John Issa (right), head of SuperClubs, presents airline tickets to Duke of Edinburgh's Award leaders Floyd Reid (second left) and Fabian Graham (second right), while field officer for the award programme, Prince McNeish, looks on. - Contributed

Two outstanding leaders for The Duke of Edinburgh's Award Programme in Jamaica, Fabian Graham and Floyd Reid, were both sponsored by SuperClubs to participate in a sailing expedition in the Eastern Caribbean.

They were presented with airline tickets and travelling allowances by John Issa, last week. Issa is the chairman for the Board of Trustees for the award programme.

The leaders travelled last weekend to St Lucia after a brief stop in Antigua, where they met the national director for the programme in Antigua. They joined the rest of the Tall Ship crew in St Lucia where their sailing venture began. The Tall Ship is operated by the Silver Jubilee Trust. The leaders will be sailing for 10 days during which time they will learn a number of things involved in sailing a ship.

Initial contacts

Both Graham and Reid have been working with award participants who have been pursuing the award programme in schools, churches and community groups across the island. David Clarke, the regional director for the award programme in the Americas, made the initial contacts for getting the Jamaicans on the venture.

The Duke of Edinburgh's Award Programme is an international character development programme for young people, age 14 to 25, operating in more than 110 countries. Young people participate in activities such as giving service to the community, learning a skill, participating in recreational activities and going on expedition in unfamiliar territory.

Participants do these activities over a period of time in order to satisfy the requirement to get a bronze, silver or gold medal. They are also required to participate in a residential camp in order to get their gold medals.