2013 in review:

The Youth Department sought to become further involved with various aspects of the National Society’s operation. In doing so members were encouraged to fully participate with the online learning platform which is geared towards improving the knowledge of volunteers on areas such as the application of the Seven Fundamental Principles of the Movement.

This tool has the ability to provide certification of various aspects of the work of volunteers andto improve their skills sets. CADRIM hosted a series of sessions for volunteers which were conducted by Mrs. Rynette Royer-Thomas and the CADRIM Intern.

Ms. Gabrielle Francis effectively represented the Red Cross Youth at the Statutory Meetings held in Sidney, , and received positive reviews from fellow Caribbean Youth Network Members. It is anticipated that Ms. Francis will move on to become a leading Youth Programmer for the Barbados Red Cross Society.

The Youth Department participated at the Barbados Landship Association’s 100th Anniversary celebrations. The activity began with a ceremonial march through Bridgetown, ending at Queens Park where there was a ceremony to unveil a monument in honour of the Landship. The assembly was addressed by Prime Minister, Hon. Freundel Stuart. The Red Cross honour Guard was complimented for its standard of drill during the parade’s ceremonial inspection by the Prime Minister.

Name Position Katrina Patrick Detachment Commander Dee-Ann Griffith 2nd Detachment Commander Alishia Clarke Contingent Dorisha Dolcy Continent Rico Edwards Flag Barrier Jah-Liza Edwards Contingent Stephen Holder Contingent Makilia Hutson Contingent Ammoi Blackette Contingent Malachi Ward Contingent Members of the Red Cross being inspected by Prime Minister of Barbados

The Barbados Red Cross was asked to assist with the musical component of the Parade. Youth Director - Peterson Yearwood, assisted and coordinated with the Combined Tuk Bands and Steel Band for the musical arrangements and colour display during the march from Jubilee Gardens to Queens Park.

The task of keeping the unique combined band in precession within a military structure of movement and musical arrangements to blend Steel Band and Tuk Band rested upon Red Cross Youth Director- Peterson Yearwood who also has formal musical training well respected by the artistes assembled. The Musical Selections were:

Step off March – Something Happening – RPB

Processional March Theme – Bridgetown Market – Mighty Gabby Island In the Sun – The Merry Men

Prime Minister Introduction – Fanfare Prime Minister Inspection – Beautiful Barbados – The Merry Men Emmerton – Mighty Gabby

The National Society HIV& AIDS Programme received Federation funding to roll out a series of workshops over a very short period for a target of 100 plus participants. Support for this project was given by the Jamaica Red Cross Society, in developing the workshops where the combination of two pre-existing programmes where merged to create a dynamic programme which proved captivating for the participants. Also, a short video was produced to capture the roll out of the project.

Ms. Shudeshi Parasram assisted with the coordination of the project.

Groups Targeted: Name of Group Total Reached Red Cross Youth 15 DECS 34 Springer School 14 Boys Scouts 13 *Dodd’s Boys Prison 60 Total Achieved 136 Participants and Facilitator interacting during one of the discussions

*Dodd’s Boys Facility’s Principal sought two four-hour workshop sessions which were conducted by the National Trainer whom was the sole facilitator for those workshops.

National Independence & War Memorial Parades

The Youth Department once again successfully represented the Barbados Red Cross Society at the National Independence Day Parade. Due to low number the contingent did not participate at the Parade.

Defence Force officials complemented the contingent on its uniformity of movement. Twenty (20) persons participated at the parade and thoroughly enjoyed during the March Pass paying compliments to his Excellency Sir Elliot Belgrave, Governor General of Barbados.

The gathering within the official seating area and crowds cheered and applauded the movement and uniform display, described by some as one of the “best dressed uniform detachments on parade”.

NAME POSTION Peterson Yearwood Contingent Commander Jamal Payne Contingent 1st Officer Reanna Broomes Contingent 2nd Officer David Griffith Flag Officer Jai-Liza Edwards 1st Escort Allishia Clarke 2nd Escort Dorisha Dolcy Right Marker Stephen Holder Contingent Malachi Ward Contingent Sherry-Ann Mottley Contingent Brondelle Atherly Contingent Barbados Red Cross Contingent making Christal Layne Contingent their way to Bridgetown during the Ruthandra Mayers Contingent Ceremonial March to town. Jalisa Callender Contingent Celicia Maughan Contingent Debra-lyn Pilgrim Contingent Leeann Springer Contingent Ammoi Blackette Contingent Faith Byer Contingent Mikihaila Huston Contingent

Red Cross Contingent in Probyn Street awaiting Ceremonial Dismissal

His Excellency Sir Elliot Belgrave – Governor General is accompanied by Police Acting Commissioner, Defence Force Chief of Staff and The Parade Commander as they inspect the Parade assembly.

