At the closing ceremony for the 2012-2013 Positive Intervention Now (PIN) Programme it was noticeable that three of the speakers pointed to the disappointing lack of interest, let alone participation, in after school or further education projects by parents of the children.

One speaker, Rev Mary Graham, Rector elect of St. George’s Anglican Church, and the architect for PIN, said it was woeful that the Anglican’s Church’s Mother’s Union had offered mentoring and help to all the mothers of the children in the PIN programme and it had all but been ignored. The initiative had therefore been a failure. She said the PIN board were going to sit down and make some new rules to ensure PIN parents must be a part of the programme otherwise it will not work.

A similar message came from Ms Marie Martin, Principal of George Town Primary School. She said you can have the best after school programme in the world, you can have the finest teachers, you can have the best educational resources available for pupils, the best environment, but if you don’t have the 100% involvement of the children’s parents you have nothing.

Mr. Michael Myles, programme Coordinator and Liaison Officer for At Risk children and the PIN’s keynote speaker, echoed both the previous speakers. He said he got very depressed after visiting some of the children at their home and witnessed the environment they were living in. Parents who said they had no resources to provide for their children, but they had every comfort provided for themselves and not even one minute of their ‘valuable’ time could they afford to give their offspring. The children’s faces of total despair haunted him.

If parents don’t take an interest in their children and become responsible there is no hope for the society we live in, he said. The costs of providing additional law enforcement, prisons and welfare will be an ever increasing burden on Cayman’s society.

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PIN is an afterschool intervention programme for adolescents in central George Town.

Through PIN, students receive attention, instruction, guidance and positive reinforcement to help them gain the skills, knowledge and motivation they need to fulfill their potential.

The programme runs three afternoons per week at St. George’s Anglican Church. During the sessions, volunteers from the church, from business and from the community work with the students in areas ranging from academics, to the arts, to etiquette and character/spiritual development.

The aim is also to help the children discover new interests by exposing them to a variety of areas – social, cultural, historical, environmental, technical, and others.

The PIN Closing Ceremony held at St George’s Anglican Church Hall last Thursday (13) was well attended by PIN students, their parents, sponsors, teachers, staff, volunteers and supporters of the programme.

One of the PIN’s most influential supporter, and has been from its beginnings, is Cayman’s Premier, Hon. Alden McLaughlin, who not only provided meals but actually cooked a lot of them himself. Because he was away in London on official business he could not be present and Hon. Kurt Tibbetts, Minister for Planning, Agriculture, Housing and Infrastructure read the message the premier had written.

Mr. Tibbetts also interjected from time to time with his own comments saying the PIN programme was very dear to the premier and he always set aside time once a week so the students would always receive a meal. He said Premier McLaughlin had even called in on the students on his way to the airport to go to the London meeting. He said he had been told the welcome the premier had received from the students was tremendous. The whoops of excited delight could be heard outside the hall, Minister Tibbetts said.

Tibbetts thanked all the volunteers, the teachers and the sponsors. He then thanked all the pupils and read out all their names and was corrected by one of them because he had pronounced her name wrong.

There were many presentations and prizes given out and master of ceremonies, Mr. Jason Harper, (late of CITN/Cayman27 fame) was excellent in keeping the ceremony moving with a delightful jokey manner.

Mrs. Magdalena Fernandes gave a message on behalf of the PIN parents and there was a beautiful dance frorm one of the former PIN students, Annie Bodden.

The 2012/2013 PIN students were:

Ashaunti  Bodden, Shaun Bodden, Hanielle Buttrum, Everton  Christie, Albert Ebanks, Asani Ebanks, Marvel Fernandes, Nathaniel  Forbes, Amber Francis, Amaya Jackson, Daina Levy, Jared Levy, Aaliayah Nixon, Bianca Reid, Ashanti  Scott, Imany Seymour and Lakista Wilson.

I was most touched by Mr. Myles’ revelation when he recounted the problems he faced as a child, with a drunken father who ended up in prison but he had a wonderful mother who worked two jobs to provide for her children. He said it was wonderful to be at the PIN ceremony and see the delight on all the children’s faces as they cheered their fellow students when they received their awards and when they picked up their own. He said there was hope. He said he had begged for funds for his own children’s programmes and the community had come through. He had not had to go back cap in hand to government for money. He had started with 60 children and he now had over 1,500 thanks to Cayman’s business community.

It was fitting that Rev. Mary Graham had opened with a prayer and her husband, Desmond Graham, PIN Treasurer, gave the closing vote of thanks. He especially mentioned PricewaterhouseCoopers for not only being one of the sponsors but had provided fifteen volunteers.

Food and soft drinks followed.