FDCC E-Newsletter

FEBRUARY 2012 ISSUE:

News

“Thinking outside the Building" Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) supports Early Childhood Development Advocacy Initiatives

The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) has taken another step in its ongoing support of Early Childhood Development (ECD) initiatives in the Caribbean. CDB recently signed an agreement with the Caribbean Center for Development Administration (CARICAD) to provide a USD$64,603 grant to a Project entitled, ‘Advocacy of ECD Initiative’ initiated by the Caribbean Child Support Initiative (CCSI).

The CDB grant funds were allocated from the Basic Needs Trust Fund (BNTF) 6^th Programme and will be used to finance the production and dissemination of the “Early Childhood Advocacy Toolkit”, training materials and training of advocates of the local Youth and Community Advocacy Network (YouCAN) in Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. In addition, the funds will support the production and dissemination of the Toolkit and training materials in Belize and Jamaica.

Successive BNTF Programmes have provided grants for gender-specific activities of the Roving Caregivers Programme (developed by CCSI) in St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The Bank is going beyond the provision of the infrastructure and is supporting the enabling social environment to promote and sustain positive ECD, especially in conditions of poverty and vulnerability. BNTF 6 aims, inter alia, to strengthen partnerships and networks to improve programme delivery in this sector towards enhancing development outcomes. The provision of additional support to ECD initiatives such as the Roving Caregivers is aligned to the BNTF 6 outcome of networking for community development.

The Project also seeks to strengthen the capacity of the local YouCAN networks to raise awareness among communities and civil society for gender-sensitive ECD services to socially vulnerable young children and families.

The initiative will fulfill another BNTF 6 objective of promoting and strengthening community organisations and their capacity to initiate and manage change. Strengthening of the local, community YouCAN networks in six of CDB’s Borrowing Member Countries will provide the platform for a regional network to be established. In keeping with CDB’s cross-cutting theme of gender equality, the Advocacy Toolkit will address issues of gender relations and thereby contribute to strengthening the skills and self-confidence of young women and young men to improve the quality of their lives and increase advocacy for positive gender socialisation of girls and boys.

Capacity building workshops using the advocacy training materials have already started in the 4 OECS countries (Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines). In December 2011, over 80 members from the 4 local YouCANs were trained in the areas of Building Relationships, Advocacy and the Media, Delivering Presentations and Speeches and Monitoring and Evaluation. They were trained as advocates to create greater awareness and visibility on ECD/Family and community support needs. Each local YouCAN will develop an Advocacy Action Plan which will start implementation of activities as of March 2012.

The CCSI, which was managed by CARICAD from 2002 to 2011, has evolved into the recently launched Foundation for the Development of Caribbean Children (FDCC). The CCSI established the YouCAN, which is a network of advocates garnering support at the community level by creating the demand for quality ECD and family support services. The purpose of the YouCAN is to engage in discourse and advocate on the behalf of young children and families living in disadvantaged circumstances where ECD services are not available or accessible to them.

The FDCC will be responsible for the implementation of the remaining activities commenced by the CCSI, which will include facilitating the development of country specific Advocacy Action Plans, further capacity building workshops as well as the monitoring and evaluation of activities.

St. Lucia’s Corporate Sector and the FDCC join for luncheon to discuss Philanthropy and Corporate Social Responsibility

St Lucia’s Corporate Sector is being reminded of its Social Responsibility in the development of its country and the wider Caribbean. This will be the focus of a luncheon being held for over 40 representatives from the country’s business sector on Tuesday February 21^st at the Sandals La Toc Golf Resort and Spa. The event will be hosted by the Foundation for the Development of Caribbean Children (FDCC).

The theme of the Luncheon is: “Giving Back: The importance of Philanthropy and Corporate Social Responsibility in Moving the Development Agenda Forward”. The featured speaker will be Mr. Rien van Gendt, former Executive Director of the Van Leer Group Foundation. A Question and Answer session will follow his address.

Another objective of the luncheon is to formally introduce and sensitise Corporate Saint Lucia to the FDCC and its vision, mission and goals in providing quality early childhood development services, especially for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged young children in the region.

