Working in partnership with the UWI Seismic Research Centre (UWI-SRC), as well as support from the Ministry of Education, the Montserrat Volcano Observatory (MVO), launched a children’s book entitled “Volcano Stories”.
On the evening of Thursday, January 26, Her Excellency the Governor, Elizabeth Carriere hosted the launch at her residence at Government House in Woodlands, with attendance and the participation of MVO and government officials, along with a small cross section of the public, parents and winning children writers of the volcano stories which are featured in the book.
As a MVO communique informs, “The one-of-a-kind storybook features the 26 winning entries out of a Creative Writing Competition hosted by the MVO in 2013, where teenagers and children were invited to submit stories under the theme “A Volcano’s Touch”.
In a brief ceremony, MVO Director Roderick Stewart introduced the host of the launch, Her Excellency the Governor, opening by very briefly describing that the “new book of children stories that were written as entrants to our creative writing competition. The prize winners some of them have been collected in this book…”
The Governor after welcoming all guests to Government House and the book launch congratulated the students for their work and the MVO for bringing it all together in a stunning hard cover book. She said the book Volcano Stories, “which is an amazing production, not just because it represents the quality of young people’s excellent writing, imaginative writing, creative writing, but also some photographs and drawings from local artists.”
She added that “it’s beautifully produced, it’s a lovely book.” and that everyone should be proud of it. She congratulations the M.V.O. and the SRC hoping that it “it will be distributed in the schools,” while confirming that support for the book also came from the Ministry of Education. Promised and pledged to support the islands youth in their future educational endeavours.
Hon Osborne said: “This is a great achievement for not only children but for us here as Montserratians because when you think about the age of these children… I must say I want to encourage the youths in Montserrat to keep this up; and I’m going to support them in anything that they want to do as long as I think it makes sense.”
‘Volcano Stories’ described as a ‘one-of-a-kind storybook, features the 26 winning entries out of a Creative Writing Competition hosted by the MVO in 2013. Teenagers and younger children were invited to submit stories under the theme “A Volcano’s Touch”. It was illustrated and brought to life with colourful artwork by various Caribbean artists.
The book, suitable for both children and adults, takes the reader to fantastical worlds on volcanic adventures of all kinds, and also to explore Montserrat, the beautiful Caribbean island where so many lives have been touched and forever changed by a volcano.’
At the end Governor Carriere distributed signature books a few of the young authors of the stories.
The book commemorates in some sense, Montserrat’s Soufrière Hills Volcano which has been erupting since 1995, rendering more than half of the island uninhabitable, including the capital city Plymouth. Montserrat has managed to rebuild itself and adapt to living with an erupting volcano. “Volcano Stories” is the only book of its kind as it highlights living with the volcano and the process of adaptation from the unique and imaginative perspective of Montserratian children.
