ESHS student wins regional tourism competition
Naomi Onwufuju , a 16-year-old senior at the Elmore Stoutt High School, has won the title of Junior Minister for Tourism at this year’s Regional Tourism Youth Conference in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
This is the BVI’s first title at the regional competition, which is in its 19th year. Onwufuju competed against students from 13 other Caribbean destinations.
The 16-year-old’s presentation discussed three innovative strategies the BVI could undertake to develop and implement an initiative where tourism stakeholders and their allied partners can work together to enhance access, safety, use, and enjoyment of the destination’s tourism offerings by visitors with disabilities.
Second place went to Jordan Greig of Barbados, while Tobago’s Junior Minister of Tourism Jael Morgan was awarded the third-place award.
Fourteen member countries and territories of the Caribbean Tourism Organization participated in the Regional Tourism Youth Congress.
CTO Director Sharon Banfield-Bovell, lauded the youths for demonstrating excellence in their research, ideas and presentations.
“It is extremely evident that the future of Caribbean tourism is filled with great promise and potential in the hands of these future leaders,” she stated.
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OK then! Congratulations!
Big congratulations Naomi. You represented the territory, yourself and your family excellently. Proud of you. Keep striving. Keep achieving.
Congratulations young lady and I pray that you continue on that parth. You surely did the BVIs proud. God bless you and keep you under his protective wings.
How they say nothing good is in BVI especially with our youths and education system. Congratulations. BVI doing big positve things as usual.
It is great to see our young people excelling in academic excellence and excursions in the territory.
Huge congratulations are sent to the successful candidate. Keep on rising. Every platoon helps creates the army.
However, there are two elements worth noting within the discourse, and placing in the public arena for scrutiny, discussion and dialogue:
1) The winner is a female. And again, absolutely nothing is wrong with that. That is encouraged 100%. So don’t get the idea of the narrative twisted.
Meanwhile, and again, therein lies the result of the child rearing nurturing elemental practices that sees the female being completely sheltered, protected and raised to compete and succeed.
While, however, it is known sociological fact today, and a phenomenon whose roots are many and complicated, and goes back about thirty to forty years, that Black males in the Caribbean, diaspora, and the mighty USA, are less nurtured, sheltered, protected and raised to compete and succeed, neither from within the family structure and home nor from within the community.
This looking after, raising, nurturing, protecting and developing of just only one portion of the family unit, while leaving the other portion to fend for itself is a defeating child rearing practice, which must be recognized and acknowledged as a real problem, then processes put in place and in the minds of family makers to fix.
Unless the Black family is repaired and restored, and the Black child raising is focused upon and fixed society will continue to witness a the degradation of its sociological elements, societal values resulting in more dysfunctionalities, criminal elements increases and expansions of the judicial criminal elements of the society.
Hence, he child rearing practice of allowing the Black male to grow on his own recognizances, and development of his sociological, psychological, emotional development left to attain maturity through trial and error must stop.
Do it right, what ever we do.
Tourist board need to give this young lady an opportunity, the young people have ideas.
Onwufuju? How come you accept representation? Good enough to celebrate?
Bvi making Onwufujus now. What if the generational requirements? When ubgonna tell her you don’t want her in leadership role or government representative ? Should I tell her ?
Yayyy!!!
Congrats Naomi! It would be great if TB gave you an opp to present and execute on your ideas! Wishing you the best and so much success wherever you put your ideas and actions to! Bless UP
Congrats !!!