EQUAL PLACE

Equal Place (EP) was the first non-formal education programme Living Water Community (LWC) offered to migrant and refugee children with support from UNHCR and other donors. The LWC, UNHCR and UNICEF joined forces to continue to provide education to children on the move through Equal Place.  This initiative was conceived as a temporary intervention to support asylum-seekers, refugees and other eligible children in need to access blended education.  The temporal nature of the initiative was linked to the advocacy efforts, and the request made to the Denominational Boards to attend to the schooling of migrant and refugee children for families with children that had been part of the registration exercise conducted by  the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.  This process should have led to the issuance of educational permits that would have enabled children to be enrolled in school but unfortunately has not yet been made possible by  the Immigration Division..

The church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints assisted the children of Equal Place with stationery and manipulatives for their education. One of the highlights from this donor was the two (2) fun and family day events the children were exposed to. They engaged in friendly fun activities as well as enjoyed face painting, balloon making and all food and snacks were free for parents and children.

The church also sponsored the birth registration of migrant mothers who gave birth to their children while in the country. ESL classes was another aspect that these generous donors were able to provide to the migrant communities. Another group that benefited were the teens between the ages of 14 to 17 that participated in a youth journalism workshop, whereby those who were interested in this employment pathway gained knowledge from the experts within the industry.

Finally, the LDS was able to assist the students at the various spaces with activities that allowed them to visit natural and historic sites within Trinidad. They visited the Temple in the Sea, the National Zoo, the Botanical gardens, as well as the US Burlington that was docked at the port in Trinidad.