Church doing good work in fighting poverty

THE EDITOR: Anglican priest Fr Anthony Mowlah-Baksh and his flock at the Holy Cross Anglican Church in Marabella should be praised for their fight against poverty in society. The church recently organised a very successful programme entitled “Holy Cross in a Mission Against Poverty”.

The organisation Citizens For A Better Trinidad and Tobago (CBTT) calls on other churches and religious institutions in the country to do likewise. CBTT was delighted to join with Fr Mowlah-Baksh and his members especially since the group has always placed great emphasis on the plight of the poor and disadvantaged. We keep encouraging poor children across the country to take their studies seriously since education plays a key role in boosting people’s productivity and opening the door to better income opportunities. People who lack a proper education may either be unemployed or employed in low-paying jobs which more often than not brings people to poverty status.

The early primary school years are of utmost importance. We need to recognise that the foundation, whether weak or strong, will finally be the determining factor of success or failure in the adult life. In order to fight poverty, we must ensure that prices of goods do not go up faster than wages. There should also be mechanisms to guarantee indexation of salaries, pensions and scholarships. We should provide the poor with available housing, an efficient and a cheap mass transport as well as an affordable health plan.

HARRACK
BALRAMSINGH
President, CBTT
La Romaine