Mya Quamie
ELEVEN-YEAR-OLD Kadeon Gittens, born with spina bifida, can no longer stroll. But that did no longer quit him from becoming a member of his classmates on the Tranquillity Authorities Predominant School, Port of Spain for a peace stroll on November 7.
His mother, Sylvia Gittens, pushed his wheelchair alongside Stanmore Avenue as the community made their technique to the Queen’s Park Savannah.
Gittens spoke to Newsday concerning the challenges her son has confronted as a victim of bullying. She acknowledged Kadeon has been pushed out of his wheelchair by college bullies multiple cases.
“There had been several incidents the achieve apart youth had been pushing him and pushing his wheelchair and I needed to handle it. I needed to head to the lecturers, the most important and the police to type out issues.”
She acknowledged while the bullying has stopped and issues are succor to celebrated, anti-bullying initiatives, like the peace stroll, are quiet most important for influencing the behaviour of scholars.
“It is occurring, bullying is going down, and we have to in discovering the message available in the market to the youth. They have to know that bullying is just not any longer ok and they have to quiet be a buddy as an substitute.”
Be a Buddy No longer a Bully turned into as soon as the theme of the stroll. Over 200 students from both Tranquillity and the Piccadilly Authorities Predominant School chanted the phrases as they waved indicators announcing, “Offer protection to the youth,” and “Discontinuance violence.”
Major of the Tranquillity well-known college Nicole Guy-Dunbar acknowledged the stroll turned into as soon as a response to violence and bullying in and across the college.
“We now luxuriate in got noticed an upsurge of violence internal our wider neighborhood…and now we luxuriate in got viewed evidence of bullying in our college and others.
“Our children possess from communities in East Port of Spain like Beetham and Sea Heaps, and we are no longer only seeing bullying amongst them, nevertheless the oldsters as effectively. Of us feel that principals and lecturers are doing completely nothing.
“So now we luxuriate in got started with this peace stroll and we are having our non-violence day on the brand new time as effectively. We now luxuriate in got moreover launched an anti-bullying marketing campaign.
“We are teaching and re-conditioning the minds of our students so they’ll search out substitute systems…As an substitute of resolving points with violence they’ll unravel it peacefully. And as our name is ‘tranquillity,’ we are looking out to imply for that kind of perspective in our students so they is also kinder.”
The most important of the Piccadilly well-known college, Meera Ramesar, acknowledged the stroll turned into as soon as section of a protection the college is imposing in collaboration with the Education Ministry.
“We are carrying on with a cultural transformation protection that is sanctioned by the Education Ministry and a type of insurance policies is ‘no to violence.’ So here is the achieve apart we are commemorating the UN’s Global Day of Peace with a peace stroll and it’ll integrate with the protection.
“This is to succor youth to be quiet and disciplined, because Piccadilly Authorities Predominant School stands for self-discipline.”
