Pinelands Creative Workshop is celebrating 44 years of excellence as one of the leading Non-Governmental Organisations in Barbados.
Chief Executive Officer of Pinelands Creative Workshop Sophia Greaves-Broome said that initially when she joined the organisation she joined as a dancer but slowly was given administrative responsibilities.
Therefore, in 2018 when she was handed the mantle to run the organisation, she was not surprised. In fact, she was more than ready for the task at hand.
“I came to Pinelands at a very young age through an advertisement that I had heard on Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation, and I had wanted to join their dance programme. After I completed the programme, I had won best dancer and went off to participate in a youth exchange programme at the time.
When I returned the organisation was expanding its areas of focus to add education and other projects to its portfolio and I was asked to be a part of that and from there I just moved from dancer to being a part of the team, being an executive secretary to the then CEO Rodney Grant at the time and then moving to Special Projects Director and then Manager of the Marcus Garvey Institute.
Then in 2018 I became the CEO taking over from Rodney Grant,” she said. Greaves-Broome said that looking back she realizes that the preparation for her becoming CEO happened from the time she joined as she was given many administrative responsibilities and opportunities that shaped her to lead the organisation.
“The transition came when my former mentor and friend decided he was going into politics, and he passed on the baton. But I think the preparation for me assuming this role happened from the time I joined as the opportunities and responsibilities that were given to me whether it is project management or regional development.
I think I was already in the preparatory mode because he was trying to groom someone through the shadowing so that as the organisation grows, he had someone to work alongside him, someone that understands the organisation and the development trajectory the organisation was on to ensure that there was continuity well beyond his time.
So, I think he was a visionary because I had no idea, I was being trained for this post back then. My only thought was that it was an extraordinary opportunity to learn new things because I came in to play an administrative role and ascended to head the social development department as well as lead international and regional programmes. It was a very exciting time and a good opportunity to learn along the way,” she said.
The CEO of Pinelands Creative Workshop who holds an MSC in Business Psychology from the University of Wales in the United Kingdom said that being at the helm of a Non-Governmental institution in the midst of COVID-19 was not easy but she and her management team found creative ways for the organisation to be able to pivot and diversify its products and services in order to remain relevant.
“I think Pinelands over the years have spent a lot of time dealing with resilience and adaptability it has always been a natural factor in the running of Pinelands Creative Workshop.
I think during the period of COVID we were in a good position because again the former CEO had laid a good foundation in ensuring the members of the organisation were tech savvy with offices away from Pinelands main office, so our transition was quite seamless.
Furthermore, because of our first Youth Beyond Expectations programme supported by the Maria Holder Memorial Trust, we were able to build in a lot of infrastructure which included an online platform, so we continued to do programmes and connect as a team and with our membership, virtually.
So, we were more prepared and a little ahead of the curve when COVID and all of those restrictions started to happen. I think having a vision and a very agile mindset has allowed the organization to transition from 2018 knowing that we are on a growth trajectory, and we would have heightened our activities by giving attention to defining into our organisation development goals which prioritises human development, community engagement and development, disaster risk reduction, social and cultural enterprise, improving the use of ICT’s, especially during that time.
We continued to look at our Intangible Cultural Heritage because although we could not perform, we documented the elements of our intangible cultural heritage at a time of crisis it is important to give serious attention to cultural preservation, which is considered a critical link to social and psychological resilience as well as compliments the development thinking of “building
back better”,” she said.
Greaves-Broome also outlined her overall vision for the organisation and for them to finally have a space – a home that they can further build out an institution for the preservation of Afro Caribbean artforms and by extension, to be able to transplant this knowledge into their varied cultural and educational programs for members and the wider community as a part of their cultural development mandate.
“My intention is to expand on those initiatives that our former CEO would have started which are having our own studio as we would have just invested in the overall professionalism of our tutors through the funding assistance of Maria Holder Memorial Trust to be able to deliver NVQ’s in dance, choreography and directing.
We want to have professional courses because we are specialist in own right in Afro-Caribbean dance and psycho-social theatre, and we want to keep that “africanness” that has made PCW unique – that DNA and will remain committed to as a priority.
The ability to maintain that uniqueness and authenticity requires a continued commitment to research and documenting, being an integral part of our focus.
We are seeking to have our own space so that we have a home for theatre and continue to have real quality psych-social theatre being shown that address the issues of the day and give people the opportunity to make changes in their lives, have hope because of solid Afro-Caribbean cultural products being shared and populating our varied media. Independence is important for PCW and
should be for every NGO.
We want to expand the business focus as a table cannot stand on two legs it must have three or four. Having our own independent and unrestricted source of funding, allows for strategic investment in our young people and in the growth of the organisation.
But this is not to say that we would not appreciate funding support from Government and the private sector and or donors but there has to be a continued commitment to give attention to yourself through creative self-reliance methodologies whether its social enterprise, investments, or straight business, whatever.
Partnerships and mergers that the corporate environment engage in every day. It is not beyond the sector to do the same. We have established strategic and active partnerships that has redowned to the benefit of our community and membership.
But we are also seeking to partner with international organisations so we can have greater opportunities for our young people especially those that are on the periphery that would hardly get access to opportunities.
We continue to foster a relationship with York University and we are also speaking to other universities and colleges to be able to move our young people into institutions with broader scopes so that we can maximise their potential and eventually can return and give back to our nation,” she said.
She added that Pinelands Creative Workshop has seen firsthand how the development in members of the youth in the community has resulted in many of their former members giving back their talent and skill to the organisation.
“We are seeing that now where we would have made impact with some of our earlier members, and they are giving back whether it is in technology, social media and other areas.
So again, we have to be the craftsmen and women of our fate and therefore want to start building out the future we want for our organisation so that the Pinelands Creative Workshop name moves beyond a household name but becomes an institution, an international brand,” she said.
Greaves-Broome smiled as she shared that over the years, she has enjoyed her time in the Pinelands Creative Workshop, and she wishes the organisation a Happy 44th anniversary and she cannot wait to see what the future holds for the non-governmental organisation that was founded February 28th, 1978.
“For me I can say it has been a joy being a part of at least two decades of this organisation especially being a girl not coming from the Pine but coming to add my two cents and I am happy with that tremendously.
I think at 44 years the journey has now begun for Pinelands Creative Workshop as we are now moving in the direction of development, disaster management, education, maintaining our intangible culture and so much more projects are in the pipeline, and I am excited to see the opportunities that could be availed to all Barbadians.
Over the years Pinelands has touched persons in every parish of Barbados and I cannot wait to see how we can continue to inspire and motivate persons for many more years to come,” she said.
(Write Right PR Services)