Other Youth Activities:

Members of the Youth Department worked at the Annual Red Cross Dinner, assisting with serving of food and other responsibilities.

Youth members held a movie night and social to celebrate a successful year.

Youth members were called upon to assist with flood relief operations for St. Vincent and St. Lucia. They assisted with receiving and packaging of items donated at the National Headquarters warehouse. Volunteers worked tirelessly to capture information on persons making donations and the quality of items donated.

The Red Cross, Red Crescent - Global Youth Conference 2013 Sidney, Australia 9th – 17th November 2013 Youth Representative: Gabrielle Francis (Report Submission)

It was a great opportunity to represent the Barbados Red Cross Society, at the Global Youth Conference as Youth Delegate and at the General Assembly of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and Council of Delegates meeting of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement in Sidney, Australia. I departed Barbados on the 5th November and arrived in Sidney on the 8th November 2013, where I was greeted by volunteers of the Australian Red Cross Society.

I was transported to the hotel I would be staying at in Sidney, the Menzies Hotel. Later that afternoon, myself along with other delegates from the Caribbean, proceeded to the Sidney Convention Centre where all the conferences were held.

At the official opening ceremony there were brief speeches given by the IFRC President - Mr. Tadaterou Konoe; IFRC Secretary General – Mbeke Bekele and the Australian Red Cross Youth Leader. IFRC Youth Commission Chair- Ms. Ashanta Osborne-Moses and other invited guests made additional remarks to the ceremony. The formalities of the opening ceremony were ended by a cultural display of dance by the Chinese’s Youth Delegates, which was followed by a cocktail reception to allow persons to meet and greet each other.

Conference Working Days:

The two day conference which commenced on Saturday 9th November was divided into three pillars:

1) Setting a vision of the world beyond 2015 2) Youth shaping the Humanitarian landscape through implementation of the IFRC Y.E.S Strategies.

3) Preparing for participation and interventions in the General Assembly and Council of Delegates.

The session began with setting a vision beyond 2015 and Red Cross role post 2015, which was a panel discussion enveloped “break out” groups based on region and official language spoken. This was then followed by a short empowering session of speeches on the Youth Engagement Strategy (YES) which led to a panel discussion on the importance of adopting the Youth Engagement Strategy.

Groups discussed the challenges and concerns faced by the national societies.

The second working day of the conference began with a Gallery Walk, and, summary and inputs of the previous day’s discussion on Y.E.S.. This was followed by a YES Network meeting which included Youth Commission Members, Youth Leaders and Zone Directors. There was a panel discussion on the Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s) followed by group sessions examining topics from the three pillars in the Y.E.S to formulate questions and intervention to be voiced at the General Assembly.

Participants were given the opportunity to be exposed to new skill-sets and varied cultural art forms with the use of drums and different aspects of art to convey messages to others.

Youth Engagement Strategy (Y.E.S) – The IFRC Y.E.S was designed as a strategic tool or framework to facilitate youth engagement in the Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies. It aims to build stronger national societies as they strive towards achieving the goals outlined in the IFRC Strategy 2020, while advancing the IFRC Youth policy (2011) that highlights the importance of children through to young adults as key players in developing the national societies in conjunction with the adult members. Y.E.S is based on three Pillars:

1) Youth as Leaders 2) Youth As Volunteers 3) Youth as Beneficiaries

Each of these three pillars is sub-divided to produce several strategic directions to facilitate the engagement of youths in the governance and strategic development of national societies. As a part of the conference, each youth delegate in collaboration with their delegation were tasked with the duty to identify two (2) strategic directions from each pillar that they felt their national societies were good at engaging and two (2) directions that were absent from the developmental plans of their NS and so should be given priority in the next few years.

The following strategic directions were prioritized for Barbados Red Cross:

Youth as leader:

1) Prioritizing and investing in personal and professional development for current and future leadership roles of young people. 2) Strengthening the leading role of young people in opening doors to new partnerships.

Youth as Volunteers:

1) Motivating and retraining young volunteers 2) Guaranteeing the well-being, security, and safety of young volunteers throughout, and after their engagement in RC/RC programmes and services.

