pathfinders and Master Guides Camporee organised by the youth department of the West Indies Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (WIU), held at Camp Verley in St Catherine on Saturday.

Law and order

"Regularisation, order, respect for law and order, teamwork, helping each other, looking out for your brother, respect for elders and worshiping God; I have noted what you have done here and, as far as possible, I intend to replicate your model in our school system," Holness told the gathering.

The minister said the nation's schools are facing serious behavioural problems, stemming from poor parenting, inappropraite music and growing aggression in the society.

"A part of the solution lies in engaging all our young people in wholesome, educational and developmental attributes, and so it is the intention of this Government to promote uniformed groups in our schools," he said.

Participants

Apart from its many on-site activities, the camporee, with participants from Jamaica, The Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands, The Cayman Islands and the United States, started last Wednesday and impacted the communities in the Spanish Town and Old Harbour areas of St Catherine. Over the four days, visits were made to the St Catherine Infirmary where painting of part of the main building and food distribution took place. Christian literature, food and hygiene kits were distributed during visits to the Yadel Girls' Home, the Mustard Seed Community, Spring Village Boys' Home, and to shut-ins in the Church Pen and other adjoining communities. The outreach programme climaxed with a peace march from Brunswick Avenue to Spanish Town Square on Sunday afternoon.

"We are happy we could impact these communities in the way we did," said Pastor Charles Blythe, youth ministries director of WIU.

"Based on the response, we know persons were positively impacted by the work done by our young people. The spirit of the young people showed that they were also motivated because they had an opportunity to serve and share with some of the less fortunate in our society."

Positive lifestyle

As part of the plan to pass on the positive lifestyle of the Pathfinders and Master Guides movement to other non-Adventists, 12 young people from the community of Bounty Hall, Trelawny, participated in the camp.

Seventeen-year-old Delanie Shaw, one of the 12, was apprehensive on the first day, but soon realised that it was fun.

"I like the togetherness of everyone," she said. "I have learnt that we should not be selfish, and we should care for each other. I certainly would like to attend another camp like this. I also enjoyed the praise and worship sessions."

Currently, more than 65,000 Pathfinders are registered in about 350 clubs throughout the West Indies Union Territory, with Jamaica accounting for 90 per cent of the total.

The Pathfinder programme is designed for boys and girls, age 10-15 and the Master Guide programme for persons age 16-30. It is built on the model of the holistic development of the mental, physical, social and spiritual capacities of the individual. It has been an auxiliary body of the youth ministries department of the Seventh-day Adventist Church for more than 50 years, and caters to members and non-members of the church.

Master Guide Julie Taylor (left), assists Lolly Richards by making her leg more comfortable during divine service on Saturday at Camp Verley in St Catherine. - Photos by Nigel Coke