Operation Future invited to address the Second Meeting of the Caribbean Basin Security INitiative )CBSI) Technical Working Group (TWG) Preventing Crime by Focusing on at Risk youths and Vulnerable Populations, Antigua and Barbuda, 28-29 February 2012.
Operation Future has been requested to address this conference and to specifically speak about Building Effective
and Sustainable Partnerships for Crime Prevention. This invitiation comes as a result of our innovatve secondary school intervention program "Back Against the Wall: A Course on Life". The partners necessary to successfully develop and introduce this program were both national and international as well as from a wide variety of disciplines. For more information on the program click on the tab "School Program".
By continuously working to expand our relationships and our knowledge base Operation Future hopes to be able to constantly raise the bar and develop innovating programs for the benefit of our communities.
Graffiti plays an important role in gang culture, it claims their territory, empowers the gang, intimidates the community, advertises their business can intimidates the community. Furthermore, it is an eyesore and is destructive to developing a tourism industry.
Operation Future and Delisle Walwyn has decided to enter into a partnership and address the issue of graffiti in a creative and meaningful fashion. They have decided to initiate a poster competition in the primary schools of the Federation, this competition will be an ongoing event and each school will have the opportunity to host its oven competition. The school will be presented with a theme, the students that present the poster that best represents the theme will be awarded a trophy and the privilege of having their poster painted on a wall in their community that is commonly plagued by graffiti.
The goal will be to take these eyesores and convert them works of art that are a tribute to the community and culture of our nation, with luck they will become a source of pride to the community and a tourist attraction.
We hope to launch the first of many competitions in March of this year and have the walls painted over the Easter Break.
In 2012 Operation Future launched its most ambitious
project to date called “Back Against the Wall: A Course in Life”. This project is outside the box and involved
several partnerships. The partners in
this project include Operation Future, Community Cohesion Foundation (Nevis),
Professor Nimmo, Department of Criminal Justice, University of Winnipeg, Regina
Anti-Gang Services, Shyne Studios, Her Majesties Prison, Delisle Walwyn, local
recording artist Nicha B, AD.vantage communications and the Cayon Secondary
School.
This is a seven week program targeting secondary school
students identified as “at risk”; the students were selected by the faculty of
Cayon Secondary school. The students
participating are not being identified as criminals or gang members, merely
students that need some additional guidance.
Changes in the students will be monitored following the program, if successful results are achieved Operation Future will develop a training program for volunteers over the summer with the goal of introducing a similar program in all secondary schools in Federation during the 2012/13 school year.
Operation Future is having its third annual Silent Auction fund raiser on January 29th from 7:30 pm to 10:30 pm at the magnificant Four Seasons Resort
Ballroom.
Ticket Prices are $25.00 EC, price includes, Hor
D'oeuvres and entry into the draw for door prize.
Included in the evening will be live musical background entertainment and a
presentation about Operation Future and their work with the youth of the
Federation.
This event is our primary fund raiser and has been fun for all.
As per last year Blue Water Safaris is making available the Ira Lime to transport our St Kitts supporters from Port Zante to the Four Seasons Resort, tickets to the Ira Lime are limited to 75.
If you are interested in supporting Operation Future by providing a donation please contact Joann at joann@sknoperationfuture.com or at 662 9888; tickets can also be arranged by contacting Joann in Nevis or P.C. Nikki Thomas at niiki@sknoperationfuture.com or at 668 4655.
Looking forward to seeing you there.
Rags to Riches through a great deal of community support and hard work was able to open in time for Christmas. In the picture you see Jamie MacMullin who assisted his mother, Joann and sister, sabrina man the store on December 22nd for the Christmas sale. Jamie had spent the previous couple of days placing flyers on the windshields of cars int he Rams parking lot to raise awareness while Joann, Sabrina, Miriam Knorr and others cleaned and got the store ready for opening.
In the background you can see shoppers goign through items displayed outside.
Through the great support of the community Rags to Riches is already well stocked with clothing, books, toys and other household items.
Operation Future thanks all those that participated in the making this drream a reality. This store provides a need in the community and also provides direct funding for Operation Future to continue working towards "Achieving Greater Achievement for Every Child".
There is no
doubt that St Kitts and Nevis, like the rest of the globe, is currently facing
hard economic times. The household
budget just does not seem to go far enough and there are few ways to increase
the household budget. However, the
demands of children and families continue and meeting these demands is costing
more.
