Enrichment Centre finally opened

After lengthy delays in obtaining statutory approvals, the National Enrichment Centre (NEC) at Carlsen Field, Chaguanas was formally declared open by Social Development and Family Services Minister Cherrie-Ann Crichlow-Cockburn.

She recalled that in July she had projected that work on the swimming pool area, replacing floor tiles and repairing the roof would take until the following month, and had promised then to have the centre opened within the shortest possible time.

However, she said, the delay was necessary to do remedial infrastructural work to obtain the approvals.

Crichlow-Cockburn said the centre, the first of its kind in TT, is symbolic of government’s commitment to all of its citizens and noted that the moral test of any government is ‘how it treats those who are in the dawn of their lives, the twilight of their lives, as well as the sick, the needy and those with disabilities.”

She said the NEC would provide rehabilitative services as well as opportunities for vocational training and employment, socially interactive activities and therapeutic services.

“I genuinely hope that it would stand as a beacon of hope and as a catalyst for effective change in our social and economic lives.”