J8 team and members of the Emerging Global Leaders of Barbados meet the Prime Minister of Barbados, the Honourable David Thompson
UNICEF UK/Barbados2009/Michael Cadogan
Fresh from their victory after being chosen to represent the UK at the J8 summit, UNICEF UK wasted no time in putting the four winning students from Haling Manor School in Croydon straight to work on their first assignment – visiting projects supported by UNICEF in Barbados.
Far from the images of idyllic beaches and 5 star accommodation that come to mind when thinking of this popular Eastern Caribbean island, Barbados faces many humanitarian challenges.
While most children in Barbados have access to basic social services like health and primary and secondary education services, many other Eastern Caribbean islands suffer a lack of access to early childhood education services, many young mothers do not return to school to finish their studies making it difficult to support their families and more recently, HIV and AIDS has emerged as a major challenge in the region.
Children and Young people are worst affected by the rising number of HIV cases in the region as the number who have lost their parents to AIDS-related illnesses is increasing. The number of young people suffering from HIV and AIDS is much higher than the number of adults. A 2006 study by UNICEF found that 40 per cent of 15-24 year olds did not use protection, leaving them at great risk of contracting the disease.
Check out this video from Channel 5 News.
Harry Phinda, 15, Birzi Saleh, 16, Melika Myers, 16, and Sara Saleh, 16
who beat stiff competition in our J8 competition earlier this year were able to witness first hand many of these problems during their week-long visit to the island.
Guided by Christa, Je-Meila and Dwain some amazing local young activists, the team were able to take part in peer education workshops in local schools and organisations led by the young Barbadians and interviewed Je-Melia – who represented the Caribbean and Latin America in last year’s J8 summit, held in Japan
From on-site visits highlighting the impact of climate change on the country’s delicate coastal system, to personal encounters with local young people affected by HIV and Aids, to meeting the Island’s Prime Minister, The Honourable David Thomson, the team, One From Many were able to see first hand the impact of climate change on the island’s eco system and learn about it’s effects for the economic and social development of the Eastern Carribean Islands.
- Watch this space for Video Diaries of Team One From Many’s trip to Barbados
- Worried about how climate change is affecting the planet and want to do something about it? Enter our Big Climate Callout Competition on Youtube
- Learn about UNICEF’s Unite Against Aids campaign
- Questions about J8 2009? Find out all you need to know here