Operation
Future’s motto is “Greater Achievement For Every Child”, however, how can we
expect great achievement from our children if they are being raised in a home
and community that is stressed due to economic pressures. So Operation Future has been busy trying to
identify a means to aid families in coping with the economic demands of today’s
world. Well, we are very pleased to
announce the opening of Operation Future’s Goodwill Store “Rags to Riches”.
The store
operates on the principle that one man’s throw away is another man’s treasure”,
and collects donations from the community.
The donations are then sold at affordable prices. The store will carry clothing and household
goods.
The store
will be located in the Ram’s shopping complex in Nevis above Courts and right next
door to Choice Radio. The Grand Opening will
be December 17th at 9:00 am to 1:00 pm. Operation Future has been able to open this
store through the generosity of Mr. Kishu Chandiramani, IFG Trust Services
Inc., and the volunteers who are supporting our efforts.
The goal is
to open the store three days a week from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm, Tuesday, Thursday
and Saturday, the store will be staffed by volunteers and the goal is to
operate with as little an overhead as possible.
Prices will
be affordable, however, even affordable is often out of reach in the current
economy and the goal is to fill a need, not to make money, as such the barter
system will be alive and well, if a mother needs size six clothes that the
store has, but does not have cash, however she has size four or five clothes
than exchanges can be done. If no
materials to barter but has time or skills that can be utilized by Rags to
Riches or Operation Future in delivering programs to the children than
something can be worked out.
Although the
goal is to fill a need it is hoped that some money will be made, funds raised
will be used to finance ongoing programs
offered by Operation Future.
It is our
goal that if we are successful with “Rags to Riches” in Nevis then, in 2012, we
will be able to offer a similar store in St Kitts.
We hope you will all support this venture and
help us fulfill our motto of “Greater Achievement for Every Child”.
If you wish
to support the program by making donations of clothing and or household goods
they can be dropped of at the store or call 469 7040 and ask for Joann or leave
a message with Sonia.
In our presentation on bullying we encourage youth that a "best practice" against bullying is to speak up and report. The most common response is who do we speak to, and often we are informed that when the issue was reported no action was taken. As such we recognize a problem what is the use of teaching children to speak up and report if there is no one who will hear or act. As such we have established an anonymous e-mail address stopbullying@sknoperationfuture.com where children can speak up and be heard. Upon receipt of the e-mail members of Operation Future will do the follow up.
We have had a number of request and have finally figured out how to do it. We have added a guest book page to the website and encourage all to leave their comments and suggestions. To find the guest book page just scroll down the list of headings on the left of the screen to "Guestbook".
Operation Future has declared November as "No Bullying Month", in an effort to eliminate this intolerable problem in schools Operation Future has designed a new presentation about bullying specifically targeting the students, accompanying this presentation is an informative brochure.
Beginning in October Operation Future plans on working overtime to get in as many schools as possible with the No More Bullying Presentation.
One of the fantastic and unexpected things that came out of the conference "Escape from the Abyss: Bringing Our Children out of the Gangs" which Operation Future hosted in St Kitts and Nevis in August was that Shyne Studios produced a video "Rags to Riches" shot in St Kitts & Nevis. The video is fantastic and shynes a beautiful light on our nation. Robert "Don Johnny", Joshua "Kno Tiz" and Mike "Flash G" thanks for the tribute. For those interested please check out:
Dr. Mary Jo Cannon faculty member of the University of Medicine and Health Sciences (St Kitts) and member of Operation Future is a medical doctor and maintains a masters degree in addiction counseling. Dr. Cannon recognizes a need for Addiction education int he Federation and recently launched "The Power of Choice - What is Addiction?" presentation. Drug education is commonly offered by Police Officers however, many of our youth a cynical about the information distributed when it comes from those whose job it is to eradicate drugs. Taking advantage of the expertise that can be found in universities such as UMHS Mary Jo has the information introduced by students of nursing and medicine. The students talk about the drug as well as the pathology of how it interacts in the body. The presentation made a positive impact and it is our goal that this is simply the beginning in due course we will have a comprehensive Drug and Addiction Awareness program in all our schools.
CARICOM was represented by Ms. Beverly Reynolds at Operation Futures conference "Rescue from the Abyss: Bring Our Children out of the Gangs" in August. Ms. Reynolds has been tasked with developing a Caribbean Community Action Plan for Social Development and Crime Prevention. Following her attendance at the conference in St Kitts & Nevis she identified Operation Future, RAGS and Chief Troy Hagen's community policing philosophy as best practices. As such CARICOM request Operation Future, RAGS and Chief Hagen to facilitate a four day conference in Georgetown, Guyana to introduce their programs and discuss how they could be best implemented in the Caribbean.