The FDCC, which evolved from the 10-year-old Caribbean Child Support Initiative (CCSI) funded by the Bernard Van Leer Foundation (BvLF) and managed by the Caribbean Centre for Development Administration (CARICAD), now has responsibility for funding and managing the highly successful Roving Caregivers Project (RCP) in St Lucia, Grenada, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Dominica, Jamaica and Belize. In St. Lucia alone, the RCP currently provides services for over 400 children (aged 0-3 years). With FDCC’s support, by 2015, an additional 1500 children will benefit from the RCP and FDCC’s support services.

During the week of February 20 - 23, 2012, the Chairman of the FDCC, Dr. Didacus Jules along with Trustees of the Bernard van Leer Foundation (BvLF) will be in Saint Lucia to see the impact of CCSI’s 10 year programming in Saint Lucia as well as to engage with the corporate sector and other interested players in promoting greater investment in quality support services for the most disadvantaged children and their families by partnering with the FDCC.

At the core of the FDCC’s operations, is a focus on strengthening the care environment of vulnerable children between zero to five, living in disadvantaged communities throughout the region. The FDCC envisions a Caribbean where young children from all social and economic backgrounds have equal opportunities to reach their maximum potential. Its mission is to significantly increase the number of disadvantaged children who acquire the knowledge and skills to prepare them for entry into primary school and lifelong learning by accessing good quality early childhood development services.

Investing in Early Childhood Development

By: Dr. Julian ‘Jules’ Ferdinand, FDCC Board Director

“The money that we spend on early childhood development today will reduce the amount of money we have to invest in hospitals, jails and cemeteries tomorrow.” Cuthbert Didier, Director, Foundation for the Development of Caribbean Children (FDCC).

The Caribbean region has been the breeding ground for outstanding individuals in every discipline or profession. Many of our nationals have carved out positions on the world stage. Take, for example, the accomplishments of the late Sir Arthur Lewis (1915-1991). He was born in the relatively small island of St. Lucia and rose to prominence as a world-class economist and strategic thinker.

We can also draw on examples in law, business, science, music ... the list goes on and on. Sometimes we forget that we have accomplished much with relatively little. And the invention of the steel pan by Trinidadian Winston “Spree” Simon (1930-1976) embraces this whole concept of doing great things with very little; reminding us that, once we let our imagination go, we can create great legacies. Our commitment to excellence and our willingness to innovate have propelled many Caribbean nationals to great heights within and beyond our shores.

And the imagination and demonstration of social responsibility within the region have spawned model institutions too. The Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (CRNM) has been used a model in “best practice” by regional groups in the Western Hemisphere.

The Foundation for the Development of Caribbean Children (FDCC) is a legacy “young in the making”. It is a foundation that will have a positive impact on children throughout the Caribbean as the people, businesses, and organisations in our region strategize and synergize to improve the future of Caribbean children. The foundation, which was launched in St. Vincent and the Grenadines less than a year ago, is focused on creating a better future for thousands of disadvantaged children across the region through socially responsible investing (SRI). This investment is not limited to financial contributions. The FDCC invites and welcomes voluntary service also.

The FDCC’s formation was considered an imperative when it was discovered that the internationally funded Caribbean Child Support Initiative (CCSI) was being phased out at the end of 2011. The CCSI’s positive impact on early childhood development had been quite evident. This was especially visible through its flagship programme, the Roving Care-givers Programme (RCP).

The RCP is a programme that facilitates the training of community aids who would visit disadvantaged homes on a regular basis providing early childhood stimulation and teaching parents (usually single mothers) how to provide adequate mental, social and emotional stimulation to the young children in the household. This programme, which was given birth in Jamaica, has been modelled in several other Caribbean territories, including St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and has improved the lives of thousands of our children and their families.

Dr. Didacus Jules, a St. Lucian by birth, is the Chairman of the FDCC’s Board of Directors. He is also the Director of the Barbados-based Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) and a consultant to the University of the West Indies (UWI) Institute of Business.

