Sinckler lauds YWCA initiative

PRESIDENT OF THE YWCA, Marilyn Rice-Bowen (left), presenting an award to volunteer Gina Millington. (Lennox Devonish)

Thu, January 26, 2012 - 12:00 AM

GOVERNMENT IS COMMITTED to assisting with the needs of families and communities even in times of recession.

Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler gave that assurance Tuesday morning while addressing a ceremony to mark the fifth anniversary of the Young Women’s Christian Association’s (YWCA) Breakfast Club at the association’s Deacons, St Michael headquarters.

“As we seek to be, in a broader philosophical sense, our brother’s keepers, it is incumbent on us at the level of Government to ensure that whatever we do . . . to correct any physical imbalance we might have in our accounts . . . to ensure that we don’t do it in such a way as to trample on those very important imperatives within our society.

“And that is keeping our families strong, keeping our citizens aware and learning and knowledgeable and healthy and productive,” he said.

Sinckler, who is also the parliamentary representative for the area, said the club was started before the recession and that there was always a need for people to be able to access services offered by governmental and non-governmental organizations.

Pioneer

“The work of the Y, to go even beyond what people would consider to be their traditional mandate, to get into areas and to pioneer areas which may not have received the appropriate level of attention from state authorities . . . is something to be applauded,” he said.

Sinckler termed the growth of the breakfast club, which started with 30 people and has grown to 1 000, as a “remarkable” achievement.

YWCA president Marilyn Rice-Bowen said that the Breakfast Club was here to stay, and suggested that the impetus from Government should ensure its continued growth.

Rice-Bowen said the YWCA had a history of children-focused initiatives, which include the introduction of traffic wardens, the reading club and school safe zones.

She took the opportunity to invite people to contribute to a building to be sited at Barbarees Hill, St Michael, to house girls between the ages of 13 and 17.

Noting that there was an “urgent need” for such a facility, Rice-Bowen said the YWCA had already received the approval of the Town and Country Planning Department. (YB)