THE BOTTOM —‘‘Between us, it is nice to see a woman in charge for a change’’, said Jade Every, on behalf of the Youth Council Saba. 

The Saba Youth Council welcomed Dutch State Secretary of Kingdom Relations and Digitization Alexandra van Huffelen during a meet-and-greet event at Tropics on Tuesday evening, February 22.

Welcome speech

In their welcome speech, Youth Council Members Zakiya Lake, Bernardo Baker and Every shared their positive experiences so far in being included by different projects and initiatives, but also some of the challenges that they feel the youth of Saba are faced with. 

More attention

According to Lake, there is still much inequality and there are many topics on Saba that need more love and attention from the Netherlands. “There is a lot of work to be done when it comes to equal rights. I look forward to seeing the good changes and progress that you will bring to our island. Especially regarding poverty alleviation, mental health care, sports and other recreational activities for us teens,” she told the State Secretary.

More activities

All three Youth Council Members who spoke at the event with the State Secretary said that they would like to see more (recreational) activities for the youth. “We really want a youth center and we feel that the youth should be making the decisions about the youth center. Now that is not the case and the adults call the shots,” said Baker.“ There is not much here to do for us,” said Every.  

Visit The Netherlands

They also asked the State Secretary if they could meet with her when the Youth Council visits the Netherlands later this year, to which she immediately said yes. 
“Let’s do this. I would love to receive you. But I have to warn you, the Netherlands is only half as beautiful as your island,” she told the Youth Council members. The State Secretary received a token of appreciation from the Youth Council at the end of the presentation.