This experienced educator and education practitioner has worked across the Caribbean, in North America, Europe, Africa, the Pacific, and the Middle East. He has been an advisor on educational development to governments in several of these territories. Dr. Didacus Jules advocates that: “CCSI facilitated programmes (like the RCP) proved to be far more cost effective than any other childhood developments in the region.”

So now, with the exodus of the CCSI, the peoples of the Caribbean are committed to continue the good work that they have started, knowing that the investment of our time, talents, and treasures will improve the lives of thousands of our vulnerable children.

We embrace the views of Professor James Joseph Heckman (born 19 April, 1944), the Nobel Laureate in Economics (2000) who reminds us that: “If we don’t provide disadvantaged young children with the proper environment to foster cognitive and non-cognitive skills, we’ll create a class of people ... without the ability to contribute to the larger society nearly as much as they could if they’d been properly nurtured from an early age. Neglecting the early years creates an underclass.”

The FDCC provides an opportunity for all Caribbean peoples and businesses to participate in its worthy efforts to intercept our vulnerable children with intent. Individuals, service clubs, and companies can donate funds to the FDCC initiatives now established in the English-speaking Caribbean. In addition, the FDCC welcomes the public’s support to the various fund-raising activities planned for the period 2012 and beyond as it seeks to ensure that “no child is left behind”.

The organisation brings strong governance, transparency, and accountability. Its financial reporting systems facilitate timely and appropriate progress reporting and fund allocation. The FDCC is committed to a published annual audit along with regular detailed and accurate financial and performance reports. With these in place, socially responsible contributors (individuals and companies) can be confident of the proper management of their funds.

It is an awesome privilege to be living in the time of the birth and early life of the FDCC and to be able, via our commitment, to chart an improved course for our Caribbean children. Additional information can be obtained via the FDCC’s website at www.fdcchildren.org or by sending an e-mail request to info@fdcchildren.org. Let’s commit to supporting this worthwhile Caribbean initiative, knowing that our investments today will pay great social dividends tomorrow.

