johnbrusly: Penn-O'Neal highlights VIP's contribution to developing youth in the ...

Thursday, September 29th, 2011 | BVI News correspondent

VIP Territorial At-large representative Irene Penn-O?Neal

Virgin Islands Party (VIP)?Territorial At-large representative Irene Penn-O?Neal says despite what is being said by the opposition, National Democratic Party (NDP), the ?VIP has done a lot to assist the youth in the past years.

Penn-O?Nea,l speaking at the campaign launch of Fourth District candidate Dr. Vincent Scatliffe, said the NDP accused the VIP of not doing enough for the youth since being ?in power and it is her intention to ?set the record straight.?

?The VIP governments have spent millions of dollars on youth affairs including education, sports, recreation, entertainment, creative/performing arts and other areas. No government or combination of governments in this territory has spent as much on educating our youth than this VIP government,? she said.

According to Penn-O?Neal, in the current term, the VIP ?doubled the number of overseas scholarships spending more than $6 million.

?We responded to the cries from our students by increasing the value of scholarships in England to the cost of living increases. ?We also increased the number of scholarships offered locally. We sent our youths to some of the best universities and colleges in America and England and they have rewarded us by doing well, including coming at the top or very close to the top of their classes,? she said.

The At-large representative added, ?the VIP has provided sports programmes, training and facilities for our youth to improve their athletics skills. We have provided athletic scholarships in basketball and track and field. Apart from scholarships, we have constructed and improved many basketball courts. We have sponsored several tournaments and upgraded the AO Shirley Recreation Grounds.?

She made reference to improvements at the Multi-Purpose Sports Complex. Penn-O?Neal also highlighted the performance of ?local athletes who have won medals in international and regional competitions in track and field and basketball. She also noted that almost 24 BVI ?athletes are studying and competing in US colleges.

Source: http://bvinews.com/bvi/penn-oneal-highlights-vips-contribution-to-developing-youth-in-the-territory/

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