It's called the HANDS Foundation, the brainchild of Stann Creek West Area Representative Rodwell Ferguson. The organization has been developed with the assistance of North American do-gooders to provide social assistance to children in the division which comprises 26 villages. It was launched today in Independence Village with almost unprecendent3ed fanfare as the Prime Minister and Ministers Godfrey Smith and Francis Fonseca showed up. Why so much scenery? Well the event dovetails nicely with a new public relations offensive being launched by the Prime Minister and what better place to do it than in an area where schools are opened and hundreds of schoolchildren were brought in to make the show while enduring the sun hot for a two and half hour ceremony. And while the PM used the time to press flesh, the HANDS organization's Vice-Chairman Charles Longsworth said so does his organization; HANDS will make a difference for those same school children.
Charles Longsworth,
"What we are trying to do is to get the communities encouraged into helping our young people. Government, we realize, cannot do it all and there are many people out there that are willing to help. As a matter of fact, when we started this organization we were very energized by the number of people that came forward and said they are willing to help. We have 7 main goals, one of them is provide at least one nutritious meal for the students of the Stann Creek West, that is one of goals. Another one is to provide uniforms, shoes, school material, and what have you. The Minister of State said just now, our President, that one of the things we want to do for all the kids, especially starting with the primary schools, we want to pay their registration fees; once we get under way nobody should have to pay a registration fee in the schools. So I could tell anybody out there that is wondering if your child is not going to be helped, we are not going to work on that individual basis. We are going to work through the schools. When we want to help children that don't have books, we will go to the school principals, nobody wants to know if their PUP or UDP."
The event was filled out by a number of performances staged by school children.
