 The St. Lucia Social Development Fund, SSDF, expands its targeted mentorship program, Our Boys Matter, to District Education 6, Viewfort. The launch was marked by a brief signing ceremony on Thursday, 8th October 2020 at the Viewfort Comprehensive Secondary School, Campus B. The success of the Our Boys Matter program is directly tied to the success of the beneficiaries. That word from Dr. Allison Mathura, Executive Director of the St. Lucia Social Development Fund, SSDF, as he urged its new recipients to make the best of this support now made available in the south of the island. Our Boys Matter, a holistic mentorship program spearheaded by the SSDF, was officially launched in January 2019. In its pilot phase, the initiative offered 100 at-risk students, educational assistants, meals, transport allowance, housing and psychosocial support in the northern and western education districts. Now, in October 2020, the program extends to District Education 6, Viewfort. Parents of three students at the Comprehensive Secondary School, Campus B, signed the agreements during a brief ceremony on Thursday, 8th. I want the parents to understand that they are very privileged because there are a number of students and a number of schools. Even some of the schools that started the program, if they always want to add more boys, they have, of course, and I understand that everybody has boys that really fit the criteria. But we decided to come down here and invest our time and resources in you. And I certainly hope that you all pave the way for the boys that will come after you to influence the SSDF, to come on and take more boys from here. Acting principal of the Viewfort Comprehensive Secondary School, Ava Peter welcomed the initiative in assisting the disadvantaged within its school population. On behalf of everyone at Viewfort Comprehensive, I think this is a very touching day for all of us. And we definitely appreciate the SSDF as well as our Boys Matter initiative for considering Viewfort Comprehensive and for including us in this program. Acknowledging the disproportionate underperformance of boys in the classroom, Education Officer for District 6 Stephen O'Geest lauded the program for addressing root causes beyond the education system. To deal with issues of male underperformance, it is necessary to identify the specific issues that are holding back the performance of our males and to address those issues. It is against this background that we in District 6 applaud the work of SSDF with the program Our Boys Matter. The Our Boys Matter program is a collaborative effort between the St. Lucia Social Development Fund, Massey Store St. Lucia Ltd and the St. Lucia Electricity Services Ltd Lusolec.