By Kenicia Francis
In an effort to address a lack of resources and support for young people on the sister island, two certified professionals, Rae Beazer-Thomas and Darlene Powell, have joined forces to establish a youth centre in Barbuda.
The venue, which is expected to be fully operational by June 2025, will offer a range of activities and services. The goal is to provide a safe and comfortable space for children to relax, learn, and grow.
Beazer-Thomas, a certified psychologist, told Observer, “We’ve had different things installed for the youths – educational activities, after-school programmes, tutoring, speech therapy, counselling, sports, culture events, you name it. And all different events can happen here for the whole community, but mainly this is going to be a youth centre where children can come, relax, enjoy, and tell us their problems if they have any. They can play different arcade games.
“We’re basically trying to bring what is not here in Barbuda, as in the arcade games. We don’t have those here in Barbuda and we have different after-school programmes and everything in the schools. But differently from that, we don’t have a youth centre for children to actually call a safe space where they can go and relax and enjoy different activities when they have their free time.”
Powell, a certified speech-language pathologist, added, “I am passionate about providing my services to those who need them most. Having a safe and comfortable space within the youth centre will be beneficial for my work and will allow me to make a real difference in the lives of these young people.”
The duo has established a GoFundMe page to support the initiative and is appealing to the community and government for their support. They are grateful for any donation, big or small, and look forward to celebrating the opening of the centre with the community.
The page ‘Help Create a Safe Space for Barbuda’s Youth’ had raised US$2,350 up to news time.
