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FALLOUT from the covid19 pandemic, plus an upsurge in human trafficking, has not daunted the management team of the Children’s Ark, a registered charity aimed at helping the country’s youngsters, especially those deemed marginalised and at-risk.
Newsday got an update on the group’s work from president Simone de la Bastide and vice president Dr Kongsheik Achong Low on Monday.
After 21 years of charity work, de la Bastide set up the Children’s Ark with a board of management of prominent citizens and now celebrates its seventh anniversary. She is the wife of former chief justice Michael de la Bastide and stepmother of Carnival personality Juliet de la Bastide.
The group’s projects have included creating a library in the Port of Spain Prison to facilitate visits by inmates' children, a child-trafficking awareness campaign, providing Eyegaze devices to let disabled individuals type with their eyes, like scientist the late Stephen Hawking, and reconstructing the Princess Elizabeth Home's surgical ward.
Newsday asked what had motivated her to set up the Children’s Ark.
“When my husband became chief justice I took advantage of that and decided to open a charitable organisation. I mean, who is going to refuse the wife of the chief justice, whoever she is?
“When you feel privileged and have had a privileged life and others are always in need and you see it...I used to take my kids downtown to see how other people live, and that not everybody is as privileged as they are. There are people in dire and desperate need and don’t have, and you have so much.”
De la Bastide said her group focuses on “challenged youth, marginalised, abused, abandoned, disadvantaged, and most certainly at-risk.”
She said the fact TT had so many NGOs, CBOs and FBOs – numbering 6,000 in all – showed the country has huge social problems.
“You see it every day. It’s in your face. We just try to make a difference, and I think the Children’s Ark certainly has. Two decades ago children were not exposed to what they are today – trafficking, abuse, drugs.”
The group had partnered with agencies such as the Army Reserve, Inter Agency Task Force and Daren Ganga Foundation to do school reconstruction projects and sports clinics at the Beetham Estate.
She recalled the group’s six-month child-trafficking awareness project, involving a visit by famed Nepalese activist Anuradha Koirala.
“She is what had motivated us. That (trafficking) was such a big, big problem. We had the police service Victims and Witness Support Unit and the Counter Trafficking Unit partner with us on that initiative. We targeted over 600 schools, all public spaces and places. All the media houses supported us to get the message out.
“We became privy to a lot of information on trafficking. Our eyes were open on what we saw. It was horrendous and it is still ongoing.”
Asked about the impact of the current Venezuelan crisis, she said this has worsened the trafficking situation.
De la Bastide said the Children’s Ark had helped create a library for inmates after the demolition of 14 death row cells in Port of Spain Prison. In collaboration with Newsday columnist Debbie Jacob, it now facilitates visits in which incarcerated fathers read to their children and vice versa.
She said the relocation and reconstruction of the Princess Elizabeth Home surgical ward was “practically finished,” at a cost of over $2 million. Achong Low quantified it as at about 80 per cent complete.
De la Bastide said a building at the home, in Woodbrook, had been gutted so as to repurpose its 4,000-square-foot floor space as a surgical ward, costing $1.5 million.
“The Children’s Ark has been the driver of this project, for the benefit of those children of TT who are in need. We put on a whole new roof. We are doing it as a gift to the Princess Elizabeth Centre.”
While the Children’s Ark had promised to fund this project, the home had decided to add on an extra 1,200 square feet by way of building a new annexe. This added to the cost, which rose to $2 million, and meant new architectural designs were needed. The Children’s Ark is reallocating financing from its other projects to fund the extension, which the home will repay whenever it gets funds from the government.
“The Children’s Ark is very grateful to our donors for their trust and support. We acknowledge them.”
De la Bastide hailed the donors, who include Medicorp ($500,000), Nutrien ($492,000), Digicel ($250,000), an unnamed firm from Denmark ($100,000), Royal College of Nairobi 1960s Alumni ($20,000), Brian MacFarlane ($100,000) and House of Jaipur ($40,000.)
“The total is over $1 million,” said de la Bastide.
“The Children’s Ark is very transparent and accountable. We have a very committed board, which makes a difference.”
She took a moment to hail the board members, who operate without a staff.
“We do it all ourselves – all volunteer work, but fortunately for us, doors do open.”
The board includes herself and Achong Low, Dr Jean Ramjohn-Richards, Michael de la Bastide, Vicki Assevero-Mottley, Carol-Lyn Hart, April Bermudez, Danny Montano, Patt Christopher, Justice Kathy Ann Waterman-Latchoo and Dhisha Moorjani.
 
[caption id="attachment_864959" align="alignnone" width="683"] Children's Ark vice president Dr Kongshiek Achong Low. - Angelo Marcelle[/caption]
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