Programs, Projects and Activities
A broad array of projects and activities
Working from the origin of helping PLHIV, BMS-ASGS has grown to a foundation that strives to increase well-being, health, and quality of life for all living on Saba. To these ends BMS initiates (and is involved in) many projects. BMS strives towards efficient cooperation between the various organizations with similar objectives on the island and to be as inclusive as possible.
Below you can find a selection of projects we are and have been working on.
WE CAN Young
The global We Can campaign strives to end all violence against women. Through Movisie in the Netherlands a youth-focused variety of this campaign was developed for the Dutch youth. Through the ministry of OCW the campaign was also implemented in the Caribbean Netherlands.
The WE CAN Young campaign focuses on youth from 12-21 years of age and how they treat each other. Body, Mind and Spirit coordinates the WE CAN Young campaign, on behalf of the Public Entity, and executes it together with the Public Health Department, Centre for Youth and Family, Saba Reach and the Saba Comprehensive School.
In 2016 the students of from 3A, 4A and 5A followed a 10-workshop course with the creation of the video ‘Don’t Stand By when Boundaries are Crossed’, which can be found on Facebook and YouTube.
Celebrate Diversity on Saba Day
Saba Day is an excellent opportunity to celebrate what is so wonderful about Saba. Part of this is the incredible variety of people and how they live their lives. This spurred a campaign to Celebrate Diversity.
Breast Cancer Awareness
Every year students from the Saba University School of Medicine organize an activity for Breast Cancer Awareness, which includes a walk-a-thon from Windwardside to the University building. BMS assisted the organization and – together with the Saba Lions Club - helped out in making this a community-wide event.
Think Twice Movie Nights
Think Twice movie nights are designed to be a mix between education and entertainment for the students of the Saba Comprehensive School. This means that sometimes the main movie is one with a message, or a blockbuster is combined with a short film. A moment of reflection is also incorporated into the movie nights. These nights are organized by Body, Mind & Spirit, Centre for Youth and Family, Saba Lions Club and the Saba Comprehensive School.
The movies presented to the students in 2016 were:
Safe Sex Campaigns
Promoting safe sex is one of the core activities of Body, Mind and Spirit. Apart from making free condoms available at several key spots on the island (BMS office, Hospital, CYF, School, Health Insurance Office and Public Health Department), BMS provides condom machines at several spots as well (Topo Gigio, Guido’s, the Harbor).
Next to this permanent availability, BMS campaigns throughout the summer carnival by handing out flyers and condoms to the partying crowd. In 2016 more than 2000 condoms were handed out during Carnival week.
Pink Orange Alliance and LGBT activities
The Pink Orange Alliance (POA), which was set up by COC Netherlands, strives for acceptance of LGBT people on the six Dutch Caribbean Islands. Body, Mind & Spirit represents the POA on and for Saba and works on activities and events to get the LGBT community from being tolerated to being accepted. BMS strives to create a platform and an ‘open door’ for Saba’s LGBT community to voice their concerns, but also to move forward and create and/or find their place in Saba’s society.
In the context of the alliance and working towards acceptance, BMS also takes part in organizing movie nights, rainbow parties, educational projects and other unifying activities.
Bullying Prevention Program
In 2015 the Saba Comprehensive School asked the assistance of Body, Mind & Spirit in the setting up of a bullying prevention program. After researching various possibilities a choice was made for the OLWEUS Bullying Prevention Program. Part of this program is a community committee, which can support the school in solving the problem. BMS is part of this committee and assists the school where necessary. The program was launched in the summer of 2016 and is led by the Saba Comprehensive School.
Sister Talks
Together with various other organizations on Saba, Sister Talks have been set up, where successful women from Saba and St Eustatius come back to share with Saba’s girls what they think is important in life and how to keep growing.
Saba Initiative
In 2015 Body, Mind & Spirit was sponsored by Samenwerkende Fondsen to kick off the Saba Initiative in 2016. This is a course to train self-awareness and help participants find the balance in life to take action where needed.
The course has been developed and is spearheaded by Suchita Peeters. There are group sessions and individual session in which participants can find a way forward in their lives.
Breastfeeding Campaign
In 2016 The Public health department launched a campaign to promote breastfeeding on Saba. They are working together with BMS in facilitating breastfeeding by having pumps available and this campaign is entering the second year in 2017.Breast pumps are a useful support for breastfeeding mothers throughout the breastfeeding period. The breast pump that is available through PHD/BMS is intended for short periods only, for new mothers to experience the general benefits of a pump, and for moments when a breast pump can help overcome problems, for example:
Of course the campaign is not just about making pumps available. It is an integrated campaign with a focus on education of pregnant women and the community as a whole, house visits by the public health nurse with support for new mothers, employer support for breastfeeding employees and training of healthcare workers.
Human Rights Activities
Human Rights is an area in which BMS is growing, partly to make the people of Saba aware of what human rights are, partly to make sure every person on Saba has a fair chance at life. In 2015 human rights awareness was mostly focused on advertising surrounding important days as World AIDS Day, Human Rights Day & International Women’s Day.
A broad array of projects and activities
Working from the origin of helping PLHIV, BMS-ASGS has grown to a foundation that strives to increase well-being, health, and quality of life for all living on Saba. To these ends BMS initiates (and is involved in) many projects. BMS strives towards efficient cooperation between the various organizations with similar objectives on the island and to be as inclusive as possible.
Below you can find a selection of projects we are and have been working on.