Photo is left to right Operation Future's Dan MacMullin, SKN Commissioner of Police C.G. Walwyn, Ms. Beverly Reynolds CARICOM Secretariat, P.C. Lauston Percival, President of Operation Future, Jacqui Wasacase, Director of RAGS, Chief Troy Hagen, Regina Police Services.
While at the conference Operation Future was asked if we would be willing to go into the schools in Guyana. Always looking forward to meeting and assisting more children Dan and Lauston jumped at the opportunity and so we were pleased to be able to present our gang presentation to a secondary school in Guyana. The response from the school and students was very enthusiastic. It clearly demonstrated that the children through out the Caribbean are interested in the information.
On the September 17th the Discovery Club traveled to Nevis to participate in the annual Ocean Conservancy's International Coastal Clean Up where they cleaned the beach from the Sea Bridge pier all the way to Coconut Grove Restaurant. A morning of work was followed by a barbecue and a good lime. The youth learn the value of looking after their environment and taking care of their country.
After a productive three-day conference on combating crime and violence,
‘Operation Future’, in partnership with the Regina Anti-Gang
Services (RAGS) out of Canada, staged a peace concert in
Basseterre.
The concert which was held at the
Independence Square on Friday 26th August began at 2:00pm but was
originally scheduled for Monday 22nd August. It was postponed when
RAGS members encountered travel difficulties in arriving to the island on
time.
RAGS members Joshua Steeves and Robert
Hurley, who are rehabilitated gang members performed at the
event.
The peace concert saw performances by
artistes like Footsy, Ashkenaz, Nicha B, Jungles and many
more.
There were also several former gang
members presently incarcerated at Her Majesty's Prison that contributed in the
form of skits and poems.
These performances were highlighted with
the literal burning of their former gang colours.
The host of the concert was Operation
Future member Andre 'Magic man' Phipps who also entertained the crowd with his
refreshing humor.
Conference introducing why a multidisciplinary approach is necessary to address the issues of youth, crime and violence, specifically the issues of gangs. This conference introduces some of the unique programs being utilized in Canada focusing on interdisciplinary cooperation, community policing and restorative justice as a holistic approach to heal the youth and the community.
Operation Future Promotes Concert in Support of "Rescue From the Abyss - Bringing our Children out of the Gangs" conference August 22, 2011
Youth From Molineux stage Anti-Crime March: July 16th
Recently we have heard a great deal about violence in the Federation, it seems gunshots can be heard day and night, however, few seem to be speaking out. Again our youth take leadership, youth from Joshua Obadiah Williams Primary School joined the Pathfinders and marched through Molineaux protecting the violence and pleading that youth turn to more positive and peaceful activities. Shoot Basketballs not People". Operation Future admires the initiative of these youth leading our nation and joined the march.
There is no question that the youth of the Federation seems to be fascinated by American Culture, unfortunately, they seem to be adopting the negative aspects of the culture which is materializing in many of the problems that we are facing. Operation Future has decided to try and capitalize on this fascination and introduce a positive aspect of American Culture, baseball and softball. Both are excellent sports, like many sports, teach many positive values necessary to achieve success and become positive members of the community. Furthermore, it offers one more activity to occupy our youth and help them steer away from idleness and the problems associated with youth and too much time on their hands.
We began this initiative in Winnipeg, Canada and through the assistance of people who support Operation Future's holistic approach and focus on early intervention we were able to gather 2 complete sets of equipment. This allows us to have sufficient equipment to establish a national wide league with equipment for players in Nevis and in St Kitts. As such we can introduce the sport at no cost to the children or their families as long as they do not mind sharing the equipment.
The objective is to establish two leagues 1. Operation Future's National Minor League In this league the game will be the more aggressive hardball played int he professional ranks in America. The initial league will target youth in the 9 to 12 years of age, and the league will be coed. The goal initially will be four teams in St Kitts and three in Nevis. Teams will be associated to communities as opposed to schools with the goal of building community spirit. There will be modifications to professional rules to make the game more age friendly and fun.
2. Operation Future's Family Fun League In this league we will also initially be targeting the same age group, 9 to 12 years, the difference will be each player will also have a parent or guardian playing on the team. The game will be the more laid back slow pitch softball game and will have the primary goal of quality child/parent time with the objective of fun for all including the community who will be encouraged to come out and watch.