Youth as beneficiaries:

1) Strengthening personal capacities of young beneficiaries by putting special emphasis on their abilities and developmental needs. 2) Maintaining relevance and responsiveness of all RC/RC programmes and services to the needs of young beneficiaries and marginalized youth groups.

The “break-out” groups then developed interventions to be voiced during the General Assembly in support of the Youth Engagement Strategy.

Concerns arising from the Global Youth Conference (GYC):

1) As the official age for youth is to 30 years, it was encouraged that NS from the region ensure that their elected or appointed youth representative who sits on the governing arm of the NS’s be of Youth Age. This sentiment was also raised in relation to concerns expressed by the Caribbean Youth Network (CYN) leadership as it could possibly impede the elections process for selecting members to the CYN committee. 2) It was suggested and approved by the Caribbean Heads of Delegates that the Youth Representative that attended the GYC 2013 be interim focal person to facilitate the flow of information between the CYN and the NS’s. 3) It was recommended that all NS’s develop and implement a Youth Policy that engages the youth at all levels of the NS’s governance structure and also the services provided by the NS’s. 4) The Recommendation was that ALL volunteers be insured as a way of providing some security as they perform their duties. The insurance policy/scheme offered by the IFRC for its volunteers was mentioned as an option to consider whereby

the volunteers can be insured through IFRC organized insurance at a minimal cost of Swiss Franc $1.00. 5) Also recommended was that all NS become better aware of their auxiliary roles to their local governments and position themselves to capitalize wherever possible to assist in the operations of their NSs. 6) It is highly recommended that NSs actively engage the youth and incorporate media and opportunities where they can infuse the use of technology to advance the operations and services of the NS’s.

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The Youth Agents of Behaviour Change (YABC) HIV Project:

FINAL REPORT Submitted to the IFRC Sub-Regional Office Submitted on 31st December 2013 For projects of short duration and / or small budget.

National Society: Barbados Red Cross Society Name of the Project: Youth as Agents for Behavioural Change in HIV/AIDS Project Coordinator: Peterson Yearwood Assistant Coordinator: Shudeshi Parasram; Gabrielle Francis Time Frame of the project: Six Weeks (Initial Period) Total budget allocated: $20,000.00 Currency: US Dollars

Financial situation: Due the Short Time factor given for this project, elements of the project were not completed as time played a main factor to achieving objectives of the project. The expended amount reflects the funds used for elements of the project and are justified within the parameters of the Project’s Financial Journal.

Nr. of people reached: A Total of 136 Person where reached by these project workshops.

People Reached – Communities People Reached

# of families 0

# of women 0

# of men 0

# of children (ages 0-9) 0

# of youth (ages10-18) 14

# of adults (ages 19-59) 0

# of senior citizens (ages 60 onwards) 0

# total no. of people reached in the community 0

People Reached –Civil Society People Reached

# Organizations

# People 47

People Reached – National Societies People Reached

# Branches

# People in Branches 15

# People in Headquarters

People Reached - Authorities People Reached

# Local Authority bodies

# People in local authority bodies

# National government bodies

# People in national government bodies 60

(Government industrial School- Boys Prison Unit)

Other People Reached People Reached

Note: The project re-adapted to accommodate the Boys incarceration facility where person received video presentations and held discussions in two four-hour sessions, was warmly received by participants.

Results and Indicators

Achievements: Participants were able to learn effectively by the merged concept of the YABC and TWC HIV modules which created a discussion based approach. Visual Aids such as videos with persons’ life challenges were impactful. Participants showed an emotional attachment towards how persons were treated. Facilitation of discussions and activities by facilitators were exceptional and well received. The support given by the Jamaican Red Cross Trainer added significantly to the development of the project. There was a short documentary of this project and printed t-shirts which identified the project with an anti- discrimination statement.

Difficulties: As the timeline of the project was so short, there were a lot of difficulties in rolling out the Calendar Competition within the schools. However, that was revised to have a Daily Planner Diary with anti-stigma messages for each month and basic information of the National Society’s roll and services. It was disappointing that the project could not have been fully completed. This was attributed to the short project period, and the miscommunication that was present during the project roll out.

Impact: Despite challenges faced in the roll out of the project it was successful in the interaction of all participants as the information hit the very core of their social sphere. Tribute was paid to the facilitators for their role in administering the workshops activities.

