In July 2010, ten adult chaperones are planning to travel to the country of Trinidad and Tobago for two weeks with twenty teenagers who range in age from 15 to 20 years old. Many of these young people come from an inner city, at-risk neighborhood in East Nashville, Tennessee and have never experienced groups or cultures outside of their local community. The Ray of Hope Community Church is sponsoring this excursion in order to expose these young adults to an international experience and another culture. They will be participating in community outreach and service in addition to the educational empowerment of Trinidadian young people.
Partnering with Sobo Independent Baptist Church and First Baptist Church will allow our young people to be in relationship with teenagers from these local community churches in Trinidad. Both groups will have peer group conversations about HIV/AIDS and sexuality with young people in the surrounding communities of Grand Couva, Trinidad. In addition to these conversations, both groups will also be volunteering at a local orphanage with HIV/AIDS babies and will create an HIV/AIDS stage production to address the stigmas around HIV/AIDS in these local communities.
Funding will cover the costs of travel, room and board, and local transportation for the adults and young people in our group. We intend to cover the cost of room and board and local transportation for our Trinidadian hosts. With our financial resources, we will additionally buy materials for the “give-away” packages that will include HIV/AIDS information, condoms, etc. to be handed to community members who attend the stage production.
