Opinion: Education or Food?

What would you do? Do you satisfy their hunger while their minds are starved of the knowledge to go forward in this cruel world or do you facilitate the luxury of online classes while scraping to put together a decent meal?

Wednesday, 16th June 2021

Opinion: What would you do? Do you satisfy their hunger while their minds are starved of the knowledge to go forward in this cruel world or do you facilitate the luxury of online classes while scraping to put together a decent meal? Fortunate are those who have the option to choose, many are left without food as well as education.

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This is the sad and harsh reality of many parents in Trinidad and Tobago during this global pandemic. But why? Why is that our children must suffer?

Wednesday, 11th March, 2020 the Ministry of Health confirmed the first case of the Novel Coronavirus in Trinidad. A 52-year-old male who flew in from Switzerland some days prior. Everything immediately went downhill from there. Panic at the supermarkets, chaos on the nation’s roads and fear instilled in every citizen. One year later and we are still in that very same panic mode.

Virtual Media Conferences, Lockdowns and State of Emergencies. This has become the new norm of our once productive and safe third world country. It may sound harsh but that is what we are, a third world country that has failed to ensure the proper education of our children. While we provide grants and subsidies to the selected few, our most vulnerable slip through the cracks and that’s where they will remain if something is not done soon enough.

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A family of four, Mother, Father and two sons ages eleven and fifteen. The parents are both hardworking and humble law abiding citizens that do their utmost best to provide for their family. “As of midnight tonight” has left this mother and father jobless. Unable to earn, bills piled up and groceries ran out. As parents they chose to keep their family alive and healthy by using the last of their savings to purchase food.

With an outstanding balance of $2,000 for TSTT, their internet service provider without hesitation disconnected them, thus leaving the children to academically suffer. Business is Business right?

Desperation struck and after weeks of no schooling for her children the frustrated mother decided to take her sons to a poultry depot out of their area that had an open wireless internet connection.

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Our office learnt of this and it broke our hearts. We immediately reached out to the parents and offered our conference room, printer and internet services to them. The father drops off his wife and sons every morning at 9am. The children are now comfortable and the mother can breathe a sigh of relief knowing her children are able to gain full access to online schooling as well as they can now submit assignments in a timely manner.

As heartwarming as it is to see the boys smile every morning while awaiting class to begin, to us at the Barrackpore West Councillor's Office it is not enough. Though we have assisted the family with food support, their situation is heart breaking and beyond our resources.

We are aware that due to current Covid-19 Restrictions we are unable to facilitate all families in need of an internet connection but we feel as though more can be done.

If you or anyone you know can assist these families, please feel free to contact us.

They too have tried to help themselves but which do they choose? Education or Food?

Should they really have to choose?

Author: Councillor Nicholas Kanhai - Barrackpore West

Note: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to the WIC News or any of its employees. WIC News has not made any corrections or spell check before publishing above article.