There is a large proportion of young people in Barbados aged 15 - 24. Recent legislation in response to the economic crash has meant young people struggle to access quality education and opportunities, evidenced by the fact that unemployment has risen to beyond 15%. There has been a noticeable increase in gun violence and crime culture - there is a sense of unrest and unease. Barbados is an incredibly creative nation with masses of potential; we want to harness the talents of young people so they can create their own opportunities and take charge of their future. We need you to do this!

We're prototyping a new social enterprise 'Beatfreeks Barbados' to create spaces for young people and organisations to collaborate. Our aim is to allow enough freedom and flexibility for the Bajan community to adopt and adapt the key principles of the Beatfreeks model whilst providing opportunity to learn and benefit from our infrastructure and experience.

Luci Hammans, Beatfreeks Barbados’ Director, has been working with Beatfreeks in Birmingham for over two years to understand and explore the model, whilst developing herself professionally and personally to prepare for the prototype.

We need the community to achieve this. We're seeking some small donations to cover the initial set up of the project - to establish our community art event Poetry Lime and to develop our Youth Steering Committe (a group of young leaders who will shape the project).