People with a purpose

ONLINE voting continues in the The Courts TT Heroes Initiative which seeks to recognise “the selfless giving and work” of the people who are making a difference in the lives of others.

Eight finalists have been selected from an initial 30 nominees for their contributions to society. Today we feature Sherwin Joseph of the Cedros-based group People With a Purpose. Voting continues until October 9.

WHAT makes someone a hero? It’s an age old question. Is it bravery? Is it selflessness? Is it one’s ability to defend one’s self, community and country? In ancient mythologies, a hero, often written about in literary works, according to Britannica.com, “belonged to a princely class existing in an early stage of the history of a people, and transcended ordinary men in skill, strength, and courage.”

Modern definitions of what it means to be a hero do not veer far off from what was originally defined. Oxforddictionaries.com defines a hero as someone who is admired for courage, outstanding, achievements and/or noble qualities.

To Courts, one of its finalists Sherwin Joseph, 56, and his group, People With a Purpose, exemplify the qualities any hero should have.

Joseph’s story begins in Fullerton Village, Cedros, where his group’s main mission is to make everyone in the community and by extension, TT, happy.

Although it is a registered group now, it began simply as Joseph and his family buying Christmas gifts for the village’s children and distributing it.

It eventually progressed to hosting an under-16 football competition.

This soon developed to speaking to parents of the under-16 teams about the problems some of the children were having at home. Joseph and his team also assisted with getting children back in school for those who weren’t attending.

He was so focused on creating happiness that whenever it was someone’s birthday, he and his team would host a “big party for everybody.”

Some people, he said, in a phone interview, would even cry as they had never had a birthday party in their life.

“From then, we realised it began to grow bigger and bigger and we decided to start a Christmas treat for the children in the village. Since it was not being done by anyone else,” he said.

The group visited one of the neighbourhood’s business owner and asked if the treat could be hosted at their space.

“All that time we did not have a group. It was just myself and my family. My children, my wife, my nephew (wife, Joanne; daughter, Sue Ann; son, Kerwin and niece, Tricia Tuitt) and a few people in the village.”

Joseph’s Christmas treat was a success and many villagers were grateful. The group then decided to raise some funds by hosting a Mother’s Day barbecue and asked villagers to chip in with chicken and others donated their time. The group also hosted a sports day at the same time and both events were described as a “success.”

“After that we said this was getting bigger and bigger and recognising that there were a lot of people in the village who need us, that was when we decided to start People with a Purpose,” Joseph said.

In 2013, People with a Purpose was formed with family members and neighbours Shelly-Ann Mahase, Rosalind Jules, Jason Paul and Marisa Paul. Today, the group has 20 members. Meetings are held every two months to discuss future plans and events.

Sherwin Joseph of the Cedros-based community group People With a Purpose.

Before schools reopened, the group assisted with back to school items for some of the children.

“My madam is a seamstress so she sews all of the uniforms for the children in the village. We helped with all of the children who have to get school books and bags and uniforms,” he said.

He said the group had even gone further than that and included children outside of the village who needed help.

“Any village that comes to us and says they need help we assist. You needy and have a surgery to take and you come to us, we will assist you.”

Joseph said if someone comes and is in need, the group meets to determine how it is going to assist that person.

He said prior to the group’s formation, he had been part of smaller organisations that held treats for the neighbourhood’s children. “When I saw how it used to be, I told my madam, you see this thing, we are going to start to do something and make it big and make the people in the village enjoy everything that we are giving.”

But giving has always been a part of Joseph. He recalled taking his children to a home in Point Fortin to assist with feeding the less fortunate.

“I would carry them from since they were small and show them the things that people need. They grew up like that...”

His son has demonstrated much of his charitable nature, by buying groceries for people in need, and a stove recently.

“He went by the lady and saw her cooking on fireside stone and he took her and bought a stove for her,” Joseph said.

Asked if he was aware of, or surprised to be nominated as a finalist in the Courts Heroes Initiative, Joseph said, “I did not even want to do it. When the Courts people called me and told me about it, I said ‘Girl we are not a group to do something for somebody and you have to talk and say you doing this. I am not like that also.'”

“We do not like a lot of publicity. We are doing things from our heart. We are doing things for our community. And the few people in the group that we have, enjoy every moment of what we do,” he said.

Joseph recently resigned from the now defunct Petrotrin. When asked how he does all of this work without an income, he said the organisation raises its own funds by selling food and drinks at various events and anywhere it falls short he calls on his son and daughter to assist.

Asked how the group's work has transformed the community and by extension TT, Joseph said all of TT should have groups like his so that “everybody in the neighbourhood would be better off...”

To vote for this nominee, visit https://unicomercourtscaribbean.wishpond.com/courtsheroes/

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