Send comments, criticisms & suggestions to julesferdinand@gmail.com



	FEBRUARY 2012 ISSUE: News “Thinking outside the Building" Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) supports Early Childhood Development Advocacy Initiatives The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) has taken another step in its ongoing support of Early Childhood Development (ECD) initiatives in the Caribbean. CDB recently signed an agreement with the Caribbean Center for Development Administration (CARICAD) to provide a USD$64,603 grant to a Project entitled, ‘Advocacy of ECD Initiative’ initiated by the Caribbean Child Support Initiative (CCSI). The CDB grant funds were allocated from the Basic Needs Trust Fund (BNTF) 6^th Programme and will be used to finance the production and dissemination of the “Early Childhood Advocacy Toolkit”, training materials and training of advocates of the local Youth and Community Advocacy Network (YouCAN) in Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. In addition, the funds will support the production and dissemination of the Toolkit and training materials in Belize and Jamaica. Successive BNTF Programmes have provided grants for gender-specific activities of the Roving Caregivers Programme (developed by CCSI) in St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The Bank is going beyond the provision of the infrastructure and is supporting the enabling social environment to promote and sustain positive ECD, especially in conditions of poverty and vulnerability. BNTF 6 aims, inter alia, to strengthen partnerships and networks to improve programme delivery in this sector towards enhancing development outcomes. The provision of additional support to ECD initiatives such as the Roving Caregivers is aligned to the BNTF 6 outcome of networking for community development. The Project also seeks to strengthen the capacity of the local YouCAN networks to raise awareness among communities and civil society for gender-sensitive ECD services to socially vulnerable young children and families. The initiative will fulfill another BNTF 6 objective of promoting and strengthening community organisations and their capacity to initiate and manage change. Strengthening of the local, community YouCAN networks in six of CDB’s Borrowing Member Countries will provide the platform for a regional network to be established. In keeping with CDB’s cross-cutting theme of gender equality, the Advocacy Toolkit will address issues of gender relations and thereby contribute to strengthening the skills and self-confidence of young women and young men to improve the quality of their lives and increase advocacy for positive gender socialisation of girls and boys. Capacity building workshops using the advocacy training materials have already started in the 4 OECS countries (Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines). In December 2011, over 80 members from the 4 local YouCANs were trained in the areas of Building Relationships, Advocacy and the Media, Delivering Presentations and Speeches and Monitoring and Evaluation. They were trained as advocates to create greater awareness and visibility on ECD/Family and community support needs. Each local YouCAN will develop an Advocacy Action Plan which will start implementation of activities as of March 2012. The CCSI, which was managed by CARICAD from 2002 to 2011, has evolved into the recently launched Foundation for the Development of Caribbean Children (FDCC). The CCSI established the YouCAN, which is a network of advocates garnering support at the community level by creating the demand for quality ECD and family support services. The purpose of the YouCAN is to engage in discourse and advocate on the behalf of young children and families living in disadvantaged circumstances where ECD services are not available or accessible to them. The FDCC will be responsible for the implementation of the remaining activities commenced by the CCSI, which will include facilitating the development of country specific Advocacy Action Plans, further capacity building workshops as well as the monitoring and evaluation of activities.
	St. Lucia’s Corporate Sector and the FDCC join for luncheon to discuss Philanthropy and Corporate Social Responsibility St Lucia’s Corporate Sector is being reminded of its Social Responsibility in the development of its country and the wider Caribbean. This will be the focus of a luncheon being held for over 40 representatives from the country’s business sector on Tuesday February 21^st at the Sandals La Toc Golf Resort and Spa. The event will be hosted by the Foundation for the Development of Caribbean Children (FDCC). The theme of the Luncheon is: “Giving Back: The importance of Philanthropy and Corporate Social Responsibility in Moving the Development Agenda Forward”. The featured speaker will be Mr. Rien van Gendt, former Executive Director of the Van Leer Group Foundation. A Question and Answer session will follow his address. Another objective of the luncheon is to formally introduce and sensitise Corporate Saint Lucia to the FDCC and its vision, mission and goals in providing quality early childhood development services, especially for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged young children in the region. The FDCC, which evolved from the 10-year-old Caribbean Child Support Initiative (CCSI) funded by the Bernard Van Leer Foundation (BvLF) and managed by the Caribbean Centre for Development Administration (CARICAD), now has responsibility for funding and managing the highly successful Roving Caregivers Project (RCP) in St Lucia, Grenada, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Dominica, Jamaica and Belize. In St. Lucia alone, the RCP currently provides services for over 400 children (aged 0-3 years). With FDCC’s support, by 2015, an additional 1500 children will benefit from the RCP and FDCC’s support services. During the week of February 20 - 23, 2012, the Chairman of the FDCC, Dr. Didacus Jules along with Trustees of the Bernard van Leer Foundation (BvLF) will be in Saint Lucia to see the impact of CCSI’s 10 year programming in Saint Lucia as well as to engage with the corporate sector and other interested players in promoting greater investment in quality support services for the most disadvantaged children and their families by partnering with the FDCC. At the core of the FDCC’s operations, is a focus on strengthening the care environment of vulnerable children between zero to five, living in disadvantaged communities throughout the region. The FDCC envisions a Caribbean where young children from all social and economic backgrounds have equal opportunities to reach their maximum potential. Its mission is to significantly increase the number of disadvantaged children who acquire the knowledge and skills to prepare them for entry into primary school and lifelong learning by accessing good quality early childhood development services.
