Today Newspaper St. Maarten

Voice of Our Children releases anti-bullying bumper sticker

St. Maarten – Corporate citizen Nagico has partnered with local foundation Voice of Our Children (VOOC) to produce bumper stickers for the new academic year on the topic of bullying. The insurance company has been very supportive of all of the foundation’s initiatives since VOOC’s establishment in November 2011. The venture called “Stop Bullying” amongst youths will be distributed free of charge by the association’s members starting on Saturday August 25.

“Bullying is the behavior that threatens to harm someone verbally or physically and may be directed repeatedly towards victims. Bullying is a behavior particularly recognized in schools.  VOOC is therefore calling on the community of St. Maarten and its leaders to participate in creating more awareness to stop bullying as the consequences thereof could lead to emotional distress to the victims which may hinder social development, withdrawal and even contribute to suicidal tendencies of the victims,” VOOC Chairlady Sharmaine Olivacce said.
Olivacce added that during the Rights of the Child month, in November 2012, VOOC will focus primarily on “Stop Bullying”. Further information regarding the activities will be made available to the public in a subsequent release. The VOOC is an organization geared towards youth crime prevention.

“Voice of Our Children in collaboration with Nagico, would like to wish all students success for the new school year,” she added.

VOOC encourages the youth to become community oriented, to be aware of what is going on in local governmental and social scenes. Today’s youth are becoming more vocal and VOOC believes organizations such as its own are a great means to channel their interest in a positive direction.

VOOC is grooming its young members to be role models in the community, to have an interest in educating themselves, to help them become more outspoken and assist them with their reading skills.

The foundation hosts a weekly radio program and television news broadcast, sponsored by several local businesses. Its radio program for youngsters is hosted by youngsters on radio station PJD2 on Saturdays at 5:00pm and French Radio SOS 95.9 FM on Thursdays at 6:00pm.

VOOC’s television news broadcast is aired on Cable TV Channel 15 on Saturday’s at 7:30pm and on French television station MSR Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7:00pm. On its television news the youth members read the most recent news, keeping their peers abreast with daily happenings.