Solving Crime Through Culture programme, founded by the children’s mas band Zebapique Productions, has positively affected the lives of many in East Port of Spain, according to its stakeholders.
The programme is under the patronage of Sharon Rowley, wife of Prime Minister Dr Rowley, Justice of Appeal Malcolm Holdip, and sponsored by Republic Bank Ltd and the Ministry of National Security and several other companies.
Insp Terrence Burris, head of the Inter-Agency Task Force’s (IATF) Hearts and Minds Unit said the programme was a welcomed addition to the unit’s many activities as it introduces the youth to TT’s Carnival culture, and channels their energy and focuses them away from gangs and violence.
And he believes the band and the unit have had a marked effect in the communities they serve, producing tangible results.
[caption id="attachment_997059" align="alignnone" width="1024"] US ambassador Candace Bond gets her hands dirty as she and Republic Bank's general manager, group marketing and communications Karen Tom Yew assist with the wings of the Dragon Hunters costume at the Zebapique's Productions bands mas camp in Petit Valley on January 14. - JEFF K MAYERS[/caption]
“Over the years, we have no record that any of the young people who have moved on from the Zebapique programme, ended up in a life of crime. That is encouragement for us to continue, to go deeper and to seek other stakeholders to get on board.”
In addition, he said there has been a reduction in murders from 176 in 2006, when Hearts and Minds became an official unit, to 36 in 2021, as well as a reduction in shootings and woundings in the 53 areas of operation.
What started as a way for two brothers to give back to their country, has expanded from affecting around 30 children and their families to over 400 children.
Andrew Alleng, bandleader of Zebapique Productions, explained he and his brother Antony Alleng, a former Carnival King, started the band in 2004.
“You know anything you’re suffering with the first thing they tell you to take is zebapique (a plant which has a bitter taste when boiled) to cure it. So for Carnival, we see it as a cure for a lot of the ailments that is taking place in the country.”
Solving Crime Through Culture targets high-risk areas in East Port of Spain and its environs, children and parents go to the band’s mas camp in Petit Valley every Saturday for three months to help make the costumes. These children get to meet new people, make friends, learn about the country’s culture and play mas, free of charge.
[caption id="attachment_997060" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Band leader Andrew Alleng shows Sharon Rowley, wife of prime minister Dr Keith Rowley, costume pieces at the Zebapique Productions Ltd children's band mas camp in Petit Valley on December 3. - JEFF K MAYERS[/caption]
“This year we are taking children from 18 areas and mixing them up so that, by the end of Carnival, they would know people from 18 different areas, remo
