(CMR) The Boyz 2 MEN program board members, Founder Christopher Murray, Coordinating Officer Simon Miller and Director Seaford Russell Jr. met with the Minister of Education Hon. Juliana O'Connor-Connolly to receive $4,500USD.
The funds were granted and will cover a certification course in Psychology of Addiction and Recovery at Stanford Center of Health Education, which all B2M board members will take to help educate Cayman’s male adolescence participating in illegal substances.
“Everyone deserves at least one opportunity,” The minister said. “We as Caymanians will excel, we are resilient, we are optimistic, we always have an audacity for hope, and I do not believe that any child is born bad.”
According to a national survey on drug use and health, more than 43 million Americans over the age of 12 used marijuana in the last year, making marijuana the most common illegal drug used in the United States.
The survey also stated people who use marijuana prior to the age of 12 are more likely to experience a serious mental illness, including anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia, compared to those who first use marijuana at age 18 or older.
High Schools within the Cayman Islands have experienced various issues related to smoking marijuana, tobacco and vapes among students from year 7 onwards. Several boys (not to specified) within the B2M program are known to be smoking outside of school on a regular basis.
The course at Stanford Center of Health Education will broaden the knowledge of the three B2M board members (mentioned above), who currently act as life skills learning mentors to over 70 boys within John High School.
The minister went on to say: “I am more than willing to help because you all are our future and the future isn’t some decades away, It’s now. So, before we lose the next generation, let us invest in what will give us the best evidence and that is our human resources.”
“Those young boys are not born to be incarcerated, those young boys aren’t born to be in the graveyard, those young boys are born to be nurtured, loved and trained so when they are old, they will not depart from what God has given them.”
In addition, B2M Founder Christopher Murray thanked the minister for her contributions towards the program.
“Being able to meet with the Honorable Minister Julianna O'Connor-Connolly and Ms. Lyneth Monteith about the Boyz2MEN program was an absolutely great opportunity,” he said. “As we aim at advancing our impact on our boys. Undoubtedly our influence can only get better when we keep working together.”
The three members will start their studies with Stanford Center of Health Education later this month.
For more information, please contact [email protected].
- Fascinated
- Happy
- Sad
- Angry
- Bored
- Afraid