Camp Taraji 2016 ends on high note

The curtains have come down on Camp Taraji 2016, but participants are already looking forward to next year’s camp with great anticipation.

The camp ended recently with a Caribbean Day Parade and Exhibition at the Community College at Villa, where participants portrayed the lifestyles of citizens of the various Caribbean territories.{{more}}

Camp Taraji 2016 is the Taraji Foundation Inc’s first summer camp. This year’s camp was geared to educate campers about the Caribbean islands, their flags, cultures and various dishes. The enrichment segment of the camp featured talks about: charity, love of self and others, healthy living, eating and exercise, safety, and sensitization to good and bad drugs.

There was also a community service trip to a local orphanage, where the campers impacted the lives of children there by donating gently used items, clothes, shoes, snacks and drinks, etc.

Fun activities included Art and Craft, Sewing, Board Games, Kiddie Zumba and more.

The Taraji Foundation is a non-profit organization that was founded in 2013 by police officer Ronnick Douglas and his wife Janelle Cox-Douglas.

It is a community based group and on April 8, 2015, became a non-profit organization with the purpose of bringing self-

sustainable philanthropy to SVG through education, crisis intervention, job creation, entrepreneurship, disaster preparedness, tangible donations and relief.

“Taraji”, the Swahili verb, means “HOPE”, and hope is the concept in which Taraji was established.

Noting the socio-economic situation in St Vincent and the Grenadines, Taraji provides ‘hope’ for vulnerable children and families.

Taraji seeks to assist youths to awaken their civic consciousness, to become greater citizens, while fostering community spiritedness through active impactful activities and projects. Taraji collects food, used and new clothing, shoes, stationery, books, linens, toys and things and shares with vulnerable children and families across St Vincent and the Grenadines.

The Taraji Foundation has partnered with over 17 organizations locally, regionally and internationally, but not limited to: In Ian’s Boots – USA; Helping Educate Dominican Youths – Dominica; Caribbean Aid – United Kingdom; ITNAC Trinidad – Trinidad and Tobago; Cheerful Heart Charity – Trinidad and Tobago; Children of the Caribbean – USA; Small Acts of Kindness – Canada.

The organizations collect food, used or new clothing, shoes, linen, stationery, books, and toys. They are shared with children and families across St Vincent and the Grenadines on a needs basis. In the Foundation’s almost three years of existence, it has impacted over 300 families that have young children.

In order to do its distributions, the Foundation contacted various community leaders, community groups, churches, civil society organizations and the National Welfare Data Base to recommend persons. The Foundation also sent verbal invitations for the recipients, informing them of date, time and location of the distributions. In this way, the organization is able to reach persons who are indigent from every corner of St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Yearly, the Foundation does two major distributions, a Back to School Drive in August and a Christmas Drive in December.