Earlier this year some Caribbean Alumni from St Francis College in Brooklyn, New York reconnected via the popular social media platforms of Facebook and WhatsApp.
Most of them attended the institution at a time when over 200 students from the Caribbean filled the classrooms and added flavour to the small liberal arts college.
Now the group has reassembled with a different purpose of generating solutions to contemporary problems and providing assistance and support to fellow alumni in their entrepreneurial ventures and worthy volunteer oriented initiatives.
With the majority of students emanating from T&T, it was only natural that the first project organised by the group would involve a local institution.
The Morvant Anglican SEA project was spearheaded by SFC alumnus Shaka La Pierre.
After speaking with his friend Damali Wiltshire, a Standard Four teacher at Morvant Anglican Primary School, La Pierre realised that there was a serious need for intervention in the preparation of the students for the SEA exam.
He coordinated with Wiltshire and pitched the initiative to his fellow SFC Alumni via Whatsapp.
The initial goal was to raise funds for the supply of SEA practice tests for all 77 students comprising the Standard five cohort at the school.
In just over one month through personal contributions from alumni in the USA, Canada and T&T, the target was exceeded.
This accomplishment hit home upon the realisation that three of the contributors are Morvant Anglican past pupils.
Assistant director Corporate Energy manager for New York City Hospitals Marcus Lewis, BHP Biliton Joint Venture analyst Saleem Rahman, and Syracuse University faculty member Dr Denzil Streete as well as Jamaican Calver Palmer contributed to the cause.
The offices of Development and Alumni Relations at St Francis College endorsed the effort by contributing stationary and memorabilia from the College as gifts to each student at the local primary school.
On December 5, a small ceremony was held at the school’s Cipriani Road Extension, Morvant compound.
After presentation of the $6,200 cheque, the children, their teachers and school principal Theron Joseph, were treated to motivational words from Morvant Anglican past pupils, Rahman and Dr Streete.
Fellow SFC Alum, the multi-talented Krisson Joseph, programme coordinator at UTT Academy for Performing Arts also motivated the students with a rendition of Our Future Today by Sheldon Blackman.
Not to be outdone, the visitors were treated with a drama presentation by the students depicting all the positive contributions made to national development by members of the East Port of Spain/Morvant communities.
Standard 5 student, Xielle Bertrand, gave thanks at the end to visitors and their organisation for investing in education SEA students at her school.
The alumni looks forward to undertaking many similar initiatives throughout the Caribbean in the coming years.
MORE INFO
St Francis College Alumni
Sheldon Andrews, Giselle Bartholomew, Alicia Browne, Jaime Browne, Trisha Campo, Darryl Celestine, Rudolph Charles, Rondyl Clement, Fiona Hamilton, Kaaz Hosein, Vanessa Howard, Nikita Huggins, Jason Ifill, Keisha Israel, Krisson Joseph, Jason Kangalee, Shaka La Pierre, Marcus Lewis, Kionna Licorish, Andre Martindale, Karen Mitchell, Keith Morren, Calver Palmer, Thaze Phillips, Dwayne Pierre, Saleem Rahman, Denzil Streete, Belinda Thomas, Anthony Valley, Rene Luces-Whiteman, Jason Whittaker, Michelle Williams, Hakim Williams
