The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

REACH Out Youth Organisation is hosting a free summer camp for kids at its community centre on Banyan Lane for the next three weeks.

Dudley Seide, of ROYO, held registration and orientation for over 100 children on Monday and expects the number to increase when the camp starts on Wednesday.

With most of the summer camps now closed on the island, ROYO provides parents a place to drop their kids off at 8.30am. There will be lots of fun and learning activities, and free meals provided daily.

Mr Seide said a person from the community will also come in and speak with participants, and there will be a visit and tour of Central police station and a day at the caves in East Grand Bahama.

“It is also important to have a listening session with our kids where we listen to what’s on their minds and we will be hearing from our participants about various topics, such as bullying in school, crime, and the economy, etc,” he said.

Mr Seide was pleased with the turnout and said that more volunteers are needed. He said that retired teachers, police officers, and bankers are welcome to stop by and volunteer their time.

The organisation’s annual Scared Straight Prison Trip continues to make a difference in the lives of young men in the community.

Mr Seide, his wife Katie, and 30 boys returned home on Sunday after a week in New Providence, where they also competed in the “Peace in Da Streets” basketball tournament.

They took three teams over to compete in the under 13, 16 and 19 categories. The under 16 boys team won its consecutive championship title.

“We were very excited to have won in Nassau for the past three years because it shows that our (basketball) programme is working,” said Mr Seide, a former star high school basketball player.

But most important, he said, was their visit to the prison where the young men were able to see what the institution is like.

Keshaun Rolle said it was a real eye opener for the group.

“Prison is not a place we want to go; it’s hot and it smells bad. It really opened our eyes so that we don’t do things to go there,” he said.

Keshaun, a 14-year-old student of Jack Hayward High School, said he wants to be a professional basketball player like Grand Bahamian Buddy Hield, who was recently drafted by the NBA.

Carlton Pratt, 12, of Sister Mary Patricia Russell Junior High, said it was a good experience.

“It was my first time travelling with the group to Nassau and at the prison I saw some people there I knew, and it was heartbreaking, but they encouraged us not to be like them and to stay out of trouble.”

Mr Seide, whose first son is serving time in prison for murder, said he wants to stop other young men from going there.

He thanked Minister of National Security Dr Bernard Nottage for assisting them with accommodations in Nassau.

“I want to thank Minister Nottage, who often takes a lot of flack from the media about crime, for his assistance to us. I had 30 young men and he helped pay for their rooms. I also want to thank Mr R H Culmer (of Chances web shop chain), and all those persons who sponsored a plane ticket for a child, and who helped us with our cookout to raise money,” Mr Seide said.

This year’s trip was very costly and if we can stop one young man from going to prison, it’s worth it.”