WE CAN Young
The global We Can campaign strives to end all violence against women. Through Movisie in the Netherlands a youth-focused variety of this campaign was developed for the Dutch youth. Through the ministry of OCW the campaign was also implemented in the Caribbean Netherlands.
The WE CAN Young campaign focuses on youth from 12-21 years of age and how they treat each other. Body, Mind and Spirit coordinates the WE CAN Young campaign, on behalf of the Public Entity, and executes it together with the Public Health Department, Centre for Youth and Family, Saba Reach and the Saba Comprehensive School.
In 2016 the students of from 3A, 4A and 5A followed a 10-workshop course with the creation of the video ‘Don’t Stand By when Boundaries are Crossed’, which can be found on Facebook and YouTube.
Celebrate Diversity on Saba Day
Saba Day is an excellent opportunity to celebrate what is so wonderful about Saba. Part of this is the incredible variety of people and how they live their lives. This spurred a campaign to Celebrate Diversity.
Breast Cancer Awareness
Every year students from the Saba University School of Medicine organize an activity for Breast Cancer Awareness, which includes a walk-a-thon from Windwardside to the University building. BMS assisted the organization and – together with the Saba Lions Club - helped out in making this a community-wide event.
Think Twice Movie Nights
Think Twice movie nights are designed to be a mix between education and entertainment for the students of the Saba Comprehensive School. This means that sometimes the main movie is one with a message, or a blockbuster is combined with a short film. A moment of reflection is also incorporated into the movie nights. These nights are organized by Body, Mind & Spirit, Centre for Youth and Family, Saba Lions Club and the Saba Comprehensive School.
The movies presented to the students in 2016 were:
- ‘Rize’, a documentary about dance groups in Los Angeles that make the best out of their lives in gang-ruled neighbourhoods through krumping and clowning.
- ‘Miss Representation’, a documentary about gender stereotyping and misrepresentation of women in media.
- ‘But I’m a Cheerleader’, a comedy about a lesbian girl that gets send to a straight rehabilitation camp, which got the discussion about LGBT acceptance started
- ‘Live!’, a mockumentary about the development of a television show where participants could win 5 million dollars to play Russian roulette. A discussion followed about the value of a human life.
Safe Sex Campaigns
Promoting safe sex is one of the core activities of Body, Mind and Spirit. Apart from making free condoms available at several key spots on the island (BMS office, Hospital, CYF, School, Health Insurance Office and Public Health Department), BMS provides condom machines at several spots as well (Topo Gigio, Guido’s, the Harbor).
Next to this permanent availability, BMS campaigns throughout the summer carnival by handing out flyers and condoms to the partying crowd. In 2016 more than 2000 condoms were handed out during Carnival week.
Pink Orange Alliance and LGBT activities
The Pink Orange Alliance (POA), which was set up by COC Netherlands, strives for acceptance of LGBT people on the six Dutch Caribbean Islands. Body, Mind & Spirit represents the POA on and for Saba and works on activities and events to get the LGBT community from being tolerated to being accepted. BMS strives to create a platform and an ‘open door’ for Saba’s LGBT community to voice their concerns, but also to move forward and create and/or find their place in Saba’s society.
In the context of the alliance and working towards acceptance, BMS also takes part in organizing movie nights, rainbow parties, educational projects and other unifying activities.
Bullying Prevention Program
In 2015 the Saba Comprehensive School asked the assistance of Body, Mind & Spirit in the setting up of a bullying prevention program. After researching various possibilities a choice was made for the OLWEUS Bullying Prevention Program. Part of this program is a community committee, which can support the school in solving the problem. BMS is part of this committee and assists the school where necessary. The program was launched in the summer of 2016 and is led by the Saba Comprehensive School.
Sister Talks
Together with various other organizations on Saba, Sister Talks have been set up, where successful women from Saba and St Eustatius come back to share with Saba’s girls what they think is important in life and how to keep growing.
Saba Initiative
In 2015 Body, Mind & Spirit was sponsored by Samenwerkende Fondsen to kick off the Saba Initiative in 2016. This is a course to train self-awareness and help participants find the balance in life to take action where needed.
The course has been developed and is spearheaded by Suchita Peeters. There are group sessions and individual session in which participants can find a way forward in their lives.
Breastfeeding Campaign
In 2016 The Public health department launched a campaign to promote breastfeeding on Saba. They are working together with BMS in facilitating breastfeeding by having pumps available and this campaign is entering the second year in 2017.Breast pumps are a useful support for breastfeeding mothers throughout the breastfeeding period. The breast pump that is available through PHD/BMS is intended for short periods only, for new mothers to experience the general benefits of a pump, and for moments when a breast pump can help overcome problems, for example:
- at the start of breastfeeding if milk production needs to be stimulated,
- to temporarily relieve mothers that have breast engorgement,
- to temporarily stimulate milk production after mothers go back to work,
- to help infants who are temporarily too weak to suck.
Of course the campaign is not just about making pumps available. It is an integrated campaign with a focus on education of pregnant women and the community as a whole, house visits by the public health nurse with support for new mothers, employer support for breastfeeding employees and training of healthcare workers.
Human Rights Activities
Human Rights is an area in which BMS is growing, partly to make the people of Saba aware of what human rights are, partly to make sure every person on Saba has a fair chance at life. In 2015 human rights awareness was mostly focused on advertising surrounding important days as World AIDS Day, Human Rights Day & International Women’s Day.
