RISE Saint Lucia President Proposes Sports as Anti-Crime Tool

President of RISE Saint Lucia, Dr Venus Rastaman Cherry is championing the integration of sports as a key strategy to combat crime, describing it as a powerful yet underutilised tool.  Cherry, who credits sports with “saving his life,” recalled how a sports scholarship diverted him from trouble and ultimately opened the door to academic and professional success. However, he believes that many Saint Lucian youth, particularly young males, lack similar opportunities. “The challenges we face when trying to engage at-risk youth in sports stem from the perception that everyone is acting reactively rather than proactively,” Cherry explained. “When there’s a spike in crime, you see programmes from USAID and other organisations hosting short-term camps here and there. But once the camps are over, that’s it—there’s no continuity or consistency.” “These young people feel like pawns, used temporarily, and then discarded. They’ve been let down by the system so many times that they’ve lost trust in it. They no longer see the value in investing their time, effort, or energy.” Cherry – who heads the not-for-profit, non-governmental organisation dedicated to the healthy development of people, especially youth – believes that sports must become a more integral part of Saint Lucian society....