April 08 , 2006
CIB ENCOURAGES YOUTHS TO VALUE OUR ELDERS
Clico Investment Bank (CIB) has joined forces with the T&T Coalition against Domestic Violence in encouraging young people to value and respect our Elders.
CIB is the major sponsor of the Coalition’s Stop Elder Abuse Now (SEAN) - Public Education and Awareness Outreach Project to Secondary Schools. SEAN is an intergenerational sensitization project between secondary schools and elder care facilities specifically geared at improving contact and understanding between the older and younger generations.
CIB shares the Coalition’s desire to improve the quality of life of older persons by providing social support, by encouraging advocacy on behalf of the elderly and by fostering change in social attitudes. Bank President, Lennox Archer says “a programme such as this one is of utmost importance to CIB, as it not only brings the issues of elder abuse and exploitation to public attention, but endeavours to instill an attitude of caring in our young people, at a time when basic values of love, respect and kindness for our fellowman appear to be a thing of the past.”
Twenty (20) Form Three students of the St. Augustine Girls’ High School and ten (10) residents of the Caring Hands Home for the Elderly participated in the pilot project. The project was conducted over a three-week period and consists of six (6) workshops which include topics such as:
- Self development
- Self respect
- Time and stress management
- The value of volunteering
- How to listen
Students currently interact with residents of the Home every Saturday between the hours of 9:30 – 11:00 am. Each group of students will present a research paper, as well as produce creative work, in the form of artwork, poetry or creative writing based on their interaction with the elderly residents. Many students have already indicated their desire to continue building on the relationships already developed with elderly persons at the Home.
The Ministry of Education has approved the participation of four (4) secondary schools for the Outreach programme. In this regard, the Coalition has identified three (3) additional schools namely:
- Rafeek Memorial (TML) Secondary School
- Tunapuna Government Secondary School
- El Dorado Comprehensive Secondary School
The selection of Homes is still to be finalized by the Coalition. |
