Rewriting the Next Chapter.
Presented by
Make A Difference Foundation
Inspire Life Solutions
Barbados Defence ForceAbout the weekend
The RESET Weekend Retreat is a residential programme organised by the Make A Difference Foundation in partnership with the Barbados Defence Force and Inspire Life Solutions. Fifty young boys from St. Michael South East live on base long enough to slow down, hear from people whose lives look like their own, and think clearly about their next steps.
The Barbados Defence Force gives the weekend its backbone. For many of these boys it is their first experience of a place that runs on order, routine and mutual respect. That environment — paired with practical sessions on managing thoughts and behaviour, honest storytelling from community members, and the testimony of mothers who have lost children to violence — makes for a weekend that works on the mind, the body and the heart together.
"Every boy who arrives on Friday is carrying a story he did not write. Over the weekend, he begins to write the next chapter himself."
Three Anchors
Every boy is placed in a small group of five with one trusted adult facilitator who stays with him all weekend — and keeps in touch beyond it.
Through drills, routine and guided sessions, the boys learn that discipline is not punishment. It is a skill, and it is theirs to keep.
Two community panels anchor the weekend in real lives — men who came up in similar circumstances and chose a different road, and mothers whose sons did not get that chance.
The Weekend
The weekend builds in stages. Friday settles the boys in. Saturday is the long day of physical work, teaching and testimony. Sunday is for taking stock and making commitments.
Friday
Boys check in, hand phones to secure storage and are assigned to one of ten small groups of five. A family-style welcome dinner, an opening from the programme director and a senior Defence Force officer, and a first small group circle set the tone for the weekend.
Saturday
Reveille at dawn. Drills with Defence Force personnel. A core teaching session on thoughts, feelings and actions. An obstacle course, a panel from men who came up in similar circumstances, and in the evening the testimony of mothers who have lost sons to violence.
Sunday
Practical tools for Monday morning, an honest session on fathers and the man each boy intends to become, and a signed commitment card — witnessed by his facilitator — with a habit to leave behind, a tool to keep, a person to call, and a promise to his future self or future child.
From the base
Photos and videos from Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
By Sunday evening
A weekend can plant a seed. Whether anything grows depends on what happens in the weeks that follow — a check-in call within one week, an in-person follow-up within one month, and a facilitator each boy can call.