Lessons Learnt

 Importance of Communication:

 Working in partnership:

2014 Review:

Emphasis was placed primarily on youth engaging youth with the use of social media and other popular mediums to inform other young persons about the Red Cross and about becoming a volunteer with the Barbados Red Cross Society.

Ms. Gabrielle Francis was selected as the focal point to develop and implement a work-plan and to update the budget accordingly to achieve the goals of the project. Ms. Francis gained needed support from Tamara Lovell, Jill Deboug and Peterson Yearwood in the development of the work-plan and budget.

Ms. Francis held several committee meetings with persons she selected to sit as part of the planning and development committee of which volunteers were drawn from several areas of the department.

Following is month by month information on activities as they fed into the overall implementation of the YABC Project.

MAY: Red Cross Week: The Youth Departmnent eagerly participated in making the week of activities successful, utilising social media such as facebook, instagram and an email blast of daily activities, to inform the general public of locations and times where the volunteers were operating.

Annual Church Service: - as per-tradition a Colour party of the youth presented the flag of the Red Cross to the presiding minister and retreat at the end of the Ceremony. Reviews were resounding about the attire of the youth and how they represented the organization. Youth volunteers took active role within the service proceedings and also assisted with encouraging persons to sign up as volunteer/members.

Community Outreaches:- Friday 2nd May 2014 the Youth Director appeared on television’s “Mid- Morning Mix” with Teshia Hinds. The interview presented Red Cross Week activities and work carried out by the Red Cross. Information was also given about the YABC project. There was the opportunity to create more visibility of the National Society and partnerships with media houses such as the television Caribbean Broadcasting Cooperation (CBC) and the printed press.

Monday 5th May 2014 – Limegrove, Holetown Youth volunteers assembled from early morning packed the van and headed to Limegrove to distribute information of the Red Cross Society and encourage membership sign up.

Volunteers who assisted were: Stephen Holder, David Griffith, Jamal Payne, Kalya Watts, Ellie Brown, Peterson Yearwood and Edmond Bradshaw.

A wealth of photos were posted on facebook that got tremendous response from persons requesting further information and liking the page as well.

Tuesday 6th May 2014 – Sheraton Centre, Christ Church

Similar distribution of information as done at Holetown was carried out at Sheraton Centre, as well as donation collections and blood pressure checks performed by youth members, who interacted and created a loving and friendly environment to all passing.

Those attending were: Stephen Holder, Dwayne Lashley, Jamal Payne, Kalya Watts, Jai-liza Edwards, Ellie Brown, Peterson Yearwood and Edmond Bradshaw.

Wednesday 7th May 2014 – Mall 34, Bridgetown

Members walked from Broad Street and targeted different business places to give information packages and collect donations with tins in hand. People that attend were:

Stephen Holder, Jamal Payne, Kalya Watts, Ellie Brown, Peterson Yearwood and Jamar Miller.

This event was repeated on Thursday 6th where a smaller team assigned compised: Jai-Liza Edwards, Jamal Payne and Sherry-Ann Mottley.

The Youth Enrollment & Awards Ceremony 9th May: The ceremony took place at the Red Cross headquarters following difficulty in securing a school venue. Those assisting with cleaning and setting up of the area were: Jamar Miller, Rico Edwards, Jamal Payne, David Griffith and Stephen Holder.

The programme for the event was as follows 1] Welcome: 2] Youth Report: Ms. Francis encapsulated the achievements and the goals of the youth department. She sought the assistance of all gathered to give their support towards the department’s goals 3] Remarks: A] YOUTH DIRECTOR: Mr. Yearwood supported the report of which Ms. Francis, discussed a work plan and highlighted the goals of the YABC Project.

B] DIRECTOR GENERAL: Mr. Bradshaw sounded a challenge to the youth department to create and implement a programme geared to combating obesity, encouraging better health and having activities to help physical development.

C] PRESIDENT: Mr. Waite expressed sincere appreciation to the Youth Department for their continuous achievements promoting the work of the Red Cross. He spoke of the Y.E.S. strategy and how it will be of benefit for the youth within the National Society.

Awards Nominations for the following awards were sought from all departments where each nomination was accompanied by a written rational as to why the individual should be given a selected award. The Audit team comprised Romancia Rice a former Youth Link President and Melissa Kellman former Youth Commission Chair-person.

