Nova Scotia Takes 4-H Expertise to Barbados
AGRICULTURE/MARKETING-Nova Scotia Takes 4-H Expertise to Barbados
A Nova Scotia 4-H delegation took their expertise and skills to Barbados recently as part of an international training program.
A Nova Scotia leader and staff member visited the island nation between Dec. 2 and Dec. 6 and hosted a workshop that was attended by 30 Barbadian 4-H leaders.
The visit was the second phase of the training program, which is designed to revitalize Barbados's 4-H program. The first phase saw a Barbadian delegation visit Nova Scotia in October. The delegation toured the province and attended a provincial 4-H show in Truro.
"In Nova Scotia, we have always known that the 4-H program has been a training ground for many of our community leaders," said Ernest Fage, Minister of Agriculture and Marketing. "This is a fact that has not been lost on people around the world as they ask for our guidance in developing their own programs. The people involved in Nova Scotia's 4-H program should be proud of the work they have done and the international recognition they have received."
"We are proud that Barbados has chosen our 4-H program as a teaching model for their leaders," said Elizabeth Crouse, manager of 4-H and rural organizations. "The 4-H leaders from Barbados were impressed with our program when they visited here in October and saw they could use our expertise to redevelop their program."
The two-member Nova Scotia delegation took 50 years of combined 4-H experience with them to Barbados. Eva Landry has been a 4-H leader in Richmond County for 42 years and Rhonda MacDougall has spent the past eight years as a 4-H specialist with the Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture and Marketing's rural leadership branch in Cape Breton.
The workshop given by the Nova Scotians focused on program planning, leadership styles, motivating volunteers, managing financial resources and methods of program delivery the 4-H leaders can use in their classrooms. In Barbados, 4-H has been incorporated into the school curriculum.
This partnership with the 4-H program in Barbados builds upon the work done by Nova Scotia's 4-H program in other parts of the world, such as the Czech Republic.