We have the equipment, we have the desire, but we need some assistance, particularly coaches. Experience and knowledge of the game is not necessary the primary qualification needed is a desire to work with children and have some fun. We will have a few coaching clinics to teach fundamentals and games which will profile the basics of the game.
If interested please contact one of the following members of Operation Future:
On May 13th Operation Future's Dan was the keynote speaker at a three day conference, Questioning Justice in Interdisciplinary Times, at the University of Winnipeg, Canada. Dan spoke about Operation Future's holistic approach to addressing youth, crime and violence with a focus on community participation and early intervention. The response to Operation Future's approach was enthusiastic as participants acknowledged that the issues surrounding youth, crime and violence are social issues and must be addressed from a community stand point, focusing only on reactive, enforcement approaches fails to address the root cause and risks further alienation of marginalized youth and communities that could potentially aggravate the problem. A great deal of information was distributed through a multitude of panels over the three day conference and Operation Future hopes to utilize some of the information in addressing our issues in the Federation.
Mother's Day Initiative
Coming out of the Student Counsel Workshop hosted by Dr. Bronte Gonsalves at the Red Cross Building in Nevis on April 12th & 13 as a part of an End the Mayhem Campaign was a collaboration between the Student Counsels in St Kitts and Nevis and Operation Future. A suggestion was made to the representatives of the Student Counsels that Mother’s Day cards be distributed to the students by Operation Future, the front of the card is blank allowing the students to decorate with their own art, inside is a pledge to the students mother that they will stay gang free. The response from the Student Counsel was overwhelming.On Tuesday, May 10th members of Operation Future distributed 5,600 cards to the schools of the Federation at the request of the Student Counsels.
Operation Future Supports Special Olympics
Operation Future's motto is Greater Achievement for Every Child, Operation Future lives this motto in its own work and trying to assist other organizations who share a goal of assisting the youth of our Federation.
Ms. Elizabeth Smith of Café Des Art also shares a desire to assist the youth of our Federation and on April 23rd Operation Future teamed up with Café Des Art and launched a huge jumbo sale with the goal of donating the proceeds to Operation Future and the Special Olympics, the sale was a tremendous success as a result of a month of hard work by Elizabeth and Operation Future’s own Joann MacMullin. The generosity of the many people who donated items to be sold to benefit these worthy causes is greatly appreciated. Also appreciated was the support of the Nevis Historical and Conservation Society.
On May 3, 2011 Café Des Art and Operation Future donated $3,000 EC dollars to the Special Olympics moving our athletes one step closure to fulfilling a dream of competing in Greece in July of 2011.
Operation Future and Café Des Art would like to thank all those that supported this worthy endeavor and special thanks to Sabrina MacMullin who gave up her mornings during the Easter Break to help sort and price items that were donated.
In picture Ms. Elizabeth Smith presents a cheque to Mr. Randolph Boddie of the Special Olympics a cheque on behalf of Café Des Art and Operation Future for $3,000 EC dollars.
Operation Future works with Student Counsels
On April 13th Operation Future was asked to participate the workshop hosted for all the Student Counsels in the Federation of St Kitts and Nevis; Dan addressed the issue of "Improving Discipline at Your School - Identifying and Reporting Indiscipline". Operation Future used the opportunity to suggest to the student counsels that they consider a "Lets End the Mayhem Campaign" in their schools and to initiate the program Operation Future suggested a Mother's Day Initiative and the Cool Calvin No Bandanas for me books.
In the picture above you can see the children were quick to jump into Cool Calvin books. The students are also seen signing up for Mother's Day Cards. Operation Future has teamed up with Reign of Elegance, a non-profit modelling agency in St Kitts who host an annual "Mother's Day Hat Parade" this year at Port Zante. The goal this year is to raise awarenss of the pain mothers are suffering as a result of violence in our Federation. Ms. Telca Williams had suggested that we encourage the children to write poems to their mothers promising to be role models and stay away from bad behavior. Operation Future has decided to prepare blank Mother's Day cards for distribution int he schools, children can draw their own art on the front of the card, in side is the following pledge
Dear Mom
I have a bright mind
I have a good heart
I have a strong will
I know I am smart
I pledge today
To stay gang-free
And to uplift my village and country
No colours for me
I'm staying gang-free
With all my love
Students signs
Happy Mother's Day 2011
At the conference we had 29 schools sign up for the program and requested over 4500 cards. We also had the students indicate a willingness to ensure their mothers would come tot he Mother's Day Hat Parade at Port Zante on Mother's Day.