President’s Award: Leadership – Jai-liza Edwards Service – Stephen Holder Merit – Allisha Clarke Outstanding Contributions: Dereshia Docly

Director General’s Award: Leadership – Jamal Payne Service – Jamal Payne Commitment – Sherry- Ann Mottley

Awards from the Youth Director followed with presentation of appreciation certificates to donors and sponsors along with the plaques including the Roy Braithwaite Memorial Plaque to the Ellerlsie School and the Youth Link Challenge Plaque to the Lester Vaughan School.

First Aid Coverage: Members of the youth Department were requested to take the lead in providing first aid training to the National Culture Foundation’s Events. A team System was developed and each team consisted of a team-leader and four persons. Team meetings eased the issues of persons not being able to attend to provide coverage.

Ms. Jai-liza Edwards newly elected Youth Commission Chair-person was assigned the responsibility of communicating and team assignments. Ms. Edwards assistance in the coordination of the coverage was remarkable and all working with her was well communicated with and best informed of all changes. Ms. Edwards was complimented for her role and efforts.

Youth Volunteers took this opportunity to provide persons of the general public with information regarding the work of the Red Cross and also to promote the Red Cross ability to be a multi-functional institution, not only having a strong ideology placed on First Aid Services alone.

JUNE: Youth Leadership Course –Participants developed skills in public speaking, effective communication, proposal writing and reporting. Ms. Tamara Lovell did an extremely wonderful delivery in Proposal Writing and Reporting. Participants were able to come away with a set plan of action for a year period. This would enable them to function more effectively while building on their capacities.

JULY: Resource Materials –Promotional materials designed by the Youth Director such as note pads; Anti-Stigma Bookmarkers; Emergency Cards and a General Information Brochure, were used in events at which these were distributed. These items became a sense of pride for the National Society through their attractiveness Anti-stigma book-markers and information were present on all the paraphernalia so as to create a visible approach to combating discrimination by persons in our community.

Youth Ambassador –during the National Culture Foundation Crop Over season the Scotia Bank sponsored a Junior Calypso Monarch competition. Ms. Adela Payne, Red Cross Youth Ambassador, stage name “Aah -Dee -Lah”, rendered an appealing and well informed song entiled “Guide Me” where she encouraged her peers if they “cant abstain then condomise” a positive message to all young persons. Ms. Payne placed 2nd in the overall competition.

AUGUST: Youth Health and Open Day Event: - all youth department members helped in varied aspects of the planning and development of the event. As a group all decided who was comfortable performing which roles. It was very heartening to see that all persons volunteering and staff alike were able to function effectively with their duties and interactions with the general public. Although the weather placed a damper on the event that caused a low turn-out of volunteers, members and staff enjoyed the setting. Mosaic Steel Orchestra and BL&P Reddy Panners Steel Band who sponsored the Pan Yard Lime performances put on a wonderful and enjoyable show that caused traffic to come to a stop in the area and. Persons also came in to enjoy the musical displays.

YABC/HIV Workshop – This workshop was facilitated by Romane Knight from the Jamaican Red Cross Society on Sunday 24th and 25th August 2014. Fifteen persons were trained with ten being successful and certified as facilitators: Gabrielle Francis, Shauntel Boyce, Jai-Liza Edwards, Tiffany Wharton, Melissa Kellman, Adela Payne, Kerisha Scott, Jalisa Calendar, Celicia Maughn and Timothy Price.

Focus Group Discussion: This discussion session held on Tuesday 26th August 2014 with members of the Gay; Lesbian and Transgender community was facilitated by Mr. Romane Knight. Mr. Knight engaged 2 members of the LGBT community at the Barbados Red Cross to identify the health barriers and challenges they experience and the solutions that could be implemented to overcome said challenges.

A current revised work-plan to complete the remaining task of the project:

ESTIMATED BUDGET TIME LINE ACTIVITY (US$) TASKS M J J A S O N D COSTINGS BDS RESOURCES NEEDED RESPONSIBLE PERSON Youth fair – theme “Youth & Stigma” Establish a planning committee $ - Materials, tents, Planning Committee / $ 5,454.00 Develop an event transportation , venue Peterson plan and identify $ - partners Youth outreach campaign - volunteer Form a volunteer recruitment drive and partnership recruiting committee $ - strengthening Meeting updates Increased FB presence on youth $ 2,001.00 $ - Materials , transportation Peterson / Committee dept page

