(back row, far right) with Bren Romney and Centre Personnel
HOPE Centre Ltd, a facility for the East End/Sandy Hill community and other surrounding areas, has shown such a high measure of success since its inception in December 2011 that a Memorandum of Understanding has been entered into between that facility and the Anguilla Government.
HOPE is the acronym for “Helping Our People To Excel”. With a total of over 40 students, the passing in mathematics at CXC level by those who sat the examination, providing a wide range of other subjects on the curriculum, and serving as a general purpose community facility, the Centre is indeed on its way to achieving much success.
The MOU was signed on Friday, November 14, by Minister of Education, Youth and Culture, Mr Jerome Roberts, and Pastor Gareth Hodge, Chairman of the Board of Directors. The signing was done in the presence of Mrs Cora Richardson Hodge, Founder of, and Adviser to, the Centre; Mr Bren Romney, Director of Youth and Culture; Mrs Hyacinth Bradley, Senior Programme Officer; Pastor Norril Gumbs and Ms Ami Hunte, two of the directors; and the Centre Manager, Ms Josette Duncan.
“Our community had no central meeting place where young people could reinforce their learning skills; where they could get assistance with homework and assignments; and where their development skills could be enhanced,” Ms Duncan said in her welcome remarks. “In the case of the other persons, we wanted a central location where they could learn basic computer skills and internet access; and have a library for research and reading. This MOU permits us to work together for the continued positive development of the East End community. We strive to work together to educate and inspire our youth and our community.”
Pastor Hodge reported that the Centre had a total of 41 students, exceeding by 15 the number specified in the MOU. He continued: “We are providing mathematics and in the last CXC exam all students entered by the HOPE Centre… passed. We are providing maths at primary and CXC level; reading, homework, computer-related studies, English primary and at CXC level; and we are going to be getting involved in Spanish and social programmes for adults. We are working very closely with the Morris Vanterpool Primary School from where some of the slower children will be referred to us to assist them; so our community effort is really growing.”
Minister Jerome Roberts said he had fought to ensure that the HOPE Centre, like all the other centres, would receive financial assistance from Government and that he had succeeded in securing the support of the other ministers. He commended all the centres on the island for their service and said that the inadequate financial contributions, at this time of economic difficulty, were just a gesture of the Government’s support and appreciation.
Mr Roberts said there was a qualifying process in terms of the financial assistance provided by Government. “The HOPE Centre is still basically in its embryonic stage, in terms of moving forward, and we are quite pleased with what is happening there,” he added. “While the contribution is only $25,000, the reality is that at this time the Government of Anguilla is still facing serious financial constraints and therefore we have to be able to share the pie. Once the economy can carry the load financially, and we see the results coming out of the Centre, that contribution would be increased.”
Mr Romney congratulated the community for having a well-established Centre and pointed to the need for its sustainability. “It is in this regard that the Government is very appreciative of the opportunity to partner with you because, collectively, we can do what we cannot as individuals,” he stated, pointing to a number of critical principles of the MOU, in order to better accomplish the shared goals. He thought the Centre was unique in terms of its location, vision and strategic focus.
According to him there are six such community centres in Anguilla and there is an initiative to develop a seventh – the soon-to be-launched Valley Community Centre which will require a similar MOU. The Government currently makes available a total guaranteed amount of over EC$120, 000 per year to provide financing and technical support for the centres.
Mrs Cora Richardson-Hodge was pleased to serve as the Adviser to the HOPE Centre. She was grateful for the collaboration between the Centre and the Government and was delighted with its contribution to the community it serves.
