Grenada to get Youth Centre

by Michael Bascombe

NEW YORK, Nov 20, CMC – A New York-based Children Foundation says it will build a youth centre in Grenada. The centre is among various gifts Prime Minister Dr Keith Mitchell received here Sunday at a special event, organised by the Grenada Planning Committee, marking his 60th birthday. The youth centre, which is in tribute to the late Bartholomew J. Lawson, a former Grenada Ambassador-at-Large, will offer recreational, educational and health care opportunities for the children of Grenada. The Bartholomew J. Lawson Foundation for Children and the Windward Islands Research and Education Foundation, which is based at the St George's University, will coordinate efforts to ensure that this project takes hold and inspires the young people of Grenada to seek high goals and reach success. "Prime Minister Mitchell, you may consider this announcement a birthday gift, as we believe that our planned project reflects your vision of a forward-moving nation," said Dr Lawson. In addition, the President of Medgar-Evers College in Brooklyn, Dr Edison Jackson announced that two scholarships would be given to Grenadian students in honour of Dr Mitchell. "Mr Prime Minister, I know how passionate you are about education so this evening I would like to announce the establishment of a scholarship in your honour and you may select two graduating seniors who will graduate this Spring and they can enter Medgar-Evers College," Dr Jackson said. Despite the absence of Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister Patrick Manning and other high-profiled guests that were slated to attend the function, the Prime Minister and his special guest, his mother, were treated to tributes in words and songs. An array of artistes led by Grenadian-born Dr Slinger Francisco, the Mighty Sparrow, performed at the event.