The Children’s Ark....vessel of hope

The Ark was founded in 2013 by Simone de la Bastide, wife of former Chief Justice and president of the Caribbean Court of Justice, Michael de la Bastide who is on the organisation’s board. Members include prominent individuals such as Dr Kongsheik Achong Low; Justice Kathy Ann Waterman; Dr Jean Ramjohn-Richards; Danny Montano; Vicki Assevero Mottley; Carolyn Hart; April Bermudez; Dhisha Moorjani; Patt Christopher and Simone as president.

They are passionately supported by their patron, President Anthony Carmona. A support group, called Friends of the Ark, comprises people from all walks of life, including doctors, lawyers, housewives, media personnel, managers, judges and others, who volunteer their time and skills to the cause.

As one would imagine, the influence of such a group, working together for such an important goal, is tremendous. They particularly cater to “at risk” youth in high crime prone areas within TT and also support faith and community- based organisations, NGOs, and children’s homes to make a positive difference in the lives of children who would otherwise be lost to neglect, poverty, and the pervasive malaise that threatens our future.

Among their triumphs are the donation of a 30-seat Mitsubishi bus to Goodwill Industries; supply of education material and upgrade to the Each One Teach One early childhood centre in Beetham Gardens in partnership with the army reserve; the provision of a newly constructed home to an impoverished Tabaquite family of seven; and their partnership with the Daren Ganga Foundation and Inter Agency Task Force to hold an eight-month cricket and football coaching clinic in Beetham Gardens. In 2015, the Children’s Ark exerted their considerable clout against child trafficking, with an awareness and prevention anti- trafficking six-month campaign for the purposes of sexual abuse, manual labour, and drug trafficking.

The Children’s Ark. who funded the entire campaign at a cost of approximately $1 million, invited both the Counter Trafficking Unit (Ministry of National Security) and Victims and Witness Support Unit (TT Police Service ) to partner with them on the awareness exercise. The media support was indeed dynamic.

This hard-hitting, six-month advertising campaign drew many an eye and a heart to the problem, with billboards, thousands of anti-trafficking posters featuring children in dire situations, and captions reading, ‘Be aware, don’t be a victim, learn the signs’ and ‘What if this were your child; what would you do?’ The Ark bought several childsized puppets and hosted skits for thousands of children at the nation’s preschools and secondary schools, and distributed anti- trafficking material to over 600 schools, teaching them to recognise the risks.

The highlight of the campaign was the visit of Nepalese activist, Anuradha Koirala, founder of Maiti Nepal, and recipient of 30 inter-nation and national awards to give the feature address on child and human trafficking, at their fundraising event at Hyatt on May 20, 2016.

Koirala and her group have rescued over 29,000 girls and young children from trafficking in Nepal.

Her impassioned address at the luncheon left many in tears.

President Carmona exhorted others to do their part, saying, “It is critical that governments, NGOs and other stakeholders are able to facilitate and accommodate victims of human trafficking who have been rescued.” He echoed Koirala’s assertion that we should all ‘take each child as your daughter’, adding, “This is the message I would like Trinidad and Tobago to understand, appreciate and follow in real terms.” “There is no nobler cause than the one being pursued by the Children’s Ark....There can be no stronger symbol of protection than the ark. The Ark could push society to bear witness to its humanity by our actions rather than our glorious words. I am confident that The Children’s Ark will be the type of NGO that will create a holistic environment that will create a citizen and a patriot that we can all be proud of.” The Children’s Ark recently completed a significant project at the men’s prison on Frederick Street, in partnership with the Prison Service and Debbie Jacob’s Wishing For Wings project.

The Ark demolished 14 old colonial Death Row cells and constructed a library complete with furnishings. Wishing For Wings oversees the reading programme with fathers reading to their children and children reading to their fathers.

They are soon to construct a similar facility at the women’s prison in Arouca.

The Children’s Ark are in the process of relocating and reconstructing a new operating theatre and surgical ward at the Princess Elizabeth Home for handicapped children at an estimated cost of $ 1.1 million.

They are also in the process of supplying the St Dominic’s Home for boys with a vocational training school at their home in Barataria.

The Children’s Ark seeks to partner with established organisations in an effort to make a significant difference in the lives of as many challenged children as possible, through their urgent needs, education and sport.

They are quickly building a ‘brand’, which is a credible, accountable and transparent NGO, that corporations and organisations will continue to invest in through their CSR programmes.

The Children’s Ark is particularly interested in projects that will be of long-term benefit to large numbers of marginalized, at risk youth and challenged children.

The Children’s Ark can be found on Facebook, or at www.thechildrensarktt.

com.

Address: 7 Fitzblackman Drive, Woodbrook Tel: (868) 389-9772.

Feature submitted by The Children’s Ark.