[dropcap]C[/dropcap]ompared to the ill-behaved ministers of government and members of opposition in the House of Parliament, on Tuesday 12 September, the children of the Babonneau Primary School listened attentively to the teachers, policemen and even media personnel during an exciting event at their school. The neighbouring Babonneau Police Station, in collaboration with the Saint Lucia National Table Tennis Association (SLNTTA), set out to trigger smiles and laughter with the donation of sporting equipment. According to Acting Inspector of the Babonneau Police Station, Shervon Matthiew, “The Babonneau Police Station was developed as a community policing station and we’ve been going around looking for different projects that we could undertake when it comes to youth and sports.”
The bubbly students graciously received the gifts and effort and enlightened the STAR that they’d adored their relationship with their nearby police department from even before. Ping-pong balls were being splayed across the room in no time. Chris Wells, National Coach of the Department of Youth and Sports and SLNTTA informed that the next step is to prepare the physical education teachers and students for the upcoming table tennis tournament. Both Wells and Matthiew agreed that sporting activity is an effective way to curb criminal activities within youth by fostering productive ways to spend time, incubating discipline and providing opportunities to learn new skills.
A teacher from the school, Ms. Kittel Dubois, expressed her appreciation to both the policemen and SLNTTA for investing in the students and community.
