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Contact:
Chris Satney
Friday, May 06, 2005 - Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Kenny Anthony has again
sounded a plea for families of persons housed at various homes on the island to
show more interest in their welfare. Dr. Anthony was at the time addressing the
handing over ceremony of a Poverty Reduction Fund (PRF) project to the
Cornerstone Humanitarian Society Thursday.
The St. Lucian Prime Minister says the families of the homeless should end their
adopted philosophy of abandonment and life of isolation. Dr. Anthony said the
lives of persons who are housed at any facility or shelter on the island can be
easily enhanced by the frequent visits of their loved ones.
“Come and visit your friends here. Come and visit your relatives. Spare a
special moment with them, it will mean the world to them because it will
reconfirm that they’re important, that they have value and there is still a care
for their welfare,” Dr. Anthony said.
The $240,000 PRF project included the construction of a female dormitory,
repairs to the existing building and the erection of a green house to be used to
generate income for residents of Cornerstone House. Director of the Shelter
Juliet Brathwaite thanked Prime Minister Anthony for his generosity in allowing
the facility to benefit from produce grown at his official residence at Vigie.
She also expressed the hope that Cornerstone’s share of the Prime Minister’s
Garden can go towards another organization, once its agricultural project had
taken shape. Soon after entering into office in 1997 Prime Minister Anthony
pledged to donate the produce of the vegetable garden at the official residence
to Cornerstone and a number of other homes.
“This is for the participants; this is for those clients of ours who wish to be
participants and some of the people from the Massade Boys Training Centre who
will also be participating in the training. We hope they will stay with us for
as long as they would like,” Brathwaite said.
Director of the Poverty Reduction Fund Donavan Williams expressed satisfaction
with the completion of the project, which is managed entirely by the Society’s
Management Committee.
“There was some initial hesitation, some initial fear but I have to say from our
perspective the society and the committee that was established did a superb job.
There is no other way about it absolutely superb,” Williams said.
Cornerstone receives an annual subvention of $50, 000 from the Government of
Saint Lucia. This allocation was increased by $12, 500 for the fiscal year 2005
-2006 with a further increase by the same amount proposed for the fiscal year
2006/2007.
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