Tobago groups get $.5 million under CDF

Just under $.5 million has been distributed to several groups in Tobago under the Community Development Fund (CDF). The funding was released under the CDF’s Non-Govern-mental Organisation (NGO)/-Community Based Organisation (CBO) Grants Window Prog-ramme. The formal signing and hand-over of agreements took place during a ceremony at the Blue Haven Hotel at Bacolet, Tobago, on Wednesday evening. Recipients included the Plymouth/Bethesda Heritage Fest-ival Committee which got a grant of $142,381 to be used in establishment of facilities at the Plymouth/Bethesda Heritage Dev-elopment Centre; Whim Police Youth Club — $137,300 for a skills project; Tobago Council for Handicapped Children (TCHC) received $68,350 for agricultural and other projects at the TCHC-run, Happy Haven School at Signal Hill. The sum of $88,489 went to the Moriah Sunset Multi-Purpose Co-operative Society for culinary arts programme, as well as the construction of a bakery, while the Pembroke Hot Peppers Association received $50,000 to be utilised in a hot pepper production and export project.
 
Addressing the occasion, Chief Secretary of the Tobago House of Assembly (THA), Orville London emphasised that the financial grants were meant for development and strongly urged the organisations to use the funding for just that purpose. He referred to them as ‘pioneers’ in this particular phase of Tobago’s development. “As pioneers you have a particular challenge, because how pioneers perform or don’t perform, to a very large extent will determine what is the kind of path or the kind of journey that is going to be there for those who come after you all”, he stressed. London told them they had only met the first challenge of accessing the funding, but the second and real challenge was to ensure that this funding translates into meaningful development within their respective communities. “All Tobago charges you five representatives and your groups to ensure that the way in which you translate this funding into development, will send a powerful signal to the CDF and other lending agencies, that Tobago is in fact a healthy environment in which they can invest their money and in which they can ensure that these initiatives are continued”, stressed London.