Home for girls gets RBTT support

“WHEN EVERY child is a child of love, born free in a justice world. When every child is a child of peace, in a home where violence is no more. When every child is a child, the world lifts up, then the mission will be complete!” These are the sentiments in song that rang out at the recent official opening of the CREDO Foundation’s Sophia House.
 
Driven to action by the level of abusive and degrading circumstances that some young girls are forced into, the CREDO Foundation for Justice embarked upon a mission to provide developmental programmes, counselling services and safe, emergency accommodation for young girls. After two years of dedicated effort, the Centre for the Empowerment of Young Girls at Risk, Sophia House, located at the corner of Park and Piccadilly Streets in Port-of-Spain is finally a reality. “We did not know how many miles we would have to travel, or how many barricades we would have to negotiate on the journey, but we were determined to get children off the streets and provide them with various personal, social and educational skills they need to live productive lives,” said Sr Roberta Flaherty, director of the Centre.

“Sophia is Greek for wisdom, and we pray that the spirit of Sophia will empower all of us here and all who will ever need the service of this house.” RBTT provided $30,000 toward the electrical work for the new facility. RBTT has for several years contributed to the CREDO Foundation which, through its Nelson Street facility, has catered solely to the complex needs of young boys who find themselves on the streets. “We are deeply grateful to RBTT for its strong and consistent support through the years in helping us to reach out to these young people,” emphasised Sr Flaherty.