President hails Heroes Foundation’s plan

President George Maxwell Richards yesterday lauded the 11-month-old Heroes Foundation organisation, for its planned programme in 2004 as emphasis will be placed on the disabled. He said: “There are those who are not as conscious as they might be to persons who are challenged physically in one way or another and therefore cannot function in the way others do. It is most encouraging to note that attention is being paid to the differently-abled in our society, but more than that, that our young people are being sensitised to the existence of this group of persons in our midst.”

President Richards was at the time delivering the feature address at the official launch of the Heroes Foundation’s Youth Programme, held yesterday at Movie Towne. In a stirring address, the President  told the audience: “We all have rights, but it is so easy to recognise our own and claim a percentage of value added even at the expense of the rights of others — in this case persons with disabilities — particularly if we perceive that no challenge is forthcoming. This we must change.” In commending the organisation for its use of youths to champion knowledge awareness campaigns and infrastructural changes for the benefit of the disabled, President Richards said they demonstrated great wisdom and added that they were contributing in no small way to the building of self-esteem in the lives of a sector of our population that is, even now, under siege by reason of the alarming behaviour of some young people of school age. “In spite of our best intentions, we pay lip service to the thought that the future of our country is in the hands of our youth. Everybody says it. It is the expected line in many lofty addresses. But do we in fact believe it? We need to provide opportunities for growth and we need to prune. But none of this is easy. We must invest time, talent and financial resources at our disposal or which we seek — ‘ferret’ may well be the better word, if our youth are to make the kind of contribution that they are capable of making,” said Richards.

The Foundation’s programme in 2004 will see youths from St Francois Girls College, St Michaels Home for Boys, Maple Leaf International School, Princess Elizabeth Home, School for the Blind and School for the Deaf promoting social awareness of the numerous challenges of the differently-abled and their daily “heroic” undertakings. The youths will collaborate together on a number of proposals dedicated towards improving the lives of others. “Those from institutions of the physically challenged were recruited to be part of the process, to allow the entire team to listen closely to their words, see the world through their eyes, and walk a mile in their shoes,” said foundation founder Philip Julien. He told the audience that the underlying premise of the programme’s goal is: “Empowering the youth to make a positive difference in someone else’s life, will build that youth’s self-belief and self-esteem, and contribute towards their embracing of the concept of heroism,” he said. Others making a contribution at the function were Advisory Board members Justice Ulric Cross, Clive Pantin, Lisa Ghany-Weeks and Trevor Boopsingh. There were also two video presentations which featured motivational advice for the youths from the likes of Ian Bishop, Errol Fabien, Michael Phillip, Wendy Fitzwilliam and Ato Boldon. Also featured was firefighter Heeralal Ramkissoon, who saved a neighbour from a burning house last year while off-duty. He was severely injured during the rescue, but has since returned to duty as a proud member of the Fire Service. Ramkissoon received a national award earlier this year for the said rescue effort.