On Wednesday, 18th May 2011, exactly four years after the Credo Drop-In and Development Centre at 19 Nelson Street was totally destroyed by fire, a Sod-Turning Ceremony marked a new beginning for the Centre.

Present were The Honorable Glenn Ramadharsingh, Minister of the People & Social Development, His Worship the Mayor of Port of Spain, Mr. Louis Lee Sing, Mrs. Gloria Jacobs representing TCL (Trinidad Cement Ltd.), along with other supporters and well-wishers.

From left:  Mr. Louis Lee Sing, Mayor of Port of Spain,
Dr. Glenn Ramadharsingh, Minister  of the People 
and Social Development and  Executive Director
of  Credo, Sister Roberta O’Flaherty chf,
turn the sod for the new Drop-In and Development Centre.

The Vision of the Credo Centres
In addressing the gathering Sister Roberta O’Flaherty, Executive Director said: "There are far too many of our children in T&T who are suffering. They have no safe place to call home, are not in school, and are on the streets making their way into drugs, crime and violence. The Credo Centres offer these children a second chance at a happy and productive life.  

The aim of the centres is threefold:

1.  To get the children away from the streets and other abusive situations and to help them to acquire the personal, social and educational skills  hey need to become self-reliant, contributing citizens and responsible parents of the future.
2. To address the issue from a preventative standpoint by empowering family.
3. To make an impact on our overall societal problems of homelessness, crime and violence. 

In these days when it seems as if cruelty, anger and violence against children are becoming endemic in society, we don’t have the luxury of responding with cynicism or losing hope. We have to do something.  It is going to take all of us working together to make things right for our children.  This is something we can and must do!"

The Challenge Ahead
The estimated cost of rebuilding the Centre and making this much-needed service a reality once again is TT$ 8 million.  Credo members gratefully acknowledge the on-going support of the Government and the Corporate Community and appeal for continued assistance as they embark on the urgent and mammoth task of rebuilding.   

Left:  Architect's design for new building   Right: The gutted building after the fire.

Credo Foundation for Justice has recently opened a fourth facility for needy young people.   The new centre, beautifully named “Ruah” (life breath of God)  will  further the work of the existing Sophia House by providing a transitional facility for young women as they prepare for independent living.  This new initiative has been made possible through the generosity of the Ashby family.

   
From "The Roost" to "Ruah" 

No.18 McShane Terrace, Belmont, was the Ashby family home since 1932 and it was affectionately known as “The Roost”.    Here the Ashbys lived a happy life until earlier this year when the youngest member of the family, Hilary Frances, died.

Her surviving brother, Oswald, and sister, Sr. Aloysius SJC, together with her sister-in-law, Merle, and nephew, Gary, agreed to offer their home to the Credo Foundation for Justice for an initial period of five years in support of their work with children and youth. 

Thanks and Blessing
In late November the Ashby family were welcomed back to their home to honour their generosity in providing it for the work of Ruah. As a transitional facility, Ruah will strengthen and empower young women for the road of life and their future in turn as home-makers.   

The Advent candle, lit for prayer, was a powerful symbol of blessings to unfold in the future through the generosity of the Ashby family and the work of Ruah.   Oswald prayed very beautifully:     

“May all those who experience Ruah share in the
decades of happiness etched in every pore of this home.” 

On behalf of CREDO, Sr Roberta O’Flaherty chf, Executive Director, thanked the Ashby Family for their generosity, and assured them that every effort would be made to ensure that the young women would experience the love and the life breath of God at Ruah. She also expressed the hope that on leaving Ruah they would be lights in Trinidad and Tobago as the members of the Ashby Family have been over so many years. 

Holy Faith Convent Couva 1951 - 2011

The following is the text of the talk, given by Sr. Marie Young on behalf of the Holy Faith Sisters, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Holy Faith Convent, Couva.

60 years ago, in 1951, the Holy Faith sisters arrived in Couva to open a girls’ secondary school in the area at the invitation of the then Archbishop, Count Finbar Ryan.  The sisters who came….and you know some of their names….brought with them a rich heritage which they themselves received from our  foundress, Margaret Aylward.

 For Margaret,  in her adult life and her work, three values shaped the work she was doing: the values of FAITH, FAMILY and FATHERLAND: 

• FAITH … utter trust in God  because God is God, especially when all the reasons for this trust are not there. This trust extends to self, to others, to creation. We trust because God trusts. We search for truth and beauty and goodness in one and all because God does so. So we accept the multi-religious character of this country and in this school we teach and live the Catholic faith,  but we also respect the religious beliefs of non-Catholics.

FAMILY … the social context into which we are all born and into which Jesus himself was born and in which we live out our human existence. Margaret Aylward strove with all her might and imagination to keep the family as a unit. She did everything possible to strengthen the bonds of her own family. So, the Education that goes on in a school must not only be for the pupil but also for the whole family, therefore it must be wholistic and extends out to the various households. Education needs to build households of whole integrated individuals.

• FATHERLAND …  love for and allegiance to our country and our commitment to its growth and development - not only economic but also moral and spiritual. As emerging citizens, you young women must take your education seriously so that you can, with appropriate knowledge and expertise take up the reins of leadership and be part of lobbying for a better country in every sphere.

