Sister Pat to realise her dream

A new home for teenage girls who have been abused and abandoned by their families will be constructed here soon.
On Friday, August 27, Japanese Ambassador His Excellency Shigenobu Kato signed the grant contract and handed over a cheque of US$86,349 to Father Pio Antonio, Vicar General of the Diocese of Kingstown.{{more}}
Speaking at last week’s ceremony, Ambassador Kato said that the home will provide not only a much needed shelter for teenagers from disadvantaged backgrounds, but will also embrace a vision for their education and social development into productive and well-rounded citizens.
The project for the construction of a home for girls is
the brainchild of Principal of the St. Joseph’s Convent Marriaqua Sister Patricia Douglas and Elizabeth Yessem, a Peace Corps volunteer, because of their sense of frustration with the excess of abused and neglected girls within the school system. They also recognised the need for a home for girls and introduced the call of action to the Diocese in Kingstown.
The Diocese approved the project in 1999, and the use of land owned by the Sisters of Cluny to construct the project was granted. Approval for a grant for the construction of the home was also given by the Embassy of Japan.
The Grant Assistance for Grass-roots Human Security Projects was initiated in 1989 by the government of Japan to assist non-governmental, local government, medical and educational institutes. The first project, which benefited from this type of assistance in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, was Sunshine School in Bequia in 1998. The project with the Diocese of Kingstown is the fourth project under this co-operation scheme.