St. James Day Care Centre

Parent Body: St. James Child Welfare League
Address: #1 Agra Sreet, St. James, Trinidad, West Indies
Phone: (868) 628-6583
Contact: Jacqui Osbourne
Dedication: Care of Infants and Children

"Day Care Centre Cries for Help - Missing mattresses, hot building..." --Newsday article, Sunday, March 28, 1999

St. James Day Care Centre History:

The St. James Day Care Centre has been located on Agra St. for the past 60 years. Each month needy parents whose children are in the Centre pay from $150 to $200 TT dollars (about $23 to $31 US dollars) monthly so that they can go to work and earn a living. They receive Government contributions which are not adequate for the needs of the many infants and babies that reside their during daylight hours.

The Centre has a parent body called, "Child Welfare League of Trinidad & Tobago" which seeks to make parents aware about their responsibility for their children via courses given at the nursery school.

A building as old as this one is a disaster for the little ones to be in and although some other charitable groups like the Lions Club have helped to secure the building against thieves and predators the Centre needs to be either relocated or have a new building established.

Who are the People:

The Centre is supervised by a retired principal, Jacqueline Osbourne with 25 babies and 16 toddlers involved in pre-school. The Centre formed a group called "Friends" (Eight persons; Regional Counsellors for the St. James area, PTA, and the Management Committee) which meets once a month to discuss what they can do towards getting help to maintain the exsisting structure they now occupy and commencing a new building.

What we need:

From an article in the Newsday Newspaper on Sunday, March 28, 1999 Jacquline said, "We are making do with what we have but we really need the support of the community to make the enviroment better for the children."

The following are some of the items or services needed:

* Mattresses for cribs... some cribs have none
* Cribs... some of the bars are broken and cannot be used safely
* Fans... its extremely hot for the children
* Television... free cable was donated, but there is no television
* Outdoor Swing... the present one is broken in several places
* Hot Water Heater... for sanitary
* Story Books and toys... the children need these items to stay active
* Handymen... we could use all manual labour and skill

FOOD STUFF: Each day the children are given a hot meal at lunch time. Only when donations of jello, custard, fruit or ice cream are received can a treat be given to the children.

TOILETRIES: Some children are unable to bring their own pampers, wipes, soap, baby oil or cream, etc.

FIRST AID ITEMS: A critical supply of this is needed for emergencies.

KITCHEN UTENSILS: Saucepans, pressure cooker, warmers, plates, bowls, cutlery, and a microwave oven.

PLAY GROUND EQUIPMENT; This is completely out of service.