It is this heritage that the sisters who came here in 1951 and those who came after them endeavoured to pass on to both staff and students.  It is this heritage that you too must imbibe and pass on to your family, your colleagues, the nation - wherever you go and with whomsoever you work.  

This is an ideal opportunity for you during this 60th year to take stock of where you are and where you want to go and ask yourselves how, within the constraints of the present-day educational system,  you can best use and adopt this heritage so that it is of maximum benefit to all and so foster the deepening of the commitments to God, family and country. Perhaps you can do a research project on how the values of faith, family and fatherland have been fostered in the school down through the years and perhaps also how these values can be fostered in the  present decade.

Milestones in
Couva's growth
over 60 years

So,  as you launch this year of celebration,  let us not lose sight of the reasons for this celebration - namely  the acknowledgment  of a job well done!  As Margaret Aylward our foundress said: “Under God it began and through God it has grown.”  May God bless you. 

Leela Ramsdeena past-pupil of Couva, wrote a fine account of this gathering also for the “Catholic News” and it may be accessed at the following link:   

 http://www.catholicnews-tt.net/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2326:hfc-celebrates-60-years-jan-23&catid=121:features&Itemid=64  

This account of the Memorial Mass was originally written for the
"Catholic News" of 27th January by Dianne St. Louis    

“How lovely on the mountains are the feet of him, who brings good news, good news,
 Announcing peace, proclaiming news of happiness … …”

As St Theresa's Church, Woodbrook vibrated with the sounds of this joyous meditation hymn, I thought to myself: What a fitting tribute to Sr Laurentina and what a powerful reflection of her life!.  

On Tuesday, 11th January 2011, Sr Laurentina's sisters in Christ, many of her past-pupils,  former students of St. Theresa's and her friends gathered to celebrate her memorial Mass. She had died in Ireland one week previously. 

The sadness of the occasion was dispelled by the happy memories of Sr. Laurentina, by the camaraderie of the faithful present and by the knowledge that we were giving homage to a joyful, beloved Sister, teacher and friend who  most certainly now at her passing must be “carried on eagles' wings and lifted high above the heavens” as the opening hymn of the Mass suggested.

As I entered the church the atmosphere was alive with the buzz of conversation and the excited exchange of greetings of past-pupils who had not seen each other for a long time. Memories came flooding back: of school days filled with vibrant activities of studies, operettas, music and laughter, all brought by eight Holy Faith Sisters who arrived from Ireland to teach at St. Theresa's  in December 1947.  

A beautiful bouquet of tropical blooms, colours of gold, magenta, red and burgundy, placed behind and above the altar at the foot of Jesus crucified, graced and enhanced the scene. St Theresa's Saturday evening choir,  led by the capable Ian Amoroso, brought pulsating rhythm to the occasion. At 6.00 pm, chief celebrant Fr. Joseph Harris, ably assisted by concelebrant Fr. Michel De Vertueil, both adorned in shining white vestments, entered the sanctuary and began the Liturgy. 

Sr Janice Tam of Holy Faith Convent, Couva, delivered a magnificent eulogy on the life of Sr. Laurentina. She spoke glowingly of the fondly-remembered nun, who left Ireland to journey to the foreign land of Trinidad  to bring the good news of peace, love and happiness to us its people. Again, in the early sixties she left the familiar shores of Woodbrook  - her first home in Trinidad  - to go to Sangre Grande to open a Holy Faith school there.  

In 1967 she was once more called upon to leave familiar shores - this time to found a mission in New Orleans. She returned to Ireland in 1974 to continue and complete her ministry in her homeland. Sr. Janice extolled Sr Laurentina's attributes – her joy, her compassion, her energy and enthusiasm. She praised the manifold gifts and talents of this remarkable nun who loved Trinidad, its people and its culture and who not only saw God's hand in every circumstance and in every person but also had the ability to communicate this to others.

Fr. Harris' wonderful homily on Hebrews 2: 5-12 and Mark 1: 21-28 spoke of the self-giving love of Jesus which dispels the spirit of division, confusion, and exclusiveness. He also maintained that  Sr. Laurentina reflected this self-giving love of Jesus and it is this love that we will be judged on when we go to God at the end of our lives.   

 The Mass continued with the Prayers of the Faithful and then the deep reverence of the Liturgy of the Eucharist gave way to the beautiful meditative pan instrumental at the Communion and the stirring “Our God Reigns” for the meditation after Communion.  

Before the recessional Sr. Mary Anthony brought greetings and words of encouragement and gratitude from the General Leadership Team and Congregational Leader, Sr. Margo Delaney. The Mass drew to a close with the fitting recessional “Tell of my love to the Islands” - an inspiring message straight from the lips of Sr. Laurentina. She most certainly  left her islands the legacy of God's abiding love.

But the evening was not yet over as the entire congregation was invited by the sisters and friends to a get-together in the music room. And what a sharing it was!!  The delectable savouries and sweets added to the joy of meeting old friends and mulling over old memories. The atmosphere was charged with excitement and well-wishing and the Holy Faith Sisters did themselves proud in hosting this unique occasion. 

Indeed Sr Laurentina's life was crowned by her death and she will always be fondly remembered at St. Theresa's her second home with joy, peace and love.