Public outreach/Design and $ 559.00 $ 5,228.81 $ 5,787.81 distribution of publicity materials Facilitator`s training $ 1,827.00 $ - Materials, Meals Romane Knight 2 Youth leadership & development awareness training workshop $ 3,209.00 $ 4,250.00 $ 4,250.00 Focus group (5-8 persons) – To identify challenges or needs within the LGBT $ 100.00 $ - Materials Romane Knight community

2 minute PR Video (Stigma & Communication) on Behaviour change Communication $ 1,500.00 $ - Equipment Peterson/ Committee

HIV Sensitization for staff & Volunteer $ 314.00 $ - Planner/Notepad Production $ 925.00 $ 1,833.00 $ 1,833.00 Peterson Youth Champion Identifying Youth Chamion base on the Crop Over season. $ 586.00 While having this $ - Thropie , Plaque and Prize Peterson person be a Youth Face of a one year period

Overall Coordinator Support $ 1,768.00 $ 500.00 $ 500.00 $ 500.00 $ 500.00 Time spent on project Peterson

Volunteers Support Stipend $ 800.00

Total $ 17,684.00 $ 1,059.00 $ 11,811.81 $ 12,870.81

The project next set its focus on developing four thirty-second videos depicting services of the Red Cross in society and sensitization videos with emphasis placed primarily on combating discrimination.

Leadership training for the Youth was rolled out to Youth Link members within the secondary schools where the complete revamp of the initial syllabus was done to reduce the high level of training which was done in the first leadership training.

September to December 2014:

Youth Leadership Course – T he Course was reformatted to achieve provide persons with skills in public speaking, effective communication and facilitation skills. Ms. Tamara Lovell did an excellent follow up with participants in the previous training. However, the reformatting to accommodate secondary school students was done and Mr. Errol Garrett. Participants were able to come away with new skills and a level of comfort speaking to an audience thus building on their capacities.

Public Awareness Videos –A public awareness video was developed with the guidance and consultation of the Director General, President, CADRIM, and Ms. Lovel, relative to the Meals on Wheel in Action, First Aid Classes, First Aid and Ambulance Services and Anti- stigma and Discrimination. Two of the videos produced were not part of the budget and were done voluntarily by Rotchell Gibson and Dean Hinkson. The final drafts are all currently under review before final approval of the President and Director General for the submissions of those videos.

Youth Ambassador –during the National Society annual Fundraising dinner Youth Ambassador, Adela Payne, provided entertainment. She otherwise give support to several community outreaches which enhanced a positive response to her aspirations and commitment to continue as a youth member of the Red Cross.

It was refreshing to note that with the support of resources provided by this project that the Barbados Red Cross achieved a sense of re-branding through its Youth and the YABC component captured the hearts and minds of young people for positive change. All lessons learnt played a valued role in aiding with renewing partnerships; strengthening relations with civil services, as well as building on dialogue with CADRIM and the CRRO Representative.

It is intended that there will be continuing project support between Barbados and Jamaica, redefining an approach to youth strategies and volunteerism in building capacity, and, forging of a new path for the Barbados Red Cross to chart it progress for 2015 and beyond. The Youth Department will continue to roll out aspects of the projects which are set within its’ calendar of activities for 2015.

Once Upon a Saga – Barbados Visit: Torbjørn C. Pedersen from the Danish Red Cross, on a historical journey to every single country in the World in a single journey, without flight, reached Barbados, the 66th country on his journey. He stayed at the Red Cross for one week hosted by Youth Volunteers. The kitchen staff prepared meals for him. His stay fell during the Independence period. The issued the Red Cross Goodwill Ambassador with a pass to sit among invited guest at the National Independence Parade at the Bridgetown Port. Youth Officer/Director made arrangements with shipping companies to have Mr. Pedersen return to St. Vincent from where he connected on a vessel to St. Lucia. This experience afforded national societies an opportunity to communicate which each other in ensuring free movement by port authorities for Mr. Pedersen.

The National Parades 2014:

The National Parades were will attended at both the Remembrance Day and the Independence Day and once again the Red Cross received accolades of their deportment and unified movement from media and officials of the Barbados Defence Force. The Youth Officer attributed this to the valued contributions of Mr. Tramine Manning –Police Officer of the Royal Barbados Police Force who give his experience and time to assist with teaching how to drill correctly.

The year ended with a family and volunteer’s fun day picnic on December 13th at the Miami Beach, Christ Church, this event was coordinated by Youth Secretary Ms. Shauntel Boyce. There were games such as cricket, board games among many others. This give all gathered the opportunity to socialize and engage each other in discussion after a very tedious and eventful year.