20th July, 2026
NEWS RELEASE
KINGSTOWN, ST. VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES – The National Emergency Management Organisation (NEMO) will officially launch its 2026 Annual Youth Summer Programme next week, targeting children aged 6 -10 years old. This year’s schedule focuses on mainland communities, including Marriaqua, Owia, and Kingstown, as well as a dedicated group for the children of Civil Servants.
This initiative is designed to use interactive, fun-filled, and engaging exercises to promote learning of key concepts in hazard and disaster management. The Summer School sessions will officially kick off on Monday 27th July, 2026, and conclude on August 21, 2026, with the aim of boosting public education, raising awareness of hazards in the Vincentian context, and embedding foundational survival skills in the nation’s youth.
"Building a resilient nation requires a generational investment," stated Mr Kenson Stoddard, Acting Director of the National Emergency Management Organisation. "By teaching our children, at an early age, to understand localised hazards, map safe zones, use emergency communication devices, and respect maritime parameters, we turn them into active partners in disaster risk reduction within their households and communities."
The meticulously structured curriculum spans several focus areas:
- Disaster Science & Mapping: Participants will learn about geological hazards (volcanoes, earthquakes, tsunamis) and hydro-meteorological risks (hurricanes, floods, drought) alongside experts from the SVG Meteorological Services. They will also participate in community hazard-mapping simulations to trace evacuation routes and identify localised emergency shelters.
- Tactical Survival Skills: Children will undergo training in Kids First Aid—building personal homemade first aid kits —and practical emergency communications training using handheld two-way radios.
- Navigational & Field Exercises: Partnering with the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Coast Guard Service, children will learn compass-reading techniques tested via practical, coordinate-based treasure hunts.
- Safety at Sea: Thursday segments transition to coastal environments at White Sand Beach, Ratho Mill and Questelles Beach for water-safety training, beach-safety manoeuvres, and practical safety instructions facilitated by the Coast Guard.
- Educational Field Trips & Fun Days: Each week will culminate with an educational field tour on Friday to the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Meteorological Services at the Argyle International Airport to witness weather-monitoring equipment in action. Following the educational tour, the children will transition to the Rawacou Recreational Park for an outdoor fun day.
NEMO expects to train approximately 60 youths per district. The Ministry of Transport and Works will provide school bus transportation to safely transport youth groups between meeting points, the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Meteorological Services, the beach sites, and Rawacou Park.
Interested parents are urged to submit registration forms early through their local community leaders, school principals, or directly to NEMO Headquarters.
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