Doctors dance for a cause

One of its founders, Dr David Toby told the guests the foundation began when a group of doctors began, ten years ago, speaking about the effects that crime and other social ills were having on TT and whether they could do something about it. Although none of them possessed, “degrees in social services,” the group decided to do work.

Toby noted that discussions around gender always seemed to focus on women and no one paid much attention to the men, “who also had problems.” The first project done by the group, he said, was “Daddy Please don’t go.” The project was done to try and get men to accept the children they had fathered.

“Some of them did not even know where the children where,” he said.

The group started having mentorships and also received funding.

“We realized we could start and organisation doing projects like that,” he said. Toby said the Ministry of National Security began giving the group projects to go where it could not go. Over the ten years the group has been in existence, Toby said, it has been successful in the areas.

But, he said, the group’s big project happening now, the Cradle to Career initiative, was developed and targets East Port-of-Spain which he added, “has serious problems there.” The group has partnered with a number of organisations to get the project going among them Medgar Evers College, US.

The US Embassy’s Public Affairs Officer, Stephen Weeks, speaking on behalf of US Ambassador John Estrada also addressed the audience.

He said the work being done by the foundation was close to his heart and the collective heart of the embassy. He said it was a project very close to Ambassador Estrada’s heart. He praised the foundation for its work, saying it had real impact on the community.

“What it does instead of having a series of discreet activities that a child might access or might not access during the time that they need it most. What the Cradle to Career initiative does is it merges them all into a continuity of services so that it is building toward something and it is centered in one environment,” Weeks said.

Weeks said there were a lot of programmes in the country and a lot of programmes in the area but some of the programmes were not always coordinated and goal-driven.

The foundation’s initiative gave a place for all of the services to become congruent. The guests who were asked to wear a touch of red or gold were treated to the sounds of Denyse Plummer, a parang band and other entertainment.

Plummer treated the guests to Christmas songs as well as donated proceeds from the sale of her book to the foundation.