Chinapoo Village NGO to host Mother's Day brunch on Saturday

Chinapoo Village Social Welfare president Patsy Bansfield says her organisation will host a Mother's Day brunch on May 10 to celebrate the women in the community.

The event aims to highlight the contributions of mothers, both past and present, and serve as a call to action for young women to rethink their choices and call on them to focus on positive paths that can uplift and empower them.

"We must stop teenage pregnancy: I was a child when I had my daughter at 15. I want to break the cycle."

This marks the organisation’s second time hosting the brunch, the first having taken place in 2010. Bansfield said due to financial constraints and a lack of support from government and local businesses, the event could not be held annually as originally intended.

"This year, it’s being made possible through donations from private citizens, both local and abroad. We also received support from the head of the Police Welfare Association, Gideon Dickson, who will be in attendance. His mother will be among those honoured."

Bansfield said she felt spiritually led to revive the event. The brunch will also pay tribute to older women in the community who have passed away. Bansfield expressed a deep sense of loss over her own mother’s death at the age of 95.

"I wish she was still here to witness this event. We need something like this in Chinapoo. Nothing like this happens here, and our mothers are dying. We must honour them: they worked hard."

Former Central Bank governor, former foreign affairs minister, and Congress of the People (COP) founder Winston Dookeran is scheduled to deliver remarks at the event, which will be held at Trinity Avenue, Map Lands, Morvant.

The event will include the distribution of hampers, and the organisers have reached out to stores for donations of small appliances like toasters and blenders for door prizes. While no confirmations have yet been received, Bansfield remains optimistic.

"We’re going ahead with it anyway. We’re determined to make it happen. If we wait around for others, nothing will ever get done."

There will be no entrance fee.