ChildFund Caribbean leaving after spending over $67 million in the past 16 years’ in Dominica & St. Vincent

ChildFund Caribbean (CFC) leaving the region in August 2016, after spending over $50 million dollars over more than 30 years’ in Dominica and St. Vincent & the Grenadines. The fund was first introduced in Dominica in 1985 as the Christian Children’s Fund. It provided services to hundreds of children in both countries. Recently the organization announced that it will be pulling out of the Caribbean to concentrate on areas of greater need such as Africa and some parts of Asia.
 
At a phasing out ceremony on Monday 23rd May, Officer in Charge of CFC, Gelina Fontaine, highlighted the organization’s contribution to the Caribbean. She said, “On an annual basis, Child Fund Caribbean supported over 7,500 children and youth, between birth to age 24 years old, with a diverse range of services and programs,” she said. “Our annual beneficiary count, to include those who benefitted from all sources of funds… range between 20,000 and more than 50,000 children and their families in some years.”
 
She added, “ChildFund expends EC$3-million on average, on a yearly basis, between our national office, and our three local partners in the two countries combined, totalling, for example, between 1997 and 2016 alone, EC$67-million or US$25-million”. She announced that local partners have decided to continue sponsoring children, and asked that others join them in being “champions for children.”
 
Meanwhile, Education Minster Petter Saint Jean recognized CFC’s contribution to the Ministry, through program assistance and implementation. St Jean said, “ChildFund also assisted in the implementation of the Child-Friendly Schools initiative through the provision of human & financial resources; and lately, they have been implementing the Child Assault Prevention (CAP) program within our primary schools. Through this initiative, our children are learning how to be safe, and how to stay safe, strong, and free”.
 
ChildFund currently serves over 50-million children and their families worldwide. Its offices will be officially closed by the end of August 2016.