Pennywise Plaza opens in Chaguanas

MANAGING Director of Pennywise, Dalvi Paladee, says this country is bleeding and hurting. He is calling on everyone to make a conscious effort to repair and heal the land.

Paladee was speaking at the opening of Pennywise Plaza in Charlieville, Chaguanas on Monday.

He said the Pennywise culture is one of love for people and love for country.

“Every single person, politicians and otherwise, is seeing that TT is bleeding. With every passing day, there are so many things going wrong.

“Too many people are hurting and that hurt shows in the way we react to each other,” Paladee said.

Crime, the lack of security and the many disasters that people face each day, he said, must cease. Everyone is a representation of TT, and there is a need to get people to start thinking about bringing positive changes.

Pennywise intends “to use the resources from Pennywise Plaza to go after that bigger change in society at the macro level,” he said. Representatives from the company have been visiting Sea Lots and the Beetham seeking out families and assisting them.

“We also have a village in Arima where we have been working with the people there for nine years to reduce crime and we have seen a huge turnaround, as daily murders stopped and there were just two reports of murder during this time.”

His three sons have been blessed by Sathya Sai Baba, who, Paladee said, had been born in TT in previous lives to make a difference for people here.

“They will take the mantle of the Pennywise stores to the next level,” he said.

Paladee said his second son, Satyam, took charge of the Pennywise outlet at Long Circular Mall and people often complimented him on the best customer service they had ever received.

He recalled an incident when he was a child selling in the market with his father, the late Lall Paladee.

“When the pepper lady’s house was destroyed by fire, my father went to the sawmill and got pieces of wood and we all assisted in rebuilding her home.”

At that time the Paladees were not in a great financial position, he said, but they were willing to sacrifice what they had to save a fellow vendor.

“As a child I absorbed how my father would reach out to the less fortunate and assist them in any way he could and today the Paladee family still remains true to the tradition of building and renovating homes for those in need.” Paladee said his parents, Lall and Shanti, were a perfect example.

“When things go wrong in society, blame the parents, because good parenting is most important,” he said.

While many were hailing the Pennywise Plaza as a miracle, since it was built in months, he said the bottom line remains that God is in control, and this could only have happened with his blessings and mercy.

Among those who brought greetings at the event were Agriculture Minister Clarence Rambharat, Chaguanas Mayor Gopaul Boodhan, San Fernando Mayor Junia Regrello, MP for St Augustine Prakash Ramadhar, Chaguanas East MP Fazal Karim and CEO of Sasha Cosmetics Kama Maharaj.