Cool Calvin Books
Operation Future used the opportunity to distribute the Cool Calvin Books described a little further down in this news column. We distributed three books to each primary school and a single book to each secondary school. When we ordered the books we did not appreciate the interest that would be shown by the secondary school. So it looks like somewheres in the future demand may necessitate bringing in additional books.
Operation Future Rewards St Pauls
The seventh Annual Rams Primary School track and Field Championship showed st Pauls Primary school repeating its 2010 accomplishment of breaking Beach Allen Primary school's historical domination of the meet and demonstrated they are more than a one hit wonder as they brought the title of Champions home fro a second year running. Operation Future believes in moral, mental and physical improvement and rewarded St Pauls Primary School with our own trophy. Presenting the trophy to st Pauls Primary school are our President P.C. Lauston Percival, W.P.C. Nikki Thomas and MagicMan.
Cool Calvin No Bandanas For Me
Operation Future is always seeking materials to assist our teachers to address the issue of gangs in the class rooms. Last year we found the "Street Peace Series" of childrens books writen by Crip co-founder Stanley Tookie Williams and raised sufficient funds to purchase a set for every primary school in the Federation, this series targeted grades 4, 5 & 6. Recently we found "Cool Calvin's No Bandanas For Me." This book targets children from grade one to three, in No Bandanas for Me, Calvin convinces a schoolmate that gang life would only lead to a life of strife. Calvin urges him to confide in his teacher, guidance counselor, principal and police in order for him to break away from gang affiliation. Valuable life lessons are learned in this book that will enhance the life of any child. In keeping with a consistent character education theme, there are lessons on empathy, responsibility, sympathy as well as civic duty. Calvin also makes children aware of how simply being an accomplice is a crime alone. He gives great advice on how to avoid becoming an accomplice as well as becoming adept at conflict resolution. This book has been a success in a number of educational institution in the United States.
With the generous assistance of Mr. Ralph Burgess and Burgess Publishing and Media Inc. Operation Future was able to purchase 90 books which we intend to begin distributing to every Primary school in the Federation after the Easter Break. We expect these books to arrive in the next couple of weeks and are excited to introduce our children to Cool Calvin.
Operation Future would like to the thank Mr. Ralph Burgess and all those who have financially assisted us in our endeavors to "Greater Achievement for Every Child".
Our President Returns Home
On February 12th our President Lauston Percival returned home from the cold norht, pleased to return to our more pleasant climate armed with a tremendous amount of knowledge having spent three weeks in the United States studing the issues of children in the Criminal Justice System, his trip took him through the criminal justice system of the United States all the way to personal meetings with members of the United States Supreme Court. A tremendous opportunity the following is a short description by Lauston of his experience.
The program was three weeks long and included visits to four states namely , Washington DC ,Reno Navada , Memphis Tennessee and Miami Florida. The program was called '' Children in the U S Justice System , the program participants came from countries around the world and who, in their professions that dealt with children, those in attendance came from a variety of professional backgrounds including judges, magistrates, lawyers, social workers, police, courtworkers and state prosecutors. We visited various facilities associated to the United States Criminal Justice System including the Supreme Court, United States Department of Justice, Youth Court, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Detention Centers for children, Schools,and NGOs that deals with children and of course the Police Headquarters in Miami. We met and spoke to the people who either run these Department/ Organizations or were the founders of such , We shared ideas in how each country systems works in regards to children. A little of fun time was available and so we did make use of it and did some sightseeing in each state, some of the places we visited, Waashington Monuments, Arlington Cemetary, Grace Land, Civil Rights Museum, Lake Tahoe, Mississippi River just to name a few. The program was an expereince for me in that the weather it was cold most of the time and I do mean cold saw snow for the first time , the amount of travelling , meeting different people from different cultures and it has changed the way I look at the US in that what you hear people say its not what you see. Some of what I saw and learned about I will try an implement here and help our youths to be better persons.
Second Annual Silent Auction
Operation Future will host its Second annual Silent Auction at the spectacular ballroom of th Four Seasons Nevis Resort on February 4th, from 8 pm to 11 pm. Tickets are $25.00 ec dollars and include admission, a complementary drink, Hor D'oeuvres and the chance for a draw on the door prize. The night promises to be enjoyable and your opportunity to support our work in your community.
Operation Future in Guyana
December 4th Operation Future's Dan MacMullin was asked to address the Fourth Meeting of the Directors of National Drug Councils at the CARICOM Secretariat in Georgetown, Guyana. Dan spoke about the importance of community involvement in devising strategies to address youth crime and violence particularly in the area of gangs.
