St. Anthony’s College Young Leaders made Gift For Life Foundation proud Gift For Life Foundations admits that St. Anthony’s College is a college where young men are groomed into respectable gentlemen. This commentary was made after the college’s Young leaders hosted ‘ Miss Gift For Life Pageant 2014’. Prior to the pageant, the young leaders were actively involved in training 22 young girls from 8 orphanages to become successful delegates for the pageant which took place on Thursday 10th April 2014 at the Centre Of Excellence, Macoya. The events which were executed by Young Leaders of St. Anthony’s College assisted the young women to holistically develop in areas of self esteem, building of confidence levels, acceptance of the uniqueness that lies beneath all individuals, sensitivity to race, gender, diversity, inclusion and more importantly, learning of skills that will assist in the national development of Trinidad and Tobago. Events which took place since January 2014 – April 2014 include:
- Bird Sanctuary Outing –Sunday 26th January, 2014
- Rehearsal For Pageant at Amar’s Beach Resort and Sunset Beach Resort, Mayaro (Friday 4th – Monday 7th April 2014)
- Miss Gift For Life 2014 Pageant – Thursday 10th April 2014
- Valentine’s Dinner at St Anthony’s College. – Friday 14th February, 2014
- Educational Trip to Fort George – Sunday 23rd February, 2014
- Tour to Control Tower, Piarco International Airport- Sunday 9th April 2014
- Holi/ Phagwa celebration – Sunday 16th March, 2014
- Turtle Watching (Protecting the Turtles) – Sunday 23rd March, 2014
Young leaders were able to cover all dimensions of the theme “Diversity and Inclusion – a 21st Century Imperative” over a few months. President, Ishaq Ross and Vice President, Nicholas Moyou, admit that “ even though the project was extremely demanding and time consuming, we leant a lot. The girls have gotten a sense of recognition and were given a platform to showcase their learning experiences through their talents, cultural outfits, inner and outer beauty. We felt that the skills that were taught to the girls, benefitted both boys and girls in a dual fashion”. Young leaders hosted the pageant in ways that seem unimaginable to the young men of St. Anthony’s College. RBC officials, CNC3 TV, WIN TV and other dignitaries especially those from Miss Fabulous 2013, were pleased to see effect of teamwork and co- operation displayed by the young leaders through the smooth execution of the pageant. Young leaders announced: Miss Gift for Life 2014 as Delicia Lee from Couva Children’s Home Miss Junior Gift For Life as Zireen Gulston from Angel Michael Hostel for Youths 1st Runner Up as Tinelle Moore from Raffa Girls, Orange Grove 2nd Runner Up as Radica Ramlal from Casa De Corazon, Sangre Grande 3rd Runner Up as Natakie Bynoe from Ezekiel Children’s Home, Preysal Young leaders added that every girl is a queen and she left the pageant as a winner. When it comes to measuring learning outcomes and experiences derived from the RBC Young Leaders project, every girl is now viewed as a transformed figure of womanhood and she is now ready to smile and face the challenges of the 21st century locally, regionally and internationally.
