THE drug free message was spread by six young Americans this week among the Island's youth as PRIDE Bermuda held three training sessions.

And soon PRIDE will have a presence throughout the public school system and has seen some interest from the private schools.

Formerly completely independent of the system, the programme is already in four of five middle schools and is up and running in the high schools.

"Our meetings used to be on Friday afternoons after school,'' youth coordinator Danielle Riviere explained this week. "Now students can be a part of the PRIDE experience throughout the week and be with school mates.'' Ms Riviere, a graduate of the Youth to Youth programme which was the sole PRIDE presence for most of the past 12 years, said PRIDE Pals is for seven to 11 year-olds while Club PRIDE focuses on middle school students.

Youth to Youth will now solely concentrate on older teens, and with Pals helping to spread the message to preschoolers, the wide spectrum of students will learn about the scourge of drugs and alcohol.

AHMAL Robinson, of Stone Mountain, Georgia, said the trainers taught adult volunteers how to guide young people while they ran their own programmes and showed a core group of teens and pre-teens the PRIDE message.

"We train the young people to become trainers themselves,'' he explained.

"Adults should become the support behind them.'' He added: "A big thing in PRIDE is using youth as resources. While we use music performance and dance, we use statistics from the kids to teach. They tell us what is working.'' Mr. Robinson said PRIDE aimed to teach a healthy overall lifestyle, including lessons in a good self image, dress and deportment.

One of two national training coordinators for PRIDE USA, Mr. Robinson explained the group's philosophy was to allow natural leadership to come out of every member by giving them responsibility.

"That's why we're so young,'' he said. He has been joined in Bermuda by Jessie Dekuiper, 23 and Laurie Reitz, 22, both of Michigan, Bonita Gilstrap, 23, and Eric Jordan, 27, of Atlanta, and North Carolina's Terri James, 27.

MS Riviere said it was important to have the PRIDE message in the middle schools because American statistics show that 11 to 13 year olds have high rates for first time abuse of drugs.

She added: "By providing a programme from pre-school to young adulthood, PRIDE gives them peers who believe as they believe. People who have the same morals.'' Youth to Youth and the other PRIDE programmes have four principles: personal development, drug education, environmental change, and drug free fun.

During a break in Wednesday's training session, The Royal Gazette spoke with four primary school students about the morning's activities and PRIDE Pals.

Gilbert Institute's Derwin Adams said he enjoyed the message of PRIDE Pals and said he liked painting banners "and stuff''.

He added: "I'm not really an artist though.'' LAUREN Kresson, 9, also of Gilbert, said she had only been to one PRIDE Pals meeting but had enjoyed it so much she would be back to others.

"I really liked doing the dances,'' she said. "I like the message that pride gives. I like the skits too.'' First timer Rajiv Mallory, 10, of Francis Patton, said: "I like how they show people to stay away from doing drugs.'' Nine-year-old Brittany Lightbourne of Harrington Sound said she loved the dancing, skits, and singing routines.

She added: "I like the message it gives. I think it is good that it spreads the drug free message.'' As they returned to the training session, both boys interjected that the message included tobacco, saying: "Don't smoke too!''