Congratulations to PC Percival
Operation Future's own P.C. Lauston Percival has been selected by USAID to attend a conference sponsored by USAID and funded by Washington. An outline of the conference is below. PC Percival was selected as recognition for his outstanding community work and particularly his work with children as President, Founding and Active Member of Operation Future. The competition for this program is extremely strong and we are proud to see Lauston being recognized internationally for his work.
TITLE: Children in the U.S. Justice System
DATES: January 24 - February 11, 2011
This project for judges and attorneys, social workers, and NGO leaders advocating for children's issues, will examine the juvenile justice system in the U.S. It will also explore family law and custody issues, including the Hague Convention on international child abduction. Participants will compare best practices in advocacy and protection of children, and in dealing with young offenders.
St Lucia
Dan was invited by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to the Sub-Regional Consultation to Review the Draft Caribbean Community Social Development and Crime Prevention Action Plan held in St Lucia October 14th - 15th. Dan represetned Operation Future and Spoke on Restorative Justice.
Discovery Club is Launched
August 7th Operation Future successfully launched its Discovery Club for the youth of St Kitts and Nevis. Our first outing was to take the youth to Brimstone Fortress, please visit our new page "Discovery Club" to view the adventures of these youth.
Discovery Club
Well with the proceeds from our fund raiser Operation Future is planning a summer program for youth called The Discovery Club. The goal will be to enroll approximately 20 youth from St Kitts and 10 from Nevis, the program will target grades 4 & 5 students. The program will run for six weeks, one day a week and will include a morality program and activities to bring the youth back in touch with aspects of their community and nation to delvelop a sense of pride in their own country and heritage. In addition many of the events will require strength and stamina such as climbing the Nevis Peak and will develop a real sense of accomplishment. Shortly, we will include a dedicated page "Discovery Club" on this site so you can follow the adventures of this program.
Fund Raiser a Success
Well we had our fund raiser and first must thank the incredible generosity shown by the business community in St Kitts and Nevis. The assortment of goods donated, the facilities everything was tremendous and we thank you. Unfortunately, Old Man Weather failed to check the calendar and see the huricane season was not to be on us for a few days. Well the weather was a factor, sea swells prevent the Four Seasons launch from being able to safely dock at the Charlestown pier so our continent from Nevis was impacted drastically. The heavy rains and winds certainly detered the attendance of those from St Kitts as well. At the end of the day attendance was small but generous, those who attended reached deep in their pockets and had a great time. Operation Future would like to thank all those who contributed who made this event a resounding success.
Fund Raiser May 29th 2010
Operation Future has been working hard and has accomplished a great deal, but we have big aspirations to do great things to help our children and communities. We want to expand our educational and community programs, including establishing offices in communities so our members can be easily reached by those who can use our assistance. Our goal is to have a presence in community centers, the first being Conoree, to ensure these community centers are opened on weekends and properly supervised and equipped with gaming equipment and playgrounds providing a safe haven for our children and their families. Our long term plans are going to require funding and that is where Operation Future needs your help. On May 29th we will be having a silent auction at the Royal St Kitts Hotel and Casino, for more information see the "Silent Auction" page.
Thank you from Red Cross
Operation Future's Children raised funds to assist their fellow students in Haiti who are in need as a result of the Earthquake.
Members of Operation Future including P.C. Percival, W.P.C. Whattley, W.P.C. York, W.P.C. Thomas, W.P.C. Nicholas, W.P.C. Maloney, Retired W.P.C. Shaw, W.P.C. Powell and Magic man celebrated Easter Mass with Rev. Gumbs and the congregation of the Methodist Church. Operation Future would like to thank Rev. Gumbs and the entire congregation for the warm reception and friendliness shown its members and for making our Easter celebrations memorable.
We look forward to a continued working relationship with the Methodist Church.
March 3rd, Operation Future receives projection screen courtesy of TDC Nevis.
Our friends at TDC Nevis came through for us, Dan, on behalf of Operation Future, receives a donation of a projection screen from Mr. Ernie France of TDC Nevis. Thank you TDC.
Operation Future was invited to appear live on Choice FM on Friday, February 19th, 2010. we appreciate Choice offering this opportunity so we can get our message out.
Operation Future is now coming into your community.
On February 26th at 7:00 pm, Operation Future will be appearing at the Conaree Community Centre to talk about issues of crime, gangs and violence to members of the community how it impacts them and what we can all do to try and arrest this plague in our community. There is no cost for this event and we hope to see you there.
