Community Outreach
WE CANNOT DO THIS ON OUR OWN…IT TAKES A VILLAGE.
Never doubt the power of a small group of dedicated individuals whose passion to reach out makes a huge difference in the lives of thousands of children. We have directed donations towards the support of over 40 relatively small charity organisations in various communities. We recognise "it takes a village to raise a child," and there are numerous local community champions" working hard to make a difference through exciting and relevant projects. We support safe, well-run community programmes where children emerge from these initiatives educated and sensitised. They acquire new life skills, develop awareness, find expression in the arts, and foster confidence in themselves. We applaud the organisers and hundreds of volunteers who manage these programmes and give their time and energies to children in their communities.
In addition to the many community programmes, a major part of our funding goes towards our poverty alleviation and youth empowerment programmes. Our impact in the community was extended further during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Trust played an active role in providing food and personal care relief to thousands of families across Barbados who were severely impacted during the pandemic through our" SLCT Feed a Family Programme" Read more about these initiatives below:
Poverty Alleviation & Youth Empowerment
Many of our community-sponsored programmes are structured towards poverty alleviation and youth empowerment.There are many people in Barbados living below the poverty margin and as such, are in dire need of the basics. However, it is our firm belief that by creating avenues for young people to succeed in life, we are by extension reducing the level of poverty within a given community in years to come. To this end, we are always keen to work with small community youth groups who work assiduously to mobilise the youth through their empowering programmes. These groups provides a safe space where young people have the freedom of expression and freedom of association. Whether it is sports, performing arts or skills training, many children are given the opportunity to expand their horizons and become motivated to elevate themselves and by extension their community. Many of these young people have gone on to excel both nationally, regionally and internationally and have surely made their communities proud. This is a true indicator that an investment of time, love and care in a child’s life can make a huge difference in their future. It is our ardent belief that by empowering our youth, we provide them with an avenue to create a positive impact within their community and give back to society in a significant way. We recognise that our youth are the bedrock of our society and our future, in recognition of this; we continue to support them in whatever way we can.
SLCT Feed a Family Programme
The COVID 19 pandemic surprised us all. This unexpected global viral disease wreaked havoc on every continent in the world and Barbados was without exception. For a small developing nation such as Barbados, where we are so highly dependent on tourism, the impact was devastating. In March 2020, the pandemic forced us to close our borders and as a result, the island was closed to business. The increasing number of cases led to the inevitable national shutdown and unyielding curfew, which caused island wide panic and growing concern over the unprecedented rise in unemployment. With quick thought and action, the “SLCT Feed a Family Programme” was birthed. The programmed was designed to provide immediate relief to those families financially affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The idea was simply to provide food and groceries island wide to as many impacted families as possible. Therefore,with the government’s approval,we collaborated with 30 constituency offices around the country to identify and provide a list of families who would immediately be at risk. We then collaborated with eight (8)supermarket chains across the
parishes and produced our SLCT branded vouchers. This 3.0 million dollar programme became a 6.0 million dollar commitment, but a commitment that we at the Trust know had an immense and long-standing impact as we put food on the tables every week for not hundreds but thousands of Barbadian families. In addition, to our “Feed a Family Programme” the Trust dispersed over 1300 care packages which contained, fresh vegetables, eggs, non-perishable food items and toiletries. These packages provided additional relief for many families severely impacted by the global crisis.
