Basseterre, St. Kitts, November 17, 2015 (SKNIS): Senator Honourable Wendy Phipps observed that more males than females were awarded at this year’s 25 Most Remarkable Teens Awards presentation, while commending Athwon Blackett on attaining the significant recognition.
Minister Phipps noted that as she sat through the proceedings she had perceived several patterns that spoke to the caliber of young persons who were awarded.
“One of the things that struck me this evening is the fact that we have infront of us, a departure from what has been traditionally the presentation along gender lines in terms of performance and achievement of our young people,” she said. “And in this note, I wish to draw attention to the fact that of the 25 Remarkable Teens we have in this house, 16 are males and nine are females.”
She further noted that in recent years there have been many comments stating that young men are in moral and social decline.
“In recent years we have heard many comments, in terms of leaving behind our young men, the fact that the prisons are overcrowded predominantly by young men, the fact that murders are committed by young men, visiting such agony and anti-social behaviour on other young men,” Minister Phipps said, noting that the reversal in terms of statistics is indeed commendable.
Another pattern of significance was that a predominantly large number of the young awardees said that they had dedicated their lives to Christ.
“In the case of Mr. Blackett, he made his decision at age 11,” the Minister said. “He has pursued that with dogged attention in terms of his commitment to his church, the Wesleyan Holiness Church in Stapleton. And we have seen from the profile that he has taken on a number of leadership challenges and decision-making roles in that church. We have also witnessed the fact that he has chosen to develop a love for the performing arts especially in drama and also in music in terms of being a trumpeter.”
Minister Phipps remarked that she was impressed with 17 year old Blackett’s rational behind his choice of professions, describing it as “amazing.” She reflected that “he has decided to become a general surgeon to be able to bring healing and restoration of health to persons in need of help, and I would hope that going forward he would know that he is relying on the Great Physician to give him the ability to pursue that noble career.”