The UWI Cave Hill Campus is doing its part to bring some Christmas cheer to less fortunate children this festive season.
On Thursday Deputy Principal, Professor Winston Moore, presented around 200 wrapped gifts donated by staff to the Welfare Department; H.U.R.T (Help Us Reach Them) – a registered charity started by a group of UWI alumni; and the Nightengale Children’s Home.
Moore said the gesture was a reflection of what universities can do to assist in their communities.
“It allows us to remember those individuals that sometimes people forget. Around this time of year we’re all caught up purchasing gifts for our families, friends and loved ones, but there are also persons out there who actually don’t have the funds to purchase similar gifts for their own families and it’s sometimes very heartbreaking,” he said.
He also pointed to the university’s track record of undertaking activities to enhance the community.
“The University of the West Indies has always played a very important role in terms of enhancing people’s livelihoods. We take individuals from working-class households and through the training that we provide to those individuals, we can move those individuals … to upper income households within the Barbadian community,” he said.
The Campus’ Christmas Gift Appeal was coordinated by the Student Enrolment and Retention Unit (SERU).
Senior Assistant Registrar at SERU, Patricia Atherley, said it was in keeping with Cave Hill’s history of bringing Christmas joy to underprivileged children, and although the campus could not stage its annual Christmas charity bazaar this year due to COVID-19 restrictions, staff were still willing to assist in a special way. She said staff though it was particularly important this year given the widespread job losses and increased financial need.
“A few years back the Campus would undertake a similar initiative at Christmas, coordinated by the Public Information Office. We would work with the neighbourhood schools or the children’s homes within our catchment area to identify deserving children and we would have a party for them; the staff would give gifts just like this to be distributed to the children.”
“After a while that stopped and instead we would organise an annual bazaar, and all the money that was earned from that bazaar we would give to whatever charity was identified by the Campus that particular year. This year, COVID-19 has put everything on hold so we couldn’t have a bazaar this year,” she said.
Vincent Lovell received the donation on behalf of the Welfare Department, while Reyna Farnum represented H.U.R.T. Staff of the Campus’ Human Resources Department, Assistant Registrar Sandra Grant and colleague Natalie Pierce accepted the gifts to be delivered to the Nightengale Children’s Home. Gifts were also earmarked for a few children who lost parents in tragic circumstances.
Representatives of the receiving institutions expressed their gratitude to the UWI staff for their generosity towards the children during the festive season.
