GSK Club shows love and kindness to the children in Tabaquite

THE EDITOR: On Saturday August 13, about sixty (60) children in Central Trinidad benefited from an abundance of gifts and a very entertaining fun-filled day. The exact location of this amazing fun day was in Tabaquite. To be more specific the “Zion Tabernacle Church” in Navet Road, two miles from the Navet Dam. The children of the village headed by Pastor Hendron and members of his church were truly blessed on this day. Around midday on August 13, this group of about thirty (30) individuals arrived by maxi taxi, glass panel van, SUV’s and cars. This group known as the GSK Club or the “Glaxo Smith Kline” Club consists of employees, supervisors, managers and some family members. Each year they bring “Christmas in August” to those children who are deprived, in some way, of certain basic needs as a child growing up in this twin island Republic.

This year the Zion Tabernacle was chosen as the recipient after consultation with Sister Paul Maria Clarke, who in this writer’s opinion is the “Mother Teresa” of Trinidad and Tobago and possibly the Caribbean. Her kindness and generosity go way beyond what is expected of any human being. She is truly a role model for us as citizens of this country to look up to with the greatest amount of respect that is deserving of her status in our society. This group decided that during the Christmas season, several groups gave of their time towards bringing joy to hearts of people less fortunate, especially the children. The GSK Club decided that during the two months vacation period in July and August, that they give up one Saturday and help towards bringing joy to the less fortunate in the society. These individuals are like a big happy family with everyone doing their part and helping each other and having fun doing it.

I had the privilege of being there and believe me, it was really something to admire about how everything was done and the look on those kids faces, well, it was “priceless”. Pastor Hendron also shared similar views but went a step further by saying that Tabaquite has never in its history witnessed such an event. The GSK Club doesn’t advertise this annual event but I think this needs to bring to light for all in our country to know. There are still some people out there (inspite of what’s going on in our country today) who truly care about helping others in need and putting a smile back on the faces, especially the children. This is an example I hope other co-operate bodies can learn from, that not only at the festive seasons that we should show our love for the needy in the society, but all year through.

LEON JIMDAR
Port-of-Spain