Life Foundation helps needy families

NESAR HOSEIN, through Facebook, noticed there were a lot of people who seemed to be in need in a number of different ways and his immediate response was to help.

The 22-year-old began by assisting a family in Rio Claro. This gave him a desire to do more, and it eventually morphed into the Life Foundation. Although it is yet to be incorporated, he stressed the foundation is purely not for profit and done simply to put a smile on people’s faces.

“Life Foundation was created because I was going through Facebook one day and I saw that there were so many families in need. And it hurt my heart to see children suffering.

“What got it started, actually, was this family in Rio Claro; it was a single parent family. The woman has a daughter and a son...we went and got grocery supplies, stationery supplies, market supplies and gave them some cash. I tried to help out the family with a two-month supply of groceries. After that, I just had the drive to continue.”

He then assisted a family whose fruit stall was destroyed by fire. The stall was their only source of income.

“My second project was in Bamboo. Right now we are in the process of trying to assist them in building back a vegetable shed and to re-construct a house for them. Or, find an apartment for them and help them with their monthly bills for the apartment,” Hosein said. Hosein, who owns the Next Store, an online company that sells phones and accessory, wholesale and retail, hopes to distribute over 300 school packages to children throughout the country by August 24. The foundation has already reached its goal of 100 packages, and is hosting its first book drive. Hosein intends to push for the other 200 by his deadline date.

He said the foundation is growing, and its 29 members are young minds determined to make TT a better place. He said the membership came through his social media reach, with many people contacting him through the foundation’s Facebook and Instagram page expressing an interest in part of the work he was doing.

Hosein stressed he was not in it for the money, as his only objective with the Life Foundation is “to see people smiling.”

Asked by Newsday about checks and balances and keeping the organisation true to its cause, he said, “I try my best not to collect cash. If people want to donate anything like money wise. I take the money, go and buy the stuff for the people who we are going to help out and I send a receipt to the person who donated the money. I also send the receipt to the group as well.”

The organisation also wants to do environmental work cleaning up beaches and other waterways. “After this book drive, I am catering to do a Christmas drive. It is already in motion,” Hosein said.

He hopes to get at least 1,000 toys to distribute on Christmas Eve night “to all the children. You could be needy, whatever. We just want to put a smile on people’s faces. And we want to do snack bags and stuff to go together with the toys.”

“We believe it is time we put religion, gender, wealth and politics aside so we can make Trinidad and Tobago a safer and better place for our younger generation,” he said.