The Tribune

THE winners of the first "Youth Express" essay, rap and poetry contest participated in an Operation Bahamas Turks and Caicos helicopter demonstration at the Royal Bahamas Defence Force Base at Coral Harbour. The 29 students, ages 11-15, had the opportunity to tour the helicopter and learn about the efforts of OPBAT to combat drug trafficking into and through the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands. The group were the first of 600 children, including those participating in the RBDF summer camp, to witness the demonstration. In addition to combating drug trafficking, the students learned, OPBAT executes search-and-rescue missions throughout the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands. This activity is part of a week-long National Peer Leadership Camp for the contest winners, co-sponsored by the United States Embassy in partnership with the Bahamas National Drug Council (BNDC). The camp is designed to encourage future leaders to stand up to negative peer pressure and become agents of positive change within their schools and communities. The US Embassy's Narcotics Affairs Officer, David Jea, said the embassy is proud to be a part of the effort, and that he is optimistic about future initiatives to reduce the demand for illegal drugs and encourage youth development. He went on to say that the embassy and the US government look forward to further engaging civil society groups in these efforts. The campers also participated in a question and answer session with an agent of the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Bahamian Drug Enforcement Unit (DEU), who encouraged them to be active leaders and to remain mindful of their bright futures. Captions: Photo 3: This peer leadership camper is all smiles as she sits in the rescue apparatus used by the US Coast Guard when carrying out life-saving missions at sea.