Grand Life Magazine Summer 23 - Flipbook - Page 36
FORWARD. UPWARD.
ONWARD. TOGETHER.
By: Grace Cooper - Junior High School Student at Sunland Baptist Academy
Junior High School Winner of the "Road to 50 - What Are We Celebrating?" School Speech Competition
On July 10th, 1973, our country became independent. Throughout the years, we have accomplished many milestones.
Especially considering that this is our 5Oth year of independence. We are celebrating the Development of our Youth,
our Women in Leadership and the mere fact that we are a more socially conscious society.
Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, “We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the
future.” The advancement for youth was once little to nothing. Over the years, youth have made tremendous advances
in education, sports and culture; we can even look at the many young people that participated in the recent Jr.
Junkanoo parade, this involvement displayed the raw talent of so many young people. Without the ministry of youth,
sports, and culture and numerous youth workers sacrificing their time to implement effective youth programs, the
developments we see today would not be here. Some of these programs include Youth in parliament, youth leadership
certification and National Youth Month initiative. Youth development is very important because it strengthens young
people’s sense of identity, belief in the future, self-regulation as well as social and behavioral competence. I have
personally benefited from such programs as a participant and FIRST PLACE Junior winner of the National Youth Month
Speech Competition. I have gained valuable skills in writing and public speaking that will stay with me for the rest of my
life. HERE’S TO OUR YOUTH!!
The celebration continues with our women in leadership. Women have fought long and hard for their rights and are now
leading In many industries. Before 1962, women were not allowed to vote or be in any political election. The first female
to run in the general election was Dame Doris Sands Johnson who was a teacher, suffragette and politician. She was
the first woman granted a leadership role in the senate. Since then, there have been many other phenomenal women in
leadership such as, Janet Bostwick, Cynthia ‘Mother’ Pratt, and The Honorable Ginger Moxey. As a result of women
being in leadership, it attracts a more diverse workforce. I think that is something worth celebrating!
Honorable judges, what else are we celebrating? We are celebrating people in the fight for social justice. The Oxford
dictionary defines social justice as, a theory that focuses on the concept of fairness in relations between individuals in
society. I am not certain about you, but it appears that even more people are becoming more sensitive and socially
aware of the need of social activism. This is evident through the many social justice programs such as, F.O.A.M. –
Families of All Murder Victims. This organization was started by Khandi Gibson in 2014 whose mission is to assist families
with resources in the aftermath of a violent crime by providing financial and social support. Another example is the
unfortunate story of baby Bella. Bella was a 4-year-old who was brutally killed due to child abuse. Here, Bahamians took
a STAND! They gathered on parks and street corners throughout their communities wearing pink and chanting “Justice
for Bella” this is act of social activism is truly something to celebrate!
Road to 50…what are we celebrating? Bahamians have A LOT to celebrate. Our youth are developing, our women are
leading and our people are becoming their brothers’ keepers through social activism.
Do you hear it?
Can you hear it?
Is that the sound of Junkanoo music?
Come on Bahamians, let us get our cowbells and celebrate the road to 50!
