It’s no secret that the effects of the pandemic have dealt a major blow to some households in Barbados, the majority headed by single parents. And at least one charity has attempted to alleviate some of that pressure.
Through a continuing series of initiatives, the Eden Lodge Charitable Trust is hoping to lift some of the burdens that is especially evident during the back-to-school period. Public relations officer of the charity Billy-June Langdon made the point recently when they teamed up with the City of Bridgetown (COB) Credit Union to treat more than 30 children with school supplies, uniforms, haircuts and junior saver accounts. This event followed up another haircut initiative for 10 children which they also undertook last Friday.
Stephen Hyde, a student of the Alleyne School was one of the beneficiaries and he expressed his gratitude for the assistance with his uniforms, textbooks, petty fees and his haircut.
Speaking about the Trust’s latest measure, Langdon stressed their commitment to support Barbadian families, particularly children.
“I am sure that they are quite happy to look very smart to return to school and I’m sure the parents as well are happy and appreciative of this gesture as it lifts their burden of having added costs . . . of things to do for their children to go back to school. In addition to this, the charity is going . . . to couple this with our other charitable activities and have this ongoing with the other stuff that we do,” she said.
Branch manager of the COB Credit Union, Katrina Haynes, who was present on Sunday applauded the Trust and expressed her institution’s support for such endeavours. So much so, that the COB gifted each of the young people with Children Are Really Enthusiastic Savers (CARES) accounts as a token of appreciation. In addition, Haynes took time to share words of advice to help the children understand the importance of utilising various financial skills like saving, budgeting and investing.
“I am happy to be here today to present to these students a token of our appreciation. As you may be aware, COB is very committed to youth development and we do that through our CARES programme and providing assistance to young people across the island and giving them a start. We believe that financial literacy is very important and for that reason, we are very excited to be able to contribute in this way and by encouraging positive saving habits. We look forward to the students being a part of the COB family,” Haynes said.
(KC)
