THE Kiwanis Club of North St Andrew on Tuesday launched the group’s 73rd Builders Club at St Andrew Preparatory School, marking another significant milestone in youth leadership and development.

The occasion also saw the launch of a Positive Attitudes, Courtesies, and Ethics (PACE) pilot project which is aimed at transforming the minds of young Jamaicans in alignment with the Vision 2030 National Development Plan.The charter ceremony saw treasures, secretaries, vice-presidents and presidents for Builders Clubs and K-Kids clubs from 11 primary, preparatory, and kindergarten schools participate in a mass installation process for students in Divisions 23 Central and 23 East.The Builder’s Club objective is to provide students with opportunities to develop leadership skills, increase civic engagement, and learn life skills through service. K-Kids gives kindergarten children opportunities to work together on service projects, develop leadership potential, and create strong moral character.

Principal of St Andrew Prep Dr Carol Blanchard used the opportunity to emphasise the urgent need to continue promoting and developing leadership programmes like the Builders Club to address challenges in the Caribbean’s education system.“I heard on the news that the education system in the Caribbean is in crisis and today I believe that if the education system is in crisis in Jamaica and the rest of the Caribbean, we ought to ensure that these leadership activities, these leadership organisations become a part of the canvas to correct the problems and the ills we have in the Caribbean,” said Blanchard.

She said her early exposure to the Kiwanis Club played a key role in her development as a leader and encouraged students to make use of the skills they will gain to leave a positive impact on Jamaica’s society.“Each of us have work to do. We have work to do because we need to ensure that our world is a better place for others to live. We can only do that when we are putting our hands on deck…Your steps, though tiny, can make a significant impact in your sphere and so I encourage you to build,” added Blanchard.

Registrar of the Independent School’s Unit at the Ministry of Education, Sharon Hunt, agreed with Blanchard as she argued that Builders Clubs are critical tools in fostering positive attitudes among students.

Acknowledging the challenges in the education sector, Hunt noted that the continuation of this initiative in schools serves as a platform in which students can improve their attitude and behaviour.

“The Ministry of Education knows that one of our biggest challenge is not necessarily academics, it’s not necessarily the subjects, [but] it’s the attitude of our people that we must now instil to make good citizens, good neighbours, good community members, and good international beacons. With a club such as this we are on the way, we are making giant strides to ensure that at least a small section of our community, a small section of our country will understand positive attitudes, courtesies, and ethics,” said Hunt.

In the meantime, governor of the Eastern Canada and Caribbean District of Kiwanis International, Pamela Rodney White, and president of Kiwanis International, Lee Kuan Yong, who were present, emphasised Kiwanis’s dedication to character-building among young people.

Yong reflected on the significance of Jamaica’s national anthem and how its message aligns with Kiwanis’s core values.

“This morning I got a copy of the lyrics [the national anthem] and the words are very powerful, very meaningful, and for the Builders Club, for the K-Kids Club, this is the start of you learning these words. ‘Teach us true respect for all, stir response to duty’s call, strengthen us the weak to cherish, give us vision lest we perish.’ Those four lines, I will repeat them everywhere I go because those are the same kind of things that we as Kiwanis members, as Key Club members, as Builders Club members strive to emulate and try to achieve,” said Yong.