CIBC FirstCaribbean supports 4 NGOs

Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs)are focused on making sure they fulfil their promises to support those in need. However, they cannot do it alone and rely on corporate entities to support their cause, a media release said.

Professor Roger Hosein, economist and member of the NGO, the Sure Foundation, is quoted in the release as saying, “we cannot survive without the support.” Based on economic data, Hosein noted that since 2015, Trinidad and Tobago’s economy has shrunk by 17 per cent, the release said. For NGOs, this means things they were able to do eight years ago are not possible in the present. Hence the continued request for corporate support.

Recently, the Sure Foundation, the Chinapoo Police Youth Club, Music Industrial Centre (MIC) Foundation, and Laventille Community Children’s Project were recipients of corporate support through CIBC FirstCaribbean’s ComTrust Foundation. The bank’s charitable arm, the FirstCaribbean International ComTrust Foundation, was established as a registered charity in Barbados, the foundation supports projects in the 12 countries where the bank has a presence, donating not less than US $1 million annually.

“The bank continues it work to support those who support others,” said Anthony Seeraj, managing director of CIBC FirstCaribbean, Trinidad Operating Company. “We believe continued contributions through the ComTrust Foundation will find a way to help people who sincerely need it.”

The Sure Foundation was set up in 2012 as a direct response to the social and environmental challenges faced by communities in the southwest peninsula. At the beginning of 2015, it launched a decarbonisation strategy to help reduce the carbon footprint of the TT economy and to support the nation’s food security position.

Since March 2020, it has been able to distribute more than 3.2 million seedlings across various communities in TT. It is hoped through this effort, the Sure Foundation can engage households to reduce the TT annual food import bill by encouraging them to plant more food.

Although the academic year is in full swing, three organisations received support to help students/families in need. The Chinapoo Police Youth Club, for example, continues its effort by supporting 27 students of the Morvant Laventille community with the necessary amenities for school such as texts, uniforms, and stationery.

The Youth Club, which is affiliated with Morvant Laventille Community Police Unit, faces the challenge of ensuring students remain in the school system despite issues related to poverty, crime, and family unemployment. The club’s desire is to help those in need to ensure they do not fall by the wayside or become school dropouts, the release said.

The MIC Foundation seeks to help the youth by honing their talents in music, sound engineering and deejaying. The organisation believes that by focusing on such potential it can possibly save a someone from considering crime as an avenue of survival. In doing so, it has also observed families also need help. As a young organisation, it has decided to “adopt” a secondary school student, and provide the necessary school supplies.

The Laventille Community Children’s Project also aims at youth development through a number of sporting, educational and holistic development programmes. Its book drive supports parents/guardians who have fallen on difficult times. By supplying the children with necessary books and material for school, it has helped to ease distress in some households.

The organisations expressed appreciation for the support at the handover of cheques.