CARNIVAL CAMP

PROVIDING ALTERNATIVE ACTIVITIES FOR YOUTH DURING CARNIVAL

Contents

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Carnival Camp is a project which aims at the development of young people through the implementation of evidenced- based programming. The Carnival Camp aims at providing a comprehensive programme for promoting recreational activities, carnival crafts, psychosocial competencies and enhancing the educational development of young people.

CURRENT SITUATION AND RATIONALE

General trends showed that while a significant number of young people are involved in activities related to Carnival, in some districts there is a large number of young people who are interested in participating in alternative activities. The reasons for these include:

Young people believe that their personality does not lend to participation in Carnival activities (example of responses include: Carnival is not my thing, I dont like the loud music, I prefer doing something else

Young people do not participate in carnival activities because of religious reasons Young people believe that some of the carnival activities involve risky behaviour including intoxication and the promotion of unhealthy lifestyles

Young people do not participate in carnival activities because their parents do not support them in doing so.

The reason given for this absence included: Parents involvement in work related activities Parents participation in carnival activities Parents tendencies to lime or hang out with friends.

Implementation of a Carnival Camp will also address some of the key issues which arise because of parental absence during Carnival.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Goal of this Project
The projects overall goal is to develop healthy empowered young people with positive attitudes and values, acquired social life skills and a heightened sense of community, being able to problem solve and make informed life choices.

Purpose
To facilitate an enabling environment for young people to engage in the constructive use of leisure time activities and provide alternative activities for young persons to engage in during the Carnival period..

Objectives
To implement a pilot of the Carnival Camp 2012 To promote positive lifestyle practices through informed decision making, sport and physical recreation. 4

To deliver an attractive exciting and empowering recreational camp to 100 young people between the ages of 12 16 years To promote and encourage the use of recreational camps as a medium for youth development.

To provide opportunity for young people to increase their level of participation and leadership skills in initiating, designing and implementing a Carnival Camp. To develop a cadre of trained youth and community leaders in recreational camp management. To encourage peers to engage in creative cultural expressions which promote solutions for healthy lifestyles for young people.

Target
Young people both males and females between the ages 12 17 years.

PROJECT COMPONENTS
Concept

The project concept promotes youth in development work through recreational activities, health promotion, social education and involvement in sport. The project would employ culturally relevant methodologies with emphasis on experiential learning towards making programme activities enjoyable and learning meaningful. . It will be done through collaborative efforts with community organizations and resources. The project will be supervised by the Youth Officers II.

Implementation

Project

The project promotes positive developmental activities and the constructive use of leisure time afforded to young people during the Carnival period. The programme would offer a comprehensive package of sport, recreational activities, carnival craft, health promotion, social education complemented by a range of enrichment activities including dance, drama, art and craft, fun and games. 5

Co-ordination

. The day-to-day management of the Camp would be facilitated by a team of competent, contracted youth and community leaders supported by certified tutors, community coaches and facilitators. The period in the morning camp would be dedicated to the social education component of the program and other enrichment activities while in the afternoon, young people will participate in fun / games and sporting activities.

Scheduling

Benefits

The social education component would facilitate life skills training towards informed decisionmaking. The areas to be covered are: Understanding Self Character Development Decision Making Healthy Lifestyles The projects art and craft component would reflect and promote an appreciation for craft and will include Carnival craft for young people who exhibit an interest. The fun/games and sporting components would help to identify latent sporting talent and encourage existing potential as well as promote healthy lifestyle practices. It would also facilitate cooperate friendly games, which would reward team effort while the dance and drama components would allow for expression. The cultural expression component will provide opportunity for young people to enhance and demonstrate their cultural skills.

EVALUATION
A short questionnaire will be given to participants to complete and return. Booth holders and participating agencies will be asked to provide feedback on the days activities. An extensive evaluation will be conducted with the committee and findings from these methodologies will be presented in a report, which will be submitted two (2) weeks after the committee meets.