"Service Above Self, a key Rotary motto, comes natural to me," says Rotarian Richard Thomas, Club Service Chair.

Richard added, "As a teenager in Tunapuna I had a birthday club. My friends and I wanted a Christmas party for all the children around. Some, we knew, would not see ham nor a toy for Christmas. We held a Carnival party to raise funds for toys and Christmas fare for the children. And now in Rotary, we do the same for our children in the Beetham community."

 

 

When the Rotary Club of Central Port of Spain (RCCPOS) began its relationship with our  now Beetham family, the Beetham had a fearful reputation and the Inter-Agency Task Force (IAFT) police were happy to escort members from the Club in.

 

Richard said, "Now we are family there, with Uncle Wayne and the parents and children who surrounded our car. Uncle Wayne had a little schoolroom with children and teenagers, 8 to 16 years old, who had challenges, physical and mental. He named it ‘ EACH ONE TEACH ONE’.

Richard continued, "George in his years as Chair of Youth Service, turned this room into a haven of learning and acceptance and loving care, by fundraising for resources: books, blackboards, you name it!"

The ’ALL IN ONE’ School began as a place of safety for toddlers and children too young for ‘big school’ to go to when their parents went in the early morning “to earn a bread”. With the assistance of RCCPOS, this has developed into a beautiful school with modern equipment and furniture to encourage the pink-uniformed children to  enjoy learning and know they are the best.

 

In 2025, with Rotarian Richard at the helm of Youth Service, ‘All In One’ now has air-conditioning for the comfort of the young students. Importantly, in both schools Life Skills is part of their curriculum, teaching self acceptance, relationship building, conflict management, money management and entrepreneurship.

Rotarian Richard and team are hoping and planning for 2025-2026 to be the year when they assist the music studies of the students, with a basic studio for recording and playback, that could give them a career start.

Highlights of the year are their Graduation before they go to ‘big school’. The Government Primary or Secondary schools, and the Christmas party , when Santa Claus and Mother Claus come, bearing gifts.

 

We remember with great love a great, vibrant, woman who portrayed Mother Claus, the deceased mother of RCCPOS' Past President Tanya Western, who graced us with her presence for several years until her passing earlier this year.

The President of Trinidad and Tobago, Her Excellency Christine Kangaloo, was among the dignitaries who come during International Literacy Week every year to read to the children and praise their artwork, academic work and other achievements.

 

 

In addition to our schools in the Beetham community, our ‘ADOPT A CHILD’ continues bearing fruit in the successes of the children we assist. We support their education for their five years of secondary school. This encourages the ‘adopted’ children to stay in school until the Fifth form and to try their best with the book and uniform assistance from RCCPOS.

 

Our Community Service team hopes and plans in 2025-2026 year, to motivate our children in the Beetham community by supporting the students among them, who did best in the Primary School SEA examination, for the five years of secondary school. We also hope to replace a peace pole on the Brian Lara promenade as our last pole may have been vandalised.

 

When you see in 2026, the bright new sign enhancing the entrance to the Beetham community, know that it carries our love for our Beetham family and might say "WELCOME TO THE BEETHAM GARDENS – HOME OF BEETHAM VIBRATIONS STEEL ORCHESTRA”.