We will be featuring each of the Queen's Young Leaders of the OECS, their stories in youth development, their experience in being a Queen's Young Leader and their plans for their country. In this interview we speak to Trevis Belle of St Kitts and Nevis.
OY: For people across the OECS, who may not be familiar with your work, what youth programs/initiatives are you involved with in your country/across the region?
TB: I am the Founder of MADE St. Kitts - a youth group that raises the importance of youth being involved in volunteerism through different training, mentoring and development programs.
For example: In 2015, we initiated a Mentoring Program with 4 primary schools in St. Kitts where we paired them with 40 young persons from the 6th Form (Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College) who assisted with their academics to ensure they perform to the best of their ability.
We also launched social initiatives, in 2015 & 2016; we hosted our Anti Bullying Campaigns where we visited different primary schools & high schools to speak to the children about the effects of bullying. A video was also constructed as a part of our 2016 campaign. You can check it out here →
We also launched Project DIVE (Develop, Inspire, Volunteer, Empower) - this was launched to engage high school students in hands on volunteering experiences. This has also been duplicated in St. Lucia by the Male CARICOM Youth Ambassador - Charde Desir.
Also, in 2015 we expanded to 3 other Caribbean islands namely: Trinidad, St. Lucia & Grenada.
OY: What sparked your involvement in youth development and affairs?
TB: I’ve always been passionate about helping young people. Growing up in rural and difficult conditions in St. Kitts, taught me how to appreciate the smaller things in life, I for one was not happy with the conditions I was living in and wanted to change that.
I always saw myself as an optimist, I looked at the glass half full rather than half empty - my reasoning, it means I’ve already started putting something into this world and once I continue on the right path, I can continue adding and adding until it overflows with greatness.
My love for youth development grew so much that I was recognized as one of 25 Remarkable Teens in St. Kitts & also manage to secure the position of Alternate Male CARICOM Youth Ambassador which allowed me to get my message across ever clearer and the impact to be greater.
OY: Undoubtedly the Queen’s Young Leaders week was an unforgettable experience. What activity/event/experience had the greatest impact on you?
TB: Yes, yes, yes! What a life changing week! One I will definitely never forget. The experience was amazing, met so many incredible youth leaders from across the Commonwealth countries, learned about their projects and stories and shared a few laughs. It is so hard to pick just one thing that had a major impact on me, but here we go!
Firstly; Meeting Her Majesty The Queen and receiving the award straight from her hands at Buckingham Palace. When my name was called to received my award, I went stepped up, smile and her first words were: “Trevis, you are so young!” and I replied “So are you Your Majesty!” and she laughed, she then went on to ask me about my project and after explaining to her, she told me “What you’re doing is incredible, keep on inspiring young people and keep doing the best you can.” These words definitely cemented in not only my heart, but my mind as motivation to further youth development in St. Kitts & Nevis and across the region. Also, we got to meet Sir John Major, David Beckham and you probably won’t believe me, but the coolest Prince ever, Prince Harry (he was really chill and relaxed and funny!)
OY: What are specific tools/ideas/concepts from the experience were the most important/useful to you?
TB: We visited different organizations such as Twitter, BBC, Media Trust, etc. All of these visits basically emphasized on one particular thing, the way we tell our stories and explain our projects. We need to focus more on the ‘Why’ instead of the ‘What’. We should start with saying ‘Why we do what we do’. We were given intense media training on how to incorporate story telling in our messages as these are ways to hook persons in being severely interested in what we have to say. We must also have at least 3 key messages that’ll bring our point home. I think this would be useful as I can use it when pitching to possible funders and partners.
OY: How do you plan on taking the knowledge & experience you gained and applying it to your country/region?
TB: Presently, with MADE St. Kitts - we are in the process of launching our MADE Ambassador Programme. Through this programme we will recruit 6 young persons from across the island and give them practical training and experience to aid in their personal development, they will also be the ‘face’ of the organization as we will use them to speak on behalf of the group, attend different events, etc. We will also organize regional volunteer trips so these ambassadors can gain regional training and experience how it is to do volunteer work in other countries. We will also restructure our Project DIVE initiative to include the new information learned to ensure its impact is felt even wider across the region, for example; if we can have it implemented in two other Caribbean islands, that would be wonderful.
OY: What’s the next step for you? What can we expect to see from Trevis Belle?
TB: Hmm, the next step! Well, in July, I will be travelling to Busan, South Korea to be apart of the APCEIU UNESCO Youth Leadership Workshop on Global Citizenship Education in aid of further achieving Sustainable Development Goal - Quality Education. After that I’ll have some downtime then get ready for my Undergraduate Studies at Florida International University where I will be pursuing Communications. Don’t worry, I will still be doing youth work in the background as we will be launching our first MADE chapter in Miami this year, so that would be getting some of my attention as well.
OY: What advice/encouragement/message do you have to share with young people in the OECS?
TB: Always remember, your current situation does not determine your final destination. Follow your dreams and work smart and hard to achieve what you’re passionate about! Life will always throw challenges but in order to come out on top you will have to face those challenges with a positive mindset, remember YOU MATTER!
