Director of PAREDOS, Cecily Clarke-Richmond (left), accepts a donation from former Director, Marcia Graham.
Having first-hand knowledge of the challenges faced at Parent Education for Development in Barbados (PAREDOS), former Director Marcia Graham has stepped up to the plate.
Yesterday, she showed her continued commitment to the organisation by presenting the new Director Cecily Clarke-Richmond, with a much-needed monetary donation to help sustain the programmes on offer.
During the presentation of the cheque at PAREDOS’ St. Clair Gardens, Perry Gap, Roebuck Street, St. Michael office, Graham revealed the source of the funds – the Maria Holder Memorial Trust. She was one of ten guests during the Trust’s 10th Anniversary celebrations, who each won $10,000 to donate to charities of their choice.
“PAREDOS is part of my bloodstream. So, when I received the money and I was told that it’s not my money, that I need to give it to a charity, my number one choice was PAREDOS because I am aware of the daily operations of this organisation, and I know that it takes constant, consistent funding.
“And more and more as we get difficulties with families in our communities, they head for PAREDOS. The schools, churches, and community groups send people to PAREDOS, and so it is necessary to have funding to keep the programmes going,” she said, calling on Barbadians to donate to PAREDOS’ efforts.
“So we can continue to impact families, communities and we can change the way how Barbados operates. I believe really strongly that the home is the most important part of a child’s life and PAREDOS touches every home, every school, every community.”
Graham also took the opportunity to call on students, in particular those of the University of the West Indies (UWI), to come volunteer. She recalled volunteering for more than 20 years at PAREDOS before becoming Director, with their radio programmes and community outreach. “I am happy to donate to PAREDOS for your community outreach; your parenting programmes and I pray that more volunteers will come. Volunteering is necessary, persons need to give back. All who went to University and the Barbados government paid for your education, it’s time to give back – let PAREDOS be that place where you give back as it’s such a rewarding experience.”
Counselling Co-ordinator at PAREDOS, Terry Best, concurred with the former Director, insisting: “We desperately need volunteers.”
She went on to highlight their programming, “We have a Parenting Support Programme. Parents can come together and hear that they are not the only ones experiencing challenges, that there are other parents and we learn from each other. We learn how to cope, we learn how to function and it’s a continuous programme.
“We also speak to children; sometimes children have difficulties with their parents because parents are unaware of how to communicate with their children. And we help parents to identify that there are various methods, various skills and strategies that they can use to communicate with their children.”
“Also, if you think you have a problem, you can call and we can talk over the telephone. Any challenges that you have parenting, we are here to assist with,” Best added.
Director Clarke-Richmond thanked Graham, expressing that the donation is a fantastic way to start off 2020.
“We at PAREDOS do what we do because we are committed to making Barbados’ children to be so much better… There are some of them whose lives are currently at the stage where things are happening that we know should not be happening, and we are doing our best to help them become better citizens.” (TL)