President: Problems start with breakdown in family life

Prof George Maxwell Richards, President of the Republic, said so while addressing the 34th Anniversary of the Reunion of the Sampath Family at Centre Pointe Mall Auditorium, Ramsarran Street, Chaguanas on Sunday.

It was a three-day get-together of the family, who came from USA, canada, and England to Celebrate in Tinidad and Tobago with the theme being “Reunite, Reflect and Rejoice.”

Over the last three days, there was a visit to the La Vega Estate in Gran Couva; a fun and family day a the Couva Junior Secondary School and an anniversary function at the Centre Pointe Mall, Chaguanas.

Continuing, President Prof Richards said, “When we look around the world, not only our country, we see that there are crises everywhere no less in families, than anywhere else. I believe that this is where the problems start, in the breakdown of family life.

“The old family structures are breaking down; the support of the extended family has virtually disappeared and institutions that made up the hedge, so to speak, such as schools, are now in many instances a substitute for the home,” Prof Richards said.

He then asked, “But can they really be? Are they capable? I doubt it. Where do the children go when they leave school? To what do they return at the end of the school day?”

The President recommended “that we must lend our efforts, whether we are in the school system or not, to support instruction in parenting and family life values and to encourage self esteem in young people.”

He added, “Through education we have a different perspective of ourselves and of the role that we must play in the shaping of our society. Education is key as it confronts poverty, which is the cause of many ills.”

The President then advised, “This is not a time to be too busy at our jobs to spend quality time with our families. The cost is far too great, he added.