BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, 29 May 2025 — As climate disasters like hurricanes and floods grow more frequent and severe across the Caribbean, children and youth are stepping up to protect the mental health of their peers.
In partnership with UNICEF and regional organizations, 42 young co-authors from 23 countries contributed to Young Caribbean Minds Volume 2: A Climate Change, Natural Disasters & Mental Health Game & Activity Book. Launched during Mental Health Awareness Month at a regional symposium, the book offers creative, child-friendly tools to support emotional wellbeing amid climate stress.
Through art, coloring, and interactive activities, the resource helps children build mental resilience and practical coping skills. Many contributors, some as young as nine, drew from their own experiences with natural disasters, violence, and other hardships.
The launch was backed by the Government of Barbados, the Pan-American Health Organization, Let’s Unpack It, and a coalition including the OECS, University of the West Indies, CDEMA, CYEN, and the Healthy Caribbean Coalition.
Bertrand Moses, UNICEF Child Protection Officer who led the first volume’s development, said the second edition grew from his work in shelters after Hurricane Beryl in Grenada and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. “A young girl asked if there was anything to write and draw with,” he recalled. “That sparked the idea for a resource to prepare youth before, during, and after disasters, addressing climate change and mental health.”
At the launch, Davidson Ishmael, Minister of State in Barbados’ Ministry of Health and Wellness, urged youth to challenge mental health stigma. “We want young people to lead the conversation and push back against harmful assumptions to change our culture.”
David Johnson, President of Let’s UnPack It, emphasized mental health as vital to overall wellbeing and called for stronger protection of children’s mental health rights.
Reginald Burke, Executive Coordinator of CYEN, highlighted youth engagement as key to Caribbean resilience. “Addressing climate challenges requires young people’s involvement. Mental health is often taboo, yet critical. The trauma from hurricanes, droughts, and floods deeply affects children. Young Caribbean Minds is a powerful tool to help them understand and cope with these crises.”
The project includes participants from Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sint Maarten, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Turks and Caicos.
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