Operation Future will be in your livingroom on March 8th 2010
After a delayed start we are now once again on track for our television show through ZIZ, the show will take place every second Monday evening starting on March 8th, 2010. The intention of the show is to give the children and parents of St Kitts and Nevis a voice to discuss crime, violence and gangs and how it impacts them directly.
2010 is the year Operation Future comes to Nevis
Operation Future is expanding to Nevis in 2010 and will begin with Ivor Walters Primary School on January 29, 2010. We look forward to visiting all the schools in Nevis.
Street Peace Series of Books for the Schools Arrive
Operation Future believes it is important to provide resource tools to the schools for teachers and children. It may surprise many to learn that the co-founder of the Crips, Stanley "Tookie" Williams later renounced gang life and while living on death row at San Quentin State Prison decided to devote the remainder of his life trying to encourage children to avoid his mistakes and stay away from gangs.
Tookie wrote a series of Childrens books entitled "Street Peace Series" the books are intended to teach children the truth about gangs and gang life. Tookie was nominated for a Nobel Peace Peace Prize by a Government leader in Switzerland and for the Nobel Prize for Literature by an English Professor at Brown University for this series of books and his work with children while an inmate on death row.
Tookie was executed in December of 2005.
Through the financial assistance of the following people and corporate citizens Operation Future has been able to secure enough sets of the "Street Peace Series" so each primary school in the Federation will have a complete set for their library.
Our sincerest thanks go out to:
John & Sarah Terry and Family;
Mountpeiller Plantation Inn;
Patricia Reid-Waugh;
Four Seasons Resort;
Avi Sippy of Diamond island Jewelers;
Shelly Crosse;
Dan & Joann MacMullin and Family;
Digicel St. Kitts & Nevis;
Nisbet plantation Inn;
Oualie Beach Resort.
November 16th, 2009 Operation Future is coming to your livingroom.
Operation Future in partnership with ZIZ television and with the assistance of Digicel is launching a television program. Begining Monday, January 18th, 2010 Operation Future will be seen every second Monday on a one hour television talk show on ZIZ. The show will be hosted by Operation Future's own "Magic Man" and Dan MacMullin. Shows will include a live television audience selected from students and their parents from our presentations. If you wish to be part of the studio audience contact us at info@sknoperationfuture.comSee you in your livingroom soon.
Operation Future is having its third annual Silent Auction fund raiser on January 29th from 7:30 pm to 10:30 pm at the magnificant Four Seasons Resort
Ballroom. 
Rags to Riches through a great deal of community support and hard work was able to open in time for Christmas. In the picture you see Jamie MacMullin who assisted his mother, Joann and sister, sabrina man the store on December 22nd for the Christmas sale. Jamie had spent the previous couple of days placing flyers on the windshields of cars int he Rams parking lot to raise awareness while Joann, Sabrina, Miriam Knorr and others cleaned and got the store ready for opening. 
Through the great support of the community Rags to Riches is already well stocked with clothing, books, toys and other household items.
In our presentation on bullying we encourage youth that a "best practice" against bullying is to speak up and report. The most common response is who do we speak to, and often we are informed that when the issue was reported no action was taken. As such we recognize a problem what is the use of teaching children to speak up and report if there is no one who will hear or act. As such we have established an anonymous e-mail address 
We have had a number of request and have finally figured out how to do it. We have added a guest book page to the website and encourage all to leave their comments and suggestions. To find the guest book page just scroll down the list of headings on the left of the screen to "Guestbook".
Operation Future has declared November as "No Bullying Month", in an effort to eliminate this intolerable problem in schools Operation Future has designed a new presentation about bullying specifically targeting the students, accompanying this presentation is an informative brochure. 
One of the fantastic and unexpected things that came out of the conference "Escape from the Abyss: Bringing Our Children out of the Gangs" which Operation Future hosted in St Kitts and Nevis in August was that Shyne Studios produced a video "Rags to Riches" shot in St Kitts & Nevis. The video is fantastic and shynes a beautiful light on our nation. Robert "Don Johnny", Joshua "Kno Tiz" and Mike "Flash G" thanks for the tribute. For those interested please check out:
Dr. Mary Jo Cannon faculty member of the University of Medicine and Health Sciences (St Kitts) and member of Operation Future is a medical doctor and maintains a masters degree in addiction counseling. Dr. Cannon recognizes a need for Addiction education int he Federation and recently launched "The Power of Choice - What is Addiction?" presentation. Drug education is commonly offered by Police Officers however, many of our youth a cynical about the information distributed when it comes from those whose job it is to eradicate drugs. Taking advantage of the expertise that can be found in universities such as UMHS Mary Jo has the information introduced by students of nursing and medicine. The students talk about the drug as well as the pathology of how it interacts in the body. The presentation made a positive impact and it is our goal that this is simply the beginning in due course we will have a comprehensive Drug and Addiction Awareness program in all our schools. 
