CARRIE ANN SALVI PHOTO | Aspiring journalist Jason Richardson, a South African attending a writing program at Camp Quinipet, at the scene of an accident during a ride he took in a Shelter Island Town Police cruiser.

A 17-year-old South African aspiring journalist  attending an international writing program for kids at Camp Quinipet last week had the ride of his life on Wednesday evening, the last day of the program.

Jason Richardson, who comes from a poor family in Capetown and has cerebral palsy, sat beside Officer Tom Cronin as he did his Island rounds on an unusually busy 3-11 p.m. shift on July 6. Jason’s mentor at the camp, author Simon Worral of Hampton Bays and Herefordshire, England, asked Police Chief James Read to allow Jason to go along. Chief Read approved the request and answered Jason’s many questions about police work on the Island. Mr. Worrell went along on the police cruise.

Soon after Officer Cronin picked Jason up from Camp Quinipet and showed him how to use a radar gun, a speeding car prompted Officer Cronin to pursue with flashing lights. The car soon pulled over. Moments later, a motorcyclist broke a collarbone and suffered a concussion after falling at the stop sign in front of the IGA. Officer Cronin and Jason were there after responding to the radio call.

As the motorcyclist awaited the Red Cross ambulance and received medical attention from Red Cross EMTs already at the scene, Jason interviewed a bystander and took notes, all the while getting guidance from Mr. Worrell.

Then came another call: a child on a bike had been struck by a car. Officer Cronin proceeded to the nearby accident scene to assist the police officer who had already responded to the call. Upon his arrival, the injured child was on her way to the hospital, having been taken care of by other Island police officers and Red Cross EMTs.

At last report, the child involved in the accident was back home. Details were not immediately available.

Jason’s trip to the United States to attend the five-day writing program was his first out of South Africa and his first time on a plane. In addition to his experience as a reporter patrolling in a police car with a mentor, his account of which will be a required assignment, the 18 writing camp attendees had experiences on and off the Island with writers who shared their knowledge of fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, investigative journalism, song lyrics and the book and magazine industries.

Some students also took part in a Skype conversation with pop star Jem on Wednesday evening. She told the students never to take no for an answer and to believe in themselves. The campers also all had the opportunity to read some of their own works at Canio’s books in Sag Harbor.

Jason received a full scholarship from author Heather Dune Macadam, a New Yorker and East Ender, for the inaugural Rena’s Promise writing camp, which she founded and operates, leasing space for it at Camp Quinipet. The program is named for the Rena of her book “Rena’s Promise” about a Holocaust victim. A former professor at SUNY Southampton, Ms. Macadam created the writing camp after promising a student from Wales that she could come to America to learn to write. Ms. Macadam chose students between the ages of 14 and 17 the the U.S. and overseas and a variety of social and cultural backgrounds, with the goal of providing the young writers with a place to develop their cultural and creative voices. The mission of Ms. Macadam’s Rena’s Promise program is to promote ecumenical, open-mined and open-hearted citizens of the world, she said.

Jason’s teacher from Vista Nova school in Captetown, South Africa discovered the program and researched it before deciding it would be good for Jason. Jason himself raised the money to travel to the Island with the help of his mother, who contacted South African talk radio show Cape Talk to interview Jason and encourage donations. The radio station paid the balance of his travel costs and Jason went on the air again Wednesday from Shelter Island via telephone to share some of his experiences.

Camp Quinipet, a not-for-profit community and service oriented facility, is the locale for the program, with which it is not otherwise affiliated. Quinipet does offer its own educational and artistic programs including community sailing, a six-week summer day camp and a week-long sleep-away Christian camp in July and August. The New York State-registered historic property offers some of the original lodging dating back to 1882, and relies on contributions and donations to enable improvements, repairs and additions to the camp.