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KANEOHE, Hawaii - As 10-year-old Deantoni Gordon attempts to walk through a small obstacle course blindfolded on the field next to the Military Police Department, a chaotic chorus of shouts swarm his head as his peers try to steer him in the wrong direction.
But Gordon is ignoring them all and concentrating on the sound of Krystal Colon’s voice. The crowd cheers and applauds as Gordon steps over the last hurdle. The children engaged in this trust building exercise on the last day of the first phase of the Drug Education for Youth program.
Eligible children ages 9 to 12 enroll in this two-phase prevention program, which begins with an eight-day summer camp from June 20 to 28, and continues with a series of monthly meetings from August 2011 to May 2012.
The purpose of the program is to teach children how to avoid risk-related behavior, such as using illegal drugs or joining gangs.
Through classroom discussions and hands-on activities, the children not only learn about drugs and gang culture, but also learn skills such as conflict resolution, decision making and team building.
This group previously made excursions to various places on the island, including the Pacific Aviation Museum, and frequently engaged in physical activity, such as the President’s Challenge, which involves exercises such as pull-ups, sit-ups and running.
Although military children are given preference for this program, civilian children are allowed to participate if there is enough space. Applicants are received on a first come, first-served basis. The program is free of charge and meals are provided. The children will also receive items such as a lanyard, shirt and water bottle.
Leroy Contee, the Drug Abuse Resistance Education and Drug Education for Youth coordinator at the Military Police Department, has managed the program on base for the last two years. Along with Contee, mentors and junior mentors volunteer to work with the children throughout the DEFY program. While several of the mentors are service members from the base, the junior mentors are former DEFY graduates.
“I always wanted to do a program like this,” said Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Derek Miles, intelligence specialist, Commander, Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing 2.
Miles, of Houston, said he likes to work with children and seeing them participate in activities like DEFY is a reward all on its own. He said one of the important skills the program teaches is teamwork.
“When children look at superstars, they see a lot of individuals,” Miles said. “With DEFY, we show them how to work as a team. It takes a team to get that person to that level of success.”
Through DEFY, Miles said the children have the opportunity to interact with each other. Some children may be enrolled in DEFY with a sibling; Miles said the staff separates siblings to give them a chance to meet others.
“They get to see a lot more personalities,” Miles said.
This year, the children were split into teams. Each team decorated its own flag. Throughout the program, the children have a chance to compete for ribbon awards to add to their flag such as “Team of the Day,” and “Individual of the Day.”
Kona Hinojosa, 11, of Waimanalo, is enrolled in the program. He likes everything about the program from the field trips to the mentors to the outdoor activities. Though he considers DEFY a fun program, it can also be challenging. Hinojosa said at the end of each day the children are asked questions about what they learned.
Krystal Colon, 10, enrolled in DEFY for the first time this year. She enjoys the program’s Wednesday water activities, which include water balloons. She said her first day was fun, as she and her team, “Purple Venom,” designed their flag.
“[DEFY] will make you smart, and it’ll show you how bad it is to use drugs and how it could mess up your life,” Colon said.
The Navy Drug Demand Reduction Task Force started DEFY in 1993. There are now 59 DEFY program locations in the United States and other countries. The DEFY program was implemented at MCB Hawaii in 2001.
Call 257-6972, or send an email to leroy.contee@usmc.mil for information about DEFY. For general information, visit http://www.public. navy.mil/bupers-npc/support/nadap/ DEFY/Pages/ProgramDescription.aspx.
| Date Taken: | 07.01.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 07.01.2011 23:05 |
| Story ID: | 73134 |
| Location: | KANEOHE, HAWAII, US |
| Web Views: | 376 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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