PARENTS, KIDS, AUA FACULTY, AND STUDENTS MAKE BARBUDA FUN DAY LIVE UP TO ITS NAME

Student-Initiated Outreach Effort Featured Games, Face-Painting, Art Activities, and Meditation

Recovery in the wake of Hurricane Irma is expected to take years to complete, and the children of Barbuda have quickly become a part of the fabric that makes up our community here in Antigua. In response, more than 40 AUA students gathered to organize an outreach event with programming dedicated to these kids. Barbuda Fun Day, hosted on October 21st, was a huge success.

Roughly 60 children from four shelters gathered at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium to participate in games, art activities led by Dawn Roberts from AUA’s Education Department, face-painting, and, along with their parents, a meditation session led by Associate Professor Dr. Dewey Meyers, who teaches Behavior Sciences and Neuroscience at AUA.

Aisha Siddique, AUA’s Student Government Association (SGA) President and Jermaine Rumble, President of the AUA Ambassadors, were instrumental in organizing the event. “We put this together for the kids, but honestly, I think we had just as much fun as they did, if not more!” Aisha said.

The student organizations that participated in coordinating Barbuda Fun Day included AUA’s:

  • Student Government Association
  • AUA Ambassadors
  • Christian Orthodox Student Association
  • Football club
  • Fit club
  • Family Medicine Interest Group
  • Internal Medicine Interest Group
  • Oncology Interest Group

Student-led initiatives like this bring AUA even closer to the communities of Antigua and Barbuda. The enthusiasm we saw on the faces of the children that afternoon was infectious and encouraging. We hope Barbuda Fun Day leads to even more engagement between the university, the community and specifically, the evacuees.