CARICOM was represented by Ms. Beverly Reynolds at Operation Futures conference "Rescue from the Abyss: Bring Our Children out of the Gangs" in August. Ms. Reynolds has been tasked with developing a Caribbean Community Action Plan for Social Development and Crime Prevention. Following her attendance at the conference in St Kitts & Nevis she identified Operation Future, RAGS and Chief Troy Hagen's community policing philosophy as best practices. As such CARICOM request Operation Future, RAGS and Chief Hagen to facilitate a four day conference in Georgetown, Guyana to introduce their programs and discuss how they could be best implemented in the Caribbean. 
While at the conference Operation Future was asked if we would be willing to go into the schools in Guyana. Always looking forward to meeting and assisting more children Dan and Lauston jumped at the opportunity and so we were pleased to be able to present our gang presentation to a secondary school in Guyana. The response from the school and students was very enthusiastic. It clearly demonstrated that the children through out the Caribbean are interested in the information. 
On the September 17th the Discovery Club traveled to 
After a productive three-day conference on combating crime and violence,
‘Operation Future’, in partnership with the Regina Anti-Gang
Services (RAGS) out of Canada, staged a peace concert in
Basseterre.
The concert which was held at the
Independence Square on Friday 26th August began at 2:00pm but was
originally scheduled for Monday 22nd August. It was postponed when
RAGS members encountered travel difficulties in arriving to the island on
time.
RAGS members Joshua Steeves and Robert
Hurley, who are rehabilitated gang members performed at the
event.
The peace concert saw performances by
artistes like Footsy, Ashkenaz, Nicha B, Jungles and many
more.
There were also several former gang
members presently incarcerated at Her Majesty's Prison that contributed in the
form of skits and poems.
These performances were highlighted with
the literal burning of their former gang colours.
The host of the concert was Operation
Future member Andre 'Magic man' Phipps who also entertained the crowd with his
refreshing humor.
Operation Future Promotes Concert in Support of "Rescue From the Abyss - Bringing our Children out of the Gangs" conference August 22, 2011
Operation Future used the opportunity to distribute the Cool Calvin Books described a little further down in this news column. We distributed three books to each primary school and a single book to each secondary school. When we ordered the books we did not appreciate the interest that would be shown by the secondary school. So it looks like somewheres in the future demand may necessitate bringing in additional books. 
Operation Future is always seeking materials to assist our teachers to address the issue of gangs in the class rooms. Last year we found the "Street Peace Series" of childrens books writen by Crip co-founder Stanley Tookie Williams and raised sufficient funds to purchase a set for every primary school in the Federation, this series targeted grades 4, 5 & 6. Recently we found "Cool Calvin's No Bandanas For Me." This book targets children from grade one to three, in No Bandanas for Me, Calvin convinces a schoolmate that gang life would only lead to a life of strife. Calvin urges him to confide in his teacher, guidance counselor, principal and police in order for him to break away from gang affiliation. Valuable life lessons are learned in this book that will enhance the life of any child. In keeping with a consistent character education theme, there are lessons on empathy, responsibility, sympathy as well as civic duty. Calvin also makes children aware of how simply being an accomplice is a crime alone. He gives great advice on how to avoid becoming an accomplice as well as becoming adept at conflict resolution. This book has been a success in a number of educational institution in the United States.
December 4th Operation Future's Dan MacMullin was asked to address the Fourth Meeting of the Directors of National Drug Councils at the CARICOM Secretariat in Georgetown, Guyana. Dan spoke about the importance of community involvement in devising strategies to address youth crime and violence particularly in the area of gangs. 
Operation Future's Children raised funds to assist their fellow students in Haiti who are in need as a result of the Earthquake. 
Our friends at TDC Nevis came through for us, Dan, on behalf of Operation Future, receives a donation of a projection screen from Mr. Ernie France of TDC Nevis. Thank you TDC.
Operation Future was invited to appear live on Choice FM on Friday, February 19th, 2010. we appreciate Choice offering this opportunity so we can get our message out.
