One Family hamper drive gets $75 000 boost from Sandy Lane Charitable Trust

Christmas 2024 just got a lot brighter for the 1 000 families of the One Family programme under the Ministry of People Empowerment & Elder Affairs (MPEA), thanks to a donation of $75 000.00 worth of grocery hampers from the Sandy Lane Charitable Trust (SLCT).

Representatives of SLCT, including Grand Patron and founding Trustee Derrick Smith, Trustee Pippa Challis, and Project Coordinator-Administrator Nekei Grant, were recently at One Family’s Warrens office to present the donation to the One Family Project Team.

Minister of People Empowerment Kirk Humphrey, Permanent Secretary Jehu Wiltshire, Social Development Project Manager Nicole Daniel and Project Officer Lisa Holder were present to receive the donation.

Minister Humphrey commended SLCT and thanked its Board of Trustees for their ongoing work in Barbados, and specifically with his ministry, noting that such partnerships could help break cycles of generational poverty in Barbados.

“The Government of Barbados is passionate about the objectives of this One Family project, and we believe in what we are doing. We see One Family as the first initiative with the potential to break the inter-generational cycles of poverty, a purpose and objective that traditional government agencies were not designed for. Traditional approaches have not been holistic enough, and One Family gives the first real opportunity to break that poverty exchange between generations,” Minister Humphrey said.

Commenting in response, Trustee Pippa Challis said SLCT was pleased with the ongoing amazing partnership with MPEA. She said One Family had positively impacted SLCT’s work regarding due diligence and background investigations necessary to make the outreach work more effective.

“Our partnership with the One Family Programme Team is truly beneficial to both organisations, as we work towards one common goal of achieving social change. Our ability to rely on the One Family team to provide accurate, timely and reliable information means that our assistance can reach the most deserving families. Whether it is providing beds, back-to-school supplies or food vouchers, we know that we are reaching the right families. That’s why this collaboration works for us, as much as it works for you.” Challis, further commends the team on their success with the programme thus far and the amazing job they are doing.

One Family Project Manager, Nicole Daniel, said the SLCT donation would significantly boost this year’s hamper donation drive, bringing much-needed supplies and tangible Christmas cheer to the 1 000 families and hundreds of children currently served by the Programme.

“One Family is not a hand-out programme but concentrates on holistic transformation to help every family reach a stage where they can give back to their communities and Barbados.”

(PR)