DYS Director Says They Were Stuck in Mud
On the phone: Kevin Cadle
Acting Director of the Department of Youth Services, Kevin Cadle, explained the challenges that resulted in the chaos at Camp D’Silva on Wednesday. According to Cadle, he and another organizer got stuck on the Mountain Pine Ridge Road when their vehicles got bogged in the muck from overnight rains. Notwithstanding the unfortunate experience, he says that the effort towards brokering peace among these at-risk youths continues.
On the phone: Kevin Cadle, Acting Director, DYS
“Everything was going pretty smooth and we had our plan in effect. Like I said, it’s a multi-sectoral approach and all plans were being effected, however, around Wednesday, the first thing that happened was the inclement weather and, based on the weather, the first thing during that period of time is that the vehicle that I was traveling in could not have made it back to D’Silva. From San Ignacio Town to D’Silva, I realized that based on the works that were being done on the road the vehicle could not have made it back, based on the type terrain. And so, I was stuck on the road for about five to six hours. I got an opportunity to get back in town and so I tried to coordinate from in town to send back our rations. We could not have sent up all the rations that we had because of the fact that we did not want stuff to spoil on us and so forth. Later on that particular day, on Wednesday, we had another setback whereby one of the camp directors going forward, he had the same, similar situation like me where he flew off the road and was in a ditch from about ten o’clock the night until five o’clock in the morning. So we had to look at mitigation and plan all over in terms of what we had to do, and so ration was not with the guys for about twenty-four hours or so. Along with Mr. Chester Williams and General Ortega, we planned on how we would have been able to get food to the guys after all the circumstances that were taking place because Mr. William Dawson, myself and two of our drivers could not have made it back to D’Silva with the food supply that was supposed to go back there. And so, two of us, Mr. Dawson and myself were unable to be there and I think that was where a little bit of friction started when the young men felt that we were not around. So that was the situation. Forty-two of the fifty young men that were supposed to go to the camp had actually participated and they were doing pretty well up until the time I left there which was on Wednesday. We are not going to stop, the weather is not going to stop us. The thing is that we’re on a roll and we will continue to do what we want to do. We know that if we continue doing this our country will be able to have peace. We want peace, we are pushing for peace and we know that the young men want peace as well.”
