11/04/2026
🌿 A Day of 100s … and so much more.
I had the honour of attending the centennial anniversary of the Youth Training and Rehabilitation Centre (YTRC), held on the 100th day of the year, April 10th 2026, actually a symbolic double 100.
It was truly a pleasure to be invited.
And yet, as I left, I carried a quiet feeling… that I had received much more than I gave.
The day was deeply moving.
Hearing the voices of the young men, some of whom I worked with during 2019–2020, was bittersweet.
There is a certain comfort in knowing they are safe…
and at the same time, a longing for their freedom.
What stood out most was the organization’s intentional choice to mark this milestone as a day of thanksgiving 🤍
Not spectacle. Not ceremony alone.
But gratitude.
The Prison Choir rendered selections that were both tender and powerful. The steelpan orchestra invigorated the entire space with each note carrying something deeper than music. Seeing both the male and female residents playing the national instrument, their bodies conveying happiness and purpose was a quiet, answered prayer. There were years that the instruments were unused.
Commissioner Corraspe wove together a tapestry of reflection, blending familiar quoted melodies with the lived realities of the institution’s 100-year journey. Rev. Dr. Des Vignes and other religious leaders shook the gymnasium with declarations of hope and well-being.
But perhaps the most moving moments were the expressions of gratitude. Residents, both present and past, called out the names of officers and staff who had impacted their lives.
The thanks did not come once nor twice.
It came again… and again… and again. So many times Dr. Wendell Lewis has been referred to as a father to all of the residents.
In that space, the institution felt alive, not just as a place, but as a continuum of people and compassion.
One moment, in particular, will stay with me.
A young man spoke about his time at YTRC, sharing that his greatest burden was being arrested on Mother’s Day… disappointing his “Queen.”
He broke down.
And almost instantly, a choir member sprung forward, held his arm firmly, and stood with him as he continued.
That… is what stayed with me.
Not just the programmes. Not just the structure.
But the human response.
My own connection to YTRC goes back much further than my formal work. In 2003, early in my teaching career, I visited the institution and met with the then Superintendent, hoping to volunteer as a tutor. I was forthwith given a tour of the classrooms and the small library at this time. I was ready. They were ready. But when I shared this with my parents, they were not comfortable, and that door closed at the time
Looking back now, I see that the pathway wasn’t denied, it was simply delayed.
Years later, from 2016 onwards, I had the opportunity to contribute meaningfully to the work there, through several organizations – The Children’s Authority, The United Nations Development Programme and The Opening Lotus.
And standing in that space this week, I was reminded that some callings find their way back to you.
As I left, I didn’t feel too much pride in what has been done.
I felt something else, a deep compulsion to do more. To give more.
And perhaps that is what spaces like YTRC do at their best.
They don’t just rehabilitate.
They call something forward in all of us.
So grateful to have been present 🌿
