Several pre-schoolers were inspired last Friday by a Sangre Grande motorcycle police officer to do and become better little citizens and to always think positively about their future.
PC Darion Thomas, of the Sangre Grande Traffic Department, who has in the recent past, saved several toddlers and a newborn from near-death experiences, made the presentation to the little ones at Brenda’s Preschool, North Eastern Settlement, Sangre Grande.
The outreach was held under the theme, ‘My Future: What I want to be when I grow up,” which is part of the school’s mission to expose the pupils to a wide range of careers and jobs, such as policing, and even farming, tailoring, hairdressing, and taxi driving.
PC Thomas stressed the importance of listening and obeying their parents and teachers. The traffic cop also demonstrated home, road and personal safety procedures and shared insightful lessons with the group on avoiding danger.
He also encouraged them to be each other’s keepers, to respect and love each other and “be greater” versions of themselves.
The pupils were reassured that the police are their “friends” and “partners” in safety, with many of them expressing to the head teacher, Ms Tameelia Blake, that “I want to become a police!”
“Mr. Thomas came on time to the school and truly made an impact on our students,” said Ms Blake.
She added, “Some students, who were initially afraid of the police, were put at ease by his warm and friendly demeanour. His police motorcycle was a great joy also for the children, as he was allowed to touch and sit on top of the vehicle. Mr. Thomas made a great lasting impression on the students inspiring many of them to want to be police officers and serve their various communities. I personally would recommend that Mr. Thomas and the Police Service form this initiative to visit preschools and interact with this early-age group. I believe that this will foster respect and admiration for the police service from the upcoming generation. Thank you for allowing Mr Thomas to visit us.”
The outreach is one of many programmes already deployed by the Eastern Division, where police officers are working closely with all levels of our nation’s children to provide a positive role model and influence and assist and support them in their daily challenges.