	Investing in Early Childhood Development By: Dr. Julian ‘Jules’ Ferdinand, FDCC Board Director “The money that we spend on early childhood development today will reduce the amount of money we have to invest in hospitals, jails and cemeteries tomorrow.” Cuthbert Didier, Director, Foundation for the Development of Caribbean Children (FDCC). The Caribbean region has been the breeding ground for outstanding individuals in every discipline or profession. Many of our nationals have carved out positions on the world stage. Take, for example, the accomplishments of the late Sir Arthur Lewis (1915-1991). He was born in the relatively small island of St. Lucia and rose to prominence as a world-class economist and strategic thinker. We can also draw on examples in law, business, science, music ... the list goes on and on. Sometimes we forget that we have accomplished much with relatively little. And the invention of the steel pan by Trinidadian Winston “Spree” Simon (1930-1976) embraces this whole concept of doing great things with very little; reminding us that, once we let our imagination go, we can create great legacies. Our commitment to excellence and our willingness to innovate have propelled many Caribbean nationals to great heights within and beyond our shores. And the imagination and demonstration of social responsibility within the region have spawned model institutions too. The Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (CRNM) has been used a model in “best practice” by regional groups in the Western Hemisphere. The Foundation for the Development of Caribbean Children (FDCC) is a legacy “young in the making”. It is a foundation that will have a positive impact on children throughout the Caribbean as the people, businesses, and organisations in our region strategize and synergize to improve the future of Caribbean children. The foundation, which was launched in St. Vincent and the Grenadines less than a year ago, is focused on creating a better future for thousands of disadvantaged children across the region through socially responsible investing (SRI). This investment is not limited to financial contributions. The FDCC invites and welcomes voluntary service also. The FDCC’s formation was considered an imperative when it was discovered that the internationally funded Caribbean Child Support Initiative (CCSI) was being phased out at the end of 2011. The CCSI’s positive impact on early childhood development had been quite evident. This was especially visible through its flagship programme, the Roving Care-givers Programme (RCP). The RCP is a programme that facilitates the training of community aids who would visit disadvantaged homes on a regular basis providing early childhood stimulation and teaching parents (usually single mothers) how to provide adequate mental, social and emotional stimulation to the young children in the household. This programme, which was given birth in Jamaica, has been modelled in several other Caribbean territories, including St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and has improved the lives of thousands of our children and their families. Dr. Didacus Jules, a St. Lucian by birth, is the Chairman of the FDCC’s Board of Directors. He is also the Director of the Barbados-based Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) and a consultant to the University of the West Indies (UWI) Institute of Business. This experienced educator and education practitioner has worked across the Caribbean, in North America, Europe, Africa, the Pacific, and the Middle East. He has been an advisor on educational development to governments in several of these territories. Dr. Didacus Jules advocates that: “CCSI facilitated programmes (like the RCP) proved to be far more cost effective than any other childhood developments in the region.” So now, with the exodus of the CCSI, the peoples of the Caribbean are committed to continue the good work that they have started, knowing that the investment of our time, talents, and treasures will improve the lives of thousands of our vulnerable children. We embrace the views of Professor James Joseph Heckman (born 19 April, 1944), the Nobel Laureate in Economics (2000) who reminds us that: “If we don’t provide disadvantaged young children with the proper environment to foster cognitive and non-cognitive skills, we’ll create a class of people ... without the ability to contribute to the larger society nearly as much as they could if they’d been properly nurtured from an early age. Neglecting the early years creates an underclass.” The FDCC provides an opportunity for all Caribbean peoples and businesses to participate in its worthy efforts to intercept our vulnerable children with intent. Individuals, service clubs, and companies can donate funds to the FDCC initiatives now established in the English-speaking Caribbean. In addition, the FDCC welcomes the public’s support to the various fund-raising activities planned for the period 2012 and beyond as it seeks to ensure that “no child is left behind”. The organisation brings strong governance, transparency, and accountability. Its financial reporting systems facilitate timely and appropriate progress reporting and fund allocation. The FDCC is committed to a published annual audit along with regular detailed and accurate financial and performance reports. With these in place, socially responsible contributors (individuals and companies) can be confident of the proper management of their funds. It is an awesome privilege to be living in the time of the birth and early life of the FDCC and to be able, via our commitment, to chart an improved course for our Caribbean children. Additional information can be obtained via the FDCC’s website at www.fdcchildren.org or by sending an e-mail request to info@fdcchildren.org. Let’s commit to supporting this worthwhile Caribbean initiative, knowing that our investments today will pay great social dividends tomorrow. Send comments, criticisms & suggestions to julesferdinand@gmail.com