1000Man committee, (back) Craig Brown, Vince Conolly, Osborne Bodden,Doss Solomon.Front, Craig Merren, Chris Saunders, Dale Ramone, James Mylesand Mike Cansell
Up Front
1000 Man March-
Applauded for success
1000Man committee, (back) Craig Brown, Vince Conolly, Osborne Bodden,Doss Solomon.
Front, Craig Merren, Chris Saunders, Dale Ramone, James Mylesand Mike Cansell
The augural 1000 Man March went off on schedulewithout a hitch on Wednesday, beginning at the Smith Oval on ThomasRussell Way.
Though no exact numbers could be determined,,organisers have estimated that somewhere in the region of 500men made the walk through town.
The brainchild of Doss Solomon, the1000Man March was triggered by recent events in the community, highlightingthe decline of young men in Cayman's society.
"Men have the responsibility of beingmentors and role models in our society," said Doss Solomon,the chairman of the 1000 Man March Committee.
"I expected a bigger turnout. Everyonehas a lot at stake in our community," he explained.
Keynote speakers for the event were Ministerof Education, Hon. Roy Bodden; Olympian, Kareem Streete-Thompson;Nathaniel King; Dr. Ivan Henry; Lee Ramoon; and Rayle Roberts,who gave personal experiences or insights into the community.
Dr. Ivan Henry, who has a PHD in sociology,said: "Instead of putting the pressure on the family to knockit into some ideal type structure, we should strengthen the communityto give support to whatever family structure there is, to performits function. Men have a very important role to play in restructuringthe community."
Mr. Osbourne Bodden, one of the organisorsof the March, said he thought that Dr. Henry's speech seemed totouch a cord within the crowd on the Courts House steps: "Dr.Henry is a West Indian and seems to have a good understandingof what is happening in this country."
"We did not have any idea of the amountof people, but at the end of the day we felt it was successful,that we had achieved something," he added.
"The concern that we have is the problemswith the youth. We believe that fathers, or males in the communityshould take a more active role. We realise that we cannot legislatethese ideals so, that is why we organised the March," heexplained.
"We are very concerned that the fabricof our society is being torn apart," he concluded.