Standing before a small audience at Sky Mall on Saturday evening, The Most Honourable Dr Corey Forde asked a question that hung heavily in the air: “What has changed in our communities from what was there before, and how do we stop ourselves from going down the road that we shouldn’t be going down?
It was a moment of pause during the Ammar Empowerment Network’s (AEN) Family Empowerment Meeting, held under the theme ‘Rise in STIs and the Impact on Youth’.
Months earlier, health officials reported a rise in gonorrhoea, chlamydia and syphilis infections, with the increase most prevalent among people in their twenties.
Though the evening focused on education and awareness, Dr Forde’s message went beyond statistics; it was a call for moral reflection and collective responsibility as he urged more Barbadians to get tested for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), stressing that knowing one’s status early is key to protecting personal health and curbing the spread of infections across communities.
The meeting brought together parents, youth leaders, church representatives and educators for a discussion and truth-telling. The group has worked for years to help parents and young people understand the importance of sexual purity and self-respect in their aim to blend moral education with mentorship and skill development.
For AEN, that mindset begins with returning to the values that once shaped family and community life, such as integrity, self-control and respect.
Directors Ambrose and Maria Carter (right) with volunteers Beverley Mayers and Shawn Callendar.
Directors of AEN, Ambrose and Maria Carter, said, “Our group has spent decades visiting schools, hosting youth workshops and running mentorship and skills-building sessions to give parents and young people a sense of direction and purpose.”
“Today’s challenges are rooted in the messages that dominate popular culture. Between social media, music and online entertainment, young people are constantly exposed to narratives that normalise risky behaviour. So our goal is to counterbalance those messages with an alternative, or rather the original message, and that is one rooted in sexual purity and morality.”
According to AEN, the solution lies in returning to principles that promote self-worth and discipline. Members have been working to reintroduce values-based discussions around sexuality with conversations that encourage empowerment through self-knowledge and restraint.
AEN members also reflected on the evolution of public health campaigns over the years, noting that while condom use was successfully promoted in the 1990s and early 2000s, moral and abstinence-based approaches were gradually pushed to the sidelines. The result, they said, “was an imbalance they have sought to restore through conversations that encouraged parents and youth leaders to see themselves as advocates for a new kind of empowerment, one that blends prevention with principle.”
The Ammar Empowerment Network plans to host similar forums in the coming months, expanding its outreach to include more young people, parents and faith-based groups. The aim, members said, is to build a movement of informed, values-driven citizens ready to make better choices and help others do the same.
As Dr Forde reminded the audience, “No one group can fix this alone. It is about partnership where every family, every community and every person is playing their part.” (DT)
The post Communities urged to take collective action to fight rising STIs appeared first on Barbados Today.
