Please help these innocent children

THE EDITOR: I read Ms Dickson’s article on women who produce babies year after year with astonishment. It is all very well to criticise these poor women as irresponsible and I would agree with that. But she does not mention the poor children who through no fault of their own have to suffer for the sins of their parents. A couple of years ago I was taken for a tour of the south of Trinidad and saw for myself the squalid shacks along dirt roads miles from anywhere. Most of the children (and there seemed to be hundreds of them) of all ages were either naked or partially dressed. They all seemed half starved.

What chance do these children have for any sort of life? They cannot go to school because they have no clothes let alone expensive uniforms. There is no money to pay for transport to school. Often schools are many miles away and walking would not be practical and dangerous. As Ms Dickson says these people have nothing to do but go to bed and have sex, thereby creating more problems. The children will grow up in this atmosphere and multiply the already bad situation, After my first visit I returned and took food and clothes for some of these poor families but it was only a drop in the ocean. It is no use criticising these people, the problem (and it is a very serious and growing problem) will not go away.

Direct action must be taken to help these and other less well off people in the country or some time in the future there will be a price to pay. I hear lots of pious talk from all quarters but no practical action.  To all those comfortably off people I suggest you take a tour of the deprived areas and see if your social conscience is aroused to give practical help to these innocent children. Surely there must be people out there with a social conscience who can organise help for these children. I for one am prepared to help in a practical way any organisation that will provide help for these unfortunates.

HUGH PUTT
Port-of-Spain