Special needs youth earn GGYA Bronze Award

Mon, Jul 19th 2021, 08:30 AM

When they embarked upon a two-day/one-night hiking trip away from home, it was anyone’s guess how things would work out for nine teens with different disabilities.

Would they learn to work together on a Governor General’s Youth Award (GGYA) adventurous journey requiring a minimum effort of 12 hours? Could they make decisions on their own?

“I really wondered how they were going to mesh,” said Jynda Bain, a teacher at The Beacon School in Grand Bahama, who helps run the unit. “I think they did such an awesome job, even though we chose a leader before they left. In some cases, there was no clear leader. Each one instinctively took a turn leading.”

More than 30,000 young people in The Bahamas have passed through this program for non-formal education and learning. This, however, is only the second special needs group to accomplish such a feat. In 2012, the first cohort of Bronze recipients also came from The Beacon School.

GGYA serves as the local arm of The Duke of Edinburgh’s (DoE) International Award, which requires participants across the globe to increase their fitness levels, volunteer in their community, develop skills, and cultivate a sense of adventure.

Support to The Beacon School is funded by a grant from the DoE International Foundation to allow more at-risk youth, including young people in reform schools and those with greater levels of special educational needs, to participate in the program, which equips people ages 14 to 24, for life.

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian

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