Group from BAEH hired to clean City for Cricket World Cup

More than 10 clients of the Barbados Alliance to End Homelessness (BAEH) have so far benefited from a partnership with the ICC World T20 National Organising Committee to clean various areas of Bridgetown.

Kemar Saffrey, president of the BAEH, told Barbados TODAY that the work by its clients who were previously bedding down at such locations as the old Treasury Building, the Helipad, Heroes Square and Independence Square, has progressed well.

“We are quite pleased that the clients would have been given the opportunity to work and to make an earning in this time, especially with the World Cup,” Saffrey said.

“Based on the feedback that we are getting, they are out there doing what they are supposed to be doing, and this is good.”

The workers, who have been provided uniforms and equipment, can be seen maintaining the town centre on a daily basis.

“The clients are extremely happy to be employed, and Barbados can proudly boast of being the one country in the entire ICC tournament who have all-inclusive hiring [of] the homeless population,” Saffrey added.

The roles are paid positions, with workers set to receive credit union accounts.

The homelessness campaigner expressed hope that the initiative could continue beyond the cricket event into the Crop Over season and extend to other areas of the island requiring cleaning services.

“We have been given some offers to extend the clean up; obviously this is only the third day for them, but I know that the NOC is seeking to see how best we can continue through different agencies and departments, so they can become a long term and not just a short term employment,” he said.

“Obviously, the important thing is that there is a start, and once people can see the effort and what they will be doing, people can then say ‘yes, this is something that we can continue for Bridgetown and the other towns and areas into the Crop Over season. It’s not an [ICC] gimmick.”