Weed whackers hummed loudly all along Lewis Street as the summer heat beat down on residents and volunteers participating in the Children’s Haven of The Bahamas (CHB) sponsored community clean-up of the area.
Adolescents navigated wheelbarrows piled with trash through the street, stopping to pick-up plastic bottles and cans strewn along the side of the road as they went. Spring cleaning was in session.
The Lewis Street community beautification effort is just one of the outreach initiatives CHB has spearheaded in the East Street area in recent months.
“This is exactly what we need in this area, consistent initiatives that encourage the residents to have pride in their community,” stated Valentino “Scrooge” Brown, a grass-roots community activist.
Brown, who lives on Lewis Street, plans to open a community centre and museum that gives visitors to Nassau a glimpse into the important part ‘over the hill’ played in the development of The Bahamas.
While less than half a mile long, Lewis Street is home to several sites with great historical significance. A home on Lewis Street was visited by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during his visit to The Bahamas in the late 1950’s.
In the afternoon following the Lewis Street clean-up, the CHB team and resident volunteers headed to the corner of East Street and Masons Addition to host the second installment of Cinema in the Park, a complimentary movie screening for children in the Bain & Grant’s Town area.
The event, the brainchild of Beat Schlagenhauf, a Bahamian resident of Swiss heritage was sponsored by Tristar Insurance Agents & Brokers Ltd., LionKing Bahamas, The Island House and Central Food Fair.
Children enjoyed complimentary refreshments including popcorn and the ‘Hay Street Slider,’ a refreshing fish burger made from locally caught lionfish and a tomato and mango salsa.
The film Why Do Jamaican’s Run So Fast entertained the audience and educated the children on the immense opportunities available to them through sports.
“The goal of the cinema is to educate children through media in an entertaining way that engages them and encourages them to come back,” stated Schlagenhauf. “If we can inspire some kids then they will start dreaming and having a vision for their lives and that is the most important thing.”
Cinema in the Park is a part of CHB’s greater initiative to provide a safe space where children can have a hot meal, a space to do homework, intensive sports training and a focus on the arts.
“I would like to contribute something to this wonderful country that is now my home,” stated Schlagenhauf. “I have a moral obligation to this country, not to just enjoy the beautiful climate. I have a moral obligation that if I see something that is not right then I should do my part to start fixing it.”
Schlagenhauf launched the Children’s Haven Bahamas in 2014 with The Hon. Dr. Daniel Johnson, Minister of Youth, Sports & Culture and entrepreneur Elaine Pinder. The organization’s mission is to re-ignite hope in young persons through positive projects that educate them on a variety of disciplines including sports, the arts and conservation.
