Growing needs

Two local charities are reporting a drastic increase in the number of parents seeking help to get their children ready for the new school year which begins in two weeks.

The Eden Lodge Youth Charitable Trust Programme and the Sandy Lane Charitable Trust, which worked together to provide uniforms to several students, said during the presentation of the items at Abed’s in Bridgetown on Tuesday that scores more had come forward for assistance.

“This year, we saw an increase [with] over 400-odd children [from] less fortunate families being assisted from the Trust with the back-to-school programme,” reported public relations officer for the Eden Lodge Youth Charitable Trust, Billie-June Langdon.

“That number has increased dramatically and we are pleading to corporate Barbados for assistance. A little goes a long way; it might be little to us but it will be big to families who can’t afford it and those less fortunate.”

Billie-June Langdon

Sandy Lane Charitable Trust trustee Pippa Challis also confirmed that the number of people seeking support had increased significantly this year, and she thanked the several corporate sponsors who supported the Soca Goes Gold 4 event – undertaken by the Eden Lodge Youth Charitable Trust in July – and other initiatives aimed at raising money to assist.

“The sheer numbers this year, we needed extra support…. The Eden Lodge Youth Charitable Trust, their increase in the requests for uniforms and support and back-to-school lunches, etc. have been huge this year – has increased threefold. That is obviously because of the dreaded [COVID-19] pandemic which we feel like we are coming out of.

“But there are an awful lot of families. We get an awful lot of phone calls weekly of people still needing help,” Challis said.

Pippa Challis

Operations Director at Abed’s and Co. Ltd, Alex Abed expressed similar sentiments.

“This year especially, post-COVID, there are more families than ever who really do need the help, and if we can play our part we are very happy to do so,” he said.

shamarblunt@barbadostoday.bb