One life at a time

Last Friday, this newspaper ran a story about how 18-year-old Wendelle Lightbourne is turning his life around with the help of the Mirrors programme and his mentor, Lorna McGowan.

If you missed the story, then you can look it up on The Royal Gazette's website, www.theroyalgazette.com.

It's worth taking the time to do so, because many people in this community spend a lot of time bemoaning the plight of young people.

Often the tendency is to criticise young men in particular for failing to take advantage of the opportunities presented to them. Alternatively, someone else – schools, parents, the Government, the business establishment are blamed for their problems.

But while many talk, others do, and this is exactly what Mirrors – with the support of Government's Ministry of Social Rehabilitation is doing; helping one young person at a time to transform their lives.

Last week's story focused on Mr. Lightbourne and Ms McGowan. But there are other people out there just like them and there are many others just waiting to be helped.

Describing the experience, Mr. Lightbourne said: "For me it made me realise the importance in life. In life you have to do things on your own in order to get somewhere. At Mirrors they just try to make you a better person, and it works."

Ms McGowan said the young man had changed "... from someone who wasn't really sure about what he wanted to do, to someone who is now very focused, very driven, very determined and ambitious".

She added: "The reason I would call (Mirrors) a success is that for some of the young people that are currently in this programme, the results may not be realised straight away, but at some point after this programme, I am absolutely certain that both the young people and their family and friends will definitely see a change and improvement."

No one should see Mirrors as a panacea that will cure all of the ills among young people. But no one can dispute that it works, not perhaps in every case, but enough to say that slowly and surely it is turning people around, one life at a time.

That is all anyone should expect. Miracles don't happen that often. But hard work, commitment and the dedication of people like Mr. Lightbourne and Ms McGowan show that young people do not have to be written off or ignored. Even those who don't appear to care can change and be set on a path to a successful life. Mirrors is a programme that deserves support, not just from Government but from the community at large.

Any given Sunday

Bermuda's stunning upset of regional football powerhouse Trinidad and Tobago on Sunday demonstrates again that with hard work and desire, anything can happen on a given day in sport.

No one should forget that there is a second leg of this World Cup qualifying series to play and there can be no doubt that the "Soca Warriors" will come out determined to win. Bermuda will need its 12th man – the crowd – out in force and in full cry on Sunday.

But for the next few days, Bermuda's fans should take a moment to enjoy a victory that will go into the annals of Bermuda sport, and to reflect on the remarkable change that has come over a team that looked lost and disorganised just a few months ago.

Let's go, Gombey Warriors!