PRESS RELEASE – ST. LUCIA Electricity Services Limited (LUCELEC) is partnering with RISE (St Lucia) Ltd and the Castries South community of Ciceron to pilot the national “Safe Spaces” Programme. The initiative will create safe physical and emotional spaces that are important for the nurturing of children, fostering business and improving the quality of life in select communities.
LUCELEC will contribute fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) to the pilot project. Corporate Communications Manager Roger Joseph says, “We all aspire to live in a community that is safe, a place where we can grow our family, put down roots and have the best life possible. The Safe Spaces initiative seeks to deliver this, and in a way that is community driven. LUCELEC thinks it’s important to help make this happen. ”
The Safe Spaces programme will involve developing and training a network of community leaders, school and community peace building, engaging youth in communities and schools in creating exciting positive content for media news and shows, community mobilization and engagement in sports, dance and freestyle competitions, and community discussions. Community involvement is essential to the programme’s success says RISE Director Dr Stephen King.
“A defining aspect of this programme is the engagement and involvement of the people of the community in identifying and designing their vision of the community themselves,” says Dr. King.
The overall aim of the programme is to reduce violence in schools and communities by providing leadership, conflict resolution and coping skills, and alternative positive activities in at-risk communities like Ciceron. The pilot project has support from the Ciceron Secondary School, the Ciceron Development Committee, the St. Lucia Social Development Fund, the Ministry of Equity, Social Justice and Empowerment, and the Member of Parliament for Castries South, Dr Ernest Hilaire. Dr.Hilaire says LUCELEC support for the project continues the invaluable philanthropy the company is synonymous for. He also called on the Ciceron residents to be the change they want to see.
“I want to thank LUCELEC for providing support to RISE Saint Lucia Inc. to start this pilot project. Such support is invaluable and a powerful statement of LUCELEC’s commitment to worthy causes. The first step towards ensuring the success of the Safe Spaces programme is to inspire the persons to be transformed that it is for a better life and a better community. They have to believe that what is being proposed is better than what they have now. There will be no progress unless people can see the necessity to change and work towards transforming themselves,” Dr.Hilaire added.
LUCELEC will support Safe Spaces through the LUCELEC Trust. The contribution will go towards training in conflict resolution, leadership development, and alternative channels for creative energy (dance and freestyle competitions) in the schools and community, as well as some equipment for the implementation and documentation of the various aspects of the programme.
The Safe Spaces programme was launched in June.