Family grant in Tobago to be increased

NCSH Ltd chairman, Krishna Ramkumar said the Commission was currently moving to implement this increase. "This is because $10,000, especially in the Tobago context, is inadequate to really assist a destitute family or a senior citizen to repair their home," Ramkumar acknowledged. He revealed that some 99 families in the island had benefited from funding under this programme.

The NCSH chairman was speaking at a ceremony at Mt Irvine Hotel recently, during which contract agreements covering grants totalling some $2.1 million were signed by representatives of the beneficiary groups from districts throughout Tobago.

These groups include, the Lorna Lashley Save The Children Foundation ($300,000); Sylphil Home in Love ($250,000); Mason Hall Police Youth Club ($154,575.); Streams of Power Pentecostal Church ($104,383.); Fountain of Life Ministries ($104,350.); Revival Tabernacle Church ($102,874.); Tobago Literacy Unit ($98,966.); Charlotteville Police Youth Club ($45,756.); Montgomery Moravian Church ($45,274.); Speyside Seventh Day Adventist Church ($11,354.); Olivet Methodist Church ($9,178.); and the Roxborough Early Childhood Education Board ($8,838.).

Ramkumar explained that communities must form themselves into organised groups for projects to be considered for assistance by the NCSH.

He advised that a major consideration in getting a grant was that the group must be prepared to provide all, if not most of the manual labour on the project. He said the Commission will provide technical expertise where necessary. Ramkumar however made it clear that the NCSH was not simply about building roads and bridges.

"What we do is encourage community groups to come together in the spirit of self-help and self-reliance to complete their projects. I think this is one of the ways we can deal with some of the social ills in our society today," he asserted.

"When we encourage members of the community to come together, for one common purpose, there is the kind of camaraderie which we are lacking today. From my experience, and in many cases, when a self-help project is in progress neighbours become friends, the young assist the elderly, and there is a general atmosphere of total friendliness," he added. Meanwhile, the NCSH chairman revealed that plans were currently in train for the beefing up of its Tobago office, in terms of increased staff and improved infrastructure.