Some of the all-inclusive Carnival Fetes are fundraisers for worthy causes, while others are about personal gain. Another which is about helping to educate has been added to the 2001 calendar. The Rotary Club of Maraval and the Farm Boys (Gordon Gatt, Knolly Moniquette and Brian O'Farrell) will hold a $200 all inclusive with premium bar, food and secured parking on February 17, from 4 p.m. till midnight at Mobs2 in Chaguaramas, with two live bands, Surface & Kalyan and D.J. Scooby.
The money raised will be used to fund two of the club's community projects. The Rotary Learning Centre located in the Woodbrook Estate Office at the corner of Murray and Baden Powell Streets, a project jointly organised by the Rotary Clubs of Maraval and Diego Martin and the Port of Spain City Corporation, and the establishment of a proper kitchen at the St Jude's School in Belmont to improve the culinary skills of those young people who are in their final year.
In September 2000, ten youngsters ages 10 to 15 years were introduced to the Learning Centre's pilot programme. Marilyn Rampersad, a very experienced teacher from the Adult Literacy Tutors Association, and volunteer Cathy Winn spend four hours, three days per week, teaching the rudiments of reading, spelling, grammar and handwriting to these learning-challenged youngsters from Cry, Credo Foundation and one or two private homes. "It is quite a challenge as these children have not been in the school system" says Winn "but we enjoy it." The Rotarians provide transportation to and from the Centre, and a tasty meal at lunch time which I can attest to as during my visit last Wednesday the aroma from the lunch boxes was mouthwatering.
According to Mary Charles, the member of the Rotary Club of Maraval's Vocational Committee chaired by Anna Chin Lee, with a responsibility for the Centre "it is also a first for ALTA which does not normally design programmes for that age group. At the end of this nine month programme where they will move between the beginners', first and second level, we have to decide what we are going to do with these children."
Funds permitting, and the programme be repeated, ten children remain the limit, says Charles "as it takes them weeks to settle down and too many can prove to be very disruptive and difficult to control." With help from the corporate community, the Rotarians may be able to up the school week from three to five days and also add some sport to the curriculum.
After the February 17 all-inclusive, the Rotarians hope to get enough money to run two programmes so that more children will benefit from the ALTA programme. Already two evenings per week, two Ministry of Education trained volunteers run literacy programmes to help third formers who cannot cope in the classroom, from Mucurapo Junior Secondary and Woodbrook Secondary. The problem is that some of the youngsters do not come regularly. While at the same Centre, Rotaract, the junior arm of Rotary, plans to start helping fifth formers on a Saturday morning.
The other community service which will benefit from the Carnival fete is being organised by Dr Norma Andrews, director of the club's New Generations Committee which is developing a project that involves all of the committees in Rotary Maraval. "The Positive Possibilities project" explains Dr Andrews " aims at opening up avenues to young people to teach them skills, help them with learning, and give general guidance under different arms of the project."
Charles' learning centre is one arm of the project, the St Jude's School project is another arm for which Dr Andrews is directly responsible, and she explains: "Rotary's aim is to provide training for those young people who are in their last year at St Jude's, starting off with culinary skills. This involves establishing a proper kitchen in St Jude's at Belmont in collaboration with the administrators at St Jude's where our responsibility is to pay a tutor three days per week to teach a special group of girls. Our intention is to extend so that we could introduce more skills training and we are looking speficifally at sewing , hairdressing and plumbing. At the moment nothing is definite but we are hoping some kind people will come forward and assist in the project."
The idea is to give fairly in-depth training over a nine month period in culinary skills to a group of eight who will also be taught how to work towards self employment, through training in entrepreneurship, managing a small business and development of self esteem. According to Dr Andrews "this programme is going to get underway by hook or by crook. We are already working on the kitchen. A room has been identified which is almost completed. We just have to get equipment to move on, and that is where we are now."
There are no funds for this and the club is appealing to corporate Trinidad as they propose a similar project which will soon get underway at Santa Cruz in a school to be identified.