August 12, 2012Dear Sir,White’s Island in Hamilton Harbour has been used by the Bermuda Amateur Swimming Association, the Bermuda Rowing Association, the National Sailing Programme and various other Government and non-government youth focused programmes for years. These swimming and sailing programmes are an enticing distraction from the overwhelming temptations of teens to succumb to peer and gang pressure. I would rather see the use of White’s Island committed to primary through high school aged children as I see this as a natural way for repelling gang related pressures.The advantages of having White’s Island used by various sporting groups outweigh the potential advantages gained from committing the island full time for over 20 years to a gang interdiction organisation intended for 16- to 25-year-olds at risk. First of all, we are in serious trouble if we foresee having this gang problem still plaguing our tiny island in 20 years. Further, a retreat for CARTEL should be exactly that, a retreat from the hustle and bustle of the Hamilton Harbour.Government grants have been pivotal to the integration of sailing and swimming, two sports which were once enjoyed only by the wealthy, similar to that of golf. It should be noted that the National Sailing Programme, which was once fully integrated, collapsed two years ago because Government pulled its subsidy and it could not survive on private donations and parent fees alone. Too bad none of the previous Sports Minister went down to Albouy’s Point during the early morning sailing camps collections from 2004 through 2008. They would have seen that it was no longer a sport enjoyed only by the elite.Not only should White’s Island be available to the public for youth-related programmes, but also for eco-tourism and entertainment. Why shouldn’t we all have access? Surely it is reasonable to suggest that the CARTEL organisation should not have sole ownership of a public island when there are so many other sporting bodies and charities.I believe CARTEL should be provided one of the many unused Government buildings under the purview of Michael Scott, Minister of Government Estates and Information Services. By offering a portion of land and a couple of buildings, this would also provide a mainland base which could be used for administrative, counselling, outpatient and residential purposes — a big enough place that would offer life skills in building a vegetable garden to sustain food for the participants. Woodwork and basic masonry skills could be taught in the process of fixing up the derelict buildings. One of the floors of the building could be committed to down time with ping pong, pool tables and music entertainment.Location for a part-time CARTEL retreat should be somewhere isolated and as close to nature as possible in order to restore the spiritual and mental health of its participants. Paget Island or the tip of Cooper’s Island is the types of holistic setting that would be beneficial to CARTEL participants. CARTEL should be allowed to use one island for a period of three months in a calendar year and another island for three months of that same year. This would enable CARTEL to offer two separate retreats a year.All of the islands that the people of Bermuda own should be property available to all organisations and no long term leases should be committed to any particular one. In fact any publicly owned land should not have lease agreements that lock more than ten years because Governments change. It is unfair to lock in land deals that affect generations to come such as the property given to the CoCo Reef Resort. That hotel once belonged to the Stonington College’s hospitality programme where Bermudian students had first hand experience as part of their training.Rev Bean seems to be an honourable man from my experiences meeting him in past Evangelical Christian circles. I would like to see that CARTEL is registered as a proper charity and monitored for accreditation. Vulnerable young men and women will be participating in this programme that has seemingly been sanctioned by Government. It is therefore Government’s Health Minister’s responsibility to see to it that checks and balances are in place to monitor the welfare of the participants of CARTEL’s programme; and the tracking of whether the success of its participants is ‘short-term’ or ‘long-term’ should be a collaborative effort between the Ministry of Health and Government’s Department of Statistics.CHERYL POOLEYSmith’s