Tecoya Warner, student of the Charles E Mills Secondary School, is the 2017 Junior Minister of Tourism after winning the 2017 Tourism Youth Congress. Photo courtesy of St. Kitts Tourism Authority. 

The future lies in the hands and minds of our children and what greater cause than the nurturing and education of our Federation’s youth.

Youth development is one of the Christophe Harbour Foundation’s key pillars of support, and as such, the company has donated more than $45,000 USD to youth development initiatives in the Federation in the past year.  From literacy and leadership to social development and tourism awareness, the Foundation is pleased to support many noteworthy organizations throughout the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis, including BHS ROC-90 St. Kitts Tourism Authority Tourism Youth Congress, and the Rotary Club of St. Kitts and Nevis.

BHS ROC-90

For 26 years, ROC-90 has been making a positive difference in the lives of students. The organization provides monetary support, mentoring, and professional development via a scholarship program for financially challenged students who show academic promise. Each student is assigned a mentor, who functions as an extended family member and facilitates all needs of students to ensure their success. ROC-90 has nurtured and developed many professionals in various fields including medicine, law, finance and IT. Students have been honored by HM Queen Elizabeth II as Commonwealth Youth Leaders, recipients of President Obama’s Young Entrepeneur Award, and recognized as state scholars.

L-R: Christophe Harbour VP of Operations Jon Gersonde at check handover ceremony with ROC-90 President Victor Williams and ROC-90 Executive Committee Member Peter Jenkins.  

Christophe Harbour Foundation has supported ROC-90 for nearly a decade and is pleased to see the program’s continued success in developing our nation’s youth. In accepting the donation, ROC-90 President Victor Williams expressed his appreciation. “I want to thank the Christophe Harbour Foundation for this contribution,” said Williams. “We want to continue showing that level of love, that level of commitment to the children of the nation. Every single dollar we get goes directly to the educational development of the nation.”

St. Kitts Tourism Youth Congress

The Tourism Youth Congress is an annual competition organized by the Caribbean Tourism Organization in conjunction with the Ministry of Tourism. Each year, students between the ages of 14-17 from five St. Kitts high schools gather to research various facets of the tourism sector and share their vision for the future direction of their country and the region’s tourism. Co-sponsored by the Christophe Harbour Foundation and the St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla National Bank, this year’s event focused on environmental sustainability.

Tecoya Warner of Charles E. Mills Secondary School was named the new youth Junior Minister of Tourism for St. Kitts and will go on to represent her country in the CTO competition in Grenada this October. Christophe Harbour is pleased to also be the sponsor of the delegation heading to the regional competition this Fall.

Permanent Secretary Carlene Henry Morton accepting check on behalf of the Ministry of Tourism with colleague Miranda Francis, coordinator of the local Youth Tourism Congress. 

Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Tourism Carlene Henry-Morton accepted the sponsorship on behalf of the ministry and expressed appreciation. “We express our sincere gratitude for [Christophe Harbour]’s generous and tangible support of this event, the National Youth Tourism Congress, as this event provides the youth of our country the opportunity to express their ideas and contribute to the dialogue on sustainable tourism.”

Rotary Club of Liamuiga (St. Kitts)

Since 2003, the Rotary Club of St. Kitts has lent an empowering hand to the community. The club is dedicated to service, particularly of the youth and the elderly. The Christophe Harbour Foundation has proudly partnered annually with the Rotary Club on a variety of projects, including The Dictionary Project, which it has sponsored since its inception in 2013.

The Dictionary Project ensures that all third graders in St. Kitts and Nevis receive their own personal dictionary. For 2017, the project will deliver more than 900 books, the Student's Eastern Caribbean English Dictionary and Gazetteer, across the Federation. The dictionary contains more than 32,000 words, a gazetteer with maps and facts about the world's countries and other useful information, all on approximately 450 pages.

Rotarian Natalie John delivering dictionaries. Photo courtesy of Rotary Club of St. Kitts. 

“Special thanks to our friends at Christophe Harbour and their foundation for making this project a reality yet another year,” said Rotarian Rhon Boddie.  “Thanks to their support, we can supply every third grader in the Federation with a personal dictionary.”

The Christophe Harbour Foundation

The Christophe Harbour Foundation is a charitable organization established by Christophe Harbour Development Company in 2008 to foster community outreach projects in the Federation. 

The Foundation is funded by a percentage of real estate sales and Christophe Harbour members share a vested interest in the growth of the community and the success of the Federation. Over the next two decades, through purchasing property, each new member will be contributing to the community enrichment funding that defines the Christophe Harbour Foundation's mission of supporting conservational, educational, recreational, cultural, historical, and social development projects that enhance the environment and lives of Federation citizens.