St. Peters – On behalf of the Dutch Representation Office (VNP), head Chris Johnson, presented members of the Sint Maarten Youth Brigade with ten new bikes to support their recently launched bike team.
“The bike team will play an essential role in ensuring order, safety and assistance during youth-related events, such as parades and sports-tournaments,” explains Rupshen Long, Sargent Major. Long will lead a team of selected youngsters through rigorous training in the next few months to instill the necessary skills to be a member of the bike team.
The Sint Maarten Youth Brigade has 60+ members between the ages of 12 and 21. The members commit to full-time training with the Youth Brigade, which includes mental, physical and social sessions four times a week for three years.
Doris Wilson, President of Sint Maarten Youth Brigade: “Some think that we only focus on physical trainings, while actually, teaching life-skills plays a much bigger role.”
All members must live by the seven (7) core values of the St. Maarten Youth Brigade: good conduct, responsibility, team spirit, professionalism, reliability, and commitment and leadership skills. “I believe that it’s through these core values, in addition to creating a safe environment, that we manage to see big positive changes in our participating youngsters,” Wilson adds.
“I’m very impressed with all of the work that Sint Maarten Youth Brigade is doing for our community. Coordinating such an extensive after-school program, takes a lot of dedication. I am happy our office was able to support their work,” commented Johnson, as he presented the bikes to the Sint Maarten Youth Brigade bike team.
