This years’ event is once again organized by the Providing Access to Continued Education (PACE) Foundation, Lyford Cay Foundation’s FOCUS programme and Bahamas AIDS Foundation and is made possible through the generosity of the FTBL Charitable Foundation, our major partner, and the Sandals Foundation.

PACE is a special school for teenage mothers, Bahamas AIDS Foundation has an after school support programme for children living with AIDS and the FOCUS programme is an out of school tuition free, enrichment programme aimed at preparing public school students for college.

So all three groups work with young persons facing challenging circumstances who receive character education as part and parcel of their development. The idea behind bringing Character Day to The Bahamas and making resources available to all schools is to support all our nation’s children on the front end as a way of helping young people cope with the challenges that come their way in this ever changing world.

Character education can better prepare students to weather the storms they may face in their young lives.

Younger persons often view difficult events as has being bigger than they are. Our team works to support and partner with educators to create character education plans at schools where none exist and to strengthen existing programmes. When I think of character, the following questions come to mind. 

What do we do when no one is watching? How do we treat others that we believe cannot do anything for us?”

At this time in our history, here in The Bahamas, I think character education is ever important in helping persons to cope with the challenges faced in our society.

We are currently facing an epidemic of death of persons between the ages of 30 and 65 due to non-communicable diseases.

Premature death is common due to heart disease, cancer, traffic accidents and crime.

This tragedy leaves a trail of sorrow, confusion and financial pressure. With loss becoming so commonplace there is a tendency to devalue life.

Often persons feel a sense of hopelessness. We need intentional character education now more than ever.

Schools have a captive audience of our nation’s children for several hours each day. So we need our schools to be a place of refuge, a solace where children can feel loved and appreciated no matter what is happening at home, a place where children develop their own character strengths or superpowers.

Character education is important then for the entire school staff including administrators and support staff so that they can all work together to foster a school climate that encourages growth and learning.

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