President: We must listen to the poor

The plight of the poor is best solved by listening to them, said President George Maxwell Richards as he hailed the Trinidad and Tobago Dev-elopment Foundation (FUNDAid) at its Project Enterprise 2003 Awards on Thursday at the TT Chamber of Commerce Building, Westmoorings.

Company literature stated FUNDAid is a non-profit organisation set up in 1973 by Rev Fr Gerry Pantin to provide seed capital and advice to micro-enterprises, having given 3,700 loans totalling $31 million which helped create 9,000 jobs. President Richards congratulated FUNDAid for its “respectful intervention” which he said took into account human dignity, a lesson the whole national community could learn. He said: “Too often, we approach the poor and otherwise disadvantaged with a plan of our own which leaves no room for their own points of view and which regrettably sometimes takes no account of the real needs of the people.” Instead he urged: “If the more fortunate among us were to be more sensitive to the humiliation and embarrassment that accompany the condition of poverty, there could be greater success in turning around the situations of want that beset our country.”

Saying small amounts of seed money had an effect way beyond their dollar value, he said: “It is amazing that $500 can make such a difference in the future of an individual and his or her family. Sometimes the solutions to seemingly complex situations can lie in simple ideas where creative instincts are allowed to flourish.” He congratulated FUNDAid on its organisation, noting the very low delinquency rate of just 2.4 percent even in the declining economy of 1979 to 1991. Specifically addressing the awardees, he said: “It seemed to me that the education of their children was a driving force behind the search for help by those who have benefitted from FUNDAid. “One of the results of the various projects is the home ownership and savings thrust.” He observed that through FUNDAid, people were walking out of poverty and abusive situations, and even providing employment for others. He urged: “Your story must be made more widely known in this country and in the region.”