Guess where I found myself last Sunday? At Daybreak Assembly in Morvant for the award ceremony of the just concluded Youth Week.

My visit there was not in the capacity of a media worker, but the story I got from the evening is well worth a mention in this space.

Imagine, in an area that always makes the headlines for all the wrong reasons, young people were using their God-given gifts of singing, acting and preaching to “battle it out” with each other.

The Youth Week, organised by PAWI (The Pentecostal Assemblies of the West Indies), involved several churches in the North West District.

Each church was represented by a team of exuberant young people in numerous categories, including lip sync, memory verse, drama, sermonette and tract-writing.

Most of the participants rehearsed at their respective churches well into the morning to ensure that they made a good showing of themselves.

And while the youth of Daybreak Assembly took the lion’s share of the prizes, every young person in the church that night was a winner.

Their winning had nothing to do with first place, second place or third, but their choice to stay off the streets rather than bump up the crime statistics, and be positive influences on their peers.

My heart was silently rejoicing at hearing the pride each church took in its team.

From Daybreak Assembly’s chant of victory to the tune of the Ole Ole Ole Ole to Woodbrook Pentecostal’s lively rhythm section, which struck up whenever the team won a medal or trophy.

This kind of project provides a great foundation for the lives of young people fostering teamwork, high self-esteem and commitment to see a project through to its end.

I am glad that my eyes fell upon that great thing last Sunday.