Welcome to Trinidad and Tobago!

After several hours of early travel, we arrived  in Trinidad safe and sound!

Welcome Home!!!

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Neighborhood

Our Work With the Network of NGOs of Trinidad and Tobago for the Advancement of Women!

UCLA Law delegation with Terry Ince and Hazel Brown, NNTTAW founder

The Network of NGOs of Trinidad and Tobago for the Advancement of Women (NNTTAW) is a comprehensive national umbrella organization formed in 1985; it is an advocate and support system for women's organizations in Trinidad and Tobago and shares membership with many regional and international networks of women.

During out time at NNTTAW, we worked on several projects that NNTTAW was currently working on. These projects were:

• The Juvenile Justice for Girls Project
• Becoming a Woman
• User and Occupancy Agreement and By-laws

The Juvenile Justice for Girls Project

Currently, there is no facility for girls who find themselves in trouble with the law in Trinidad.  Girls are sent either to St. Jude's Home for Girls, which is not adequately equipped to deal with this vulnerable population as it is an orphanage, or to the women's jail!  Not only is this a blatant violation of international human rights law, it is against their own constitution.

There are currently 13 misplaced girls, one of whom is 17 and pregnant.  Their alleged crimes range from theft to armed robbery with the most egregious of the allegations being murder.  Because the ultimate goal is to rehabilitate these children so they can get back on track to living out their childhood, the women's prison is not suitable for attaining this goal.

The UCLA Law Delegation drafted a memo detailing the constitutional, legislative, and international rights of the girls who are detained to help frame the advocacy next steps of our partner organization.  The UNDP and USAID is in the process of doing an assessment with the Children's Authority of what the girls' needs actually are, and hope to have a facility built by the end of next year.

Becoming a Woman

The purpose of the "Becoming a Woman" program is to reduce the influence of social norms that perpetuate the social and economic an exclusion of girls and young women. The "Becoming a Woman" program is meant to create a place where young women and girls can develop into citizens safe from sexual and physical violence and burden of unwanted pregnancies.

The program is looking to reach 600 girls between the ages of 10-25. The girls will benefit from sex and sexuality and physical security modules incorporated into sports and physical activity sessions; a financial empowerment and literacy module and a life and job skills module.

The UCLA Law Delegation worked to create a model for the program based off of the Girl Power Initiative (GPI), started in Nigeria in 1993. GPI has very similar goals to the "Becoming a Woman" program. The UCLA Law Delegation also worked to identify some locations that might serve as safe recreational spaces. We also provided NNTTAW with a list of suggestions that could potentially help them move forward with the program.

User and Occupancy Agreement and By-laws

The UCLA Law Delegation worked on leasing agreement for the NGO, and amended their current bylaws. The network's Board of Directors previously had no fiduciary duties written into their bylaws and instead were choosing to advance the interest of themselves as individuals by offering contract agreements to family members and friends instead of true (non-interested) third parties. This affected the power structure within the board of directors which then negatively affected the terms of the leasing agreement that the NGO was subject to, due to poor decision making by the board.

However, The UCLA Law Delegation was able to amend the current framework to incorporate fiduciary duties, such as a duty of loyalty, so that the needs of the NGO are met and prioritized. The voting on the new bylaws will take place at the end of April and we are so excited to hear back from Hazel Brown and the NGO about when the new changes will take effect!

Hard at work!!!

Fearless Politics: The Life and Times of Hazel Brown

On our last day we had the honor of attending a celebration for Hazel Brown, the founder of the Network of NGOs of Trinidad and Tobago for the Advancement of Women, and the coordinator for our service trip.

Hazel Brown has been professionally involved in research, social development and community organization projects since 1969. Her focus has been primarily on the areas of poverty eradication, consumer affairs and promoting gender equity. She has organized and conducted numerous seminars and workshops toward these ends through the organizations that she has been a part of as well as in collaboration with government ministries, CARICOM, Commonwealth Organization, OAS, IDB, PAHO, UNIFEM, UNESCO and other UN and regional agencies.

Ms. Brown is the past Secretary General of the Commonwealth Women's Network and has been engaged in Commonwealth activities since the first Commonwealth People's Forum at CHOGM in Harare in 1991. She has consistently advocated for a strong vice and space for Civil Society in Commonwealth activities and decision-making. The Network's main goal is to improve the quality of life women throughout the Commonwealth.

- Excerpted from Fearless Politics program

Interactive banners used to show how guests are connected to Hazel Brown!

Ms. Brown giving a rousing speech about her life of Fearless Politics!

Ms. Brown has an outstanding record of service and work.  She has worked tirelessly and fearlessly to improve the lives of several different populations throughout the Caribbean. With such and impressive and expansive record, it is no surprise that much of the community showed their support of Ms. Brown by being in attendance. Some of the guests included Richard Blewitt, the UN Resident Coordinator, and the Hounourable Kamla Persad-Bissessar, the acting Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago and the first female Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago.

The Prime Minister wasn't just in attendance, however. She also gave a speech honoring the life and work of Ms. Brown.

The Hounourable Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago praising the work of Ms. Brown!

UCLA Law Delegation with the first female Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago!

St. Dominic's Children's Home

We couldn't take any pictures with the kids, as it is against the home's policy, but they were angelic and excited to see us!  There are 35 children from ages 5-15 that live at St. Dominic's.  It is a beautiful property, complete with a school, pool, open grassy fields, a recreation room, living quarters, and a small library.  

We pooled together our own funds to buy toys and school supplies for them, and were told that the gifts will be handed out on birthdays.  

Many of the stories behind how the children ended up there were heart wrenching, including one 10 year old boy, whose father had dropped him off there because his 3 older brothers had all been killed, and the 10 year old was next in line.  It seemed like the children were in good hands at St. Dominic's.

We donated school supplies and toys!

Our Visit to the U.S. Embassy!

Keith R. Gilges with UCLA Law Delegation, Media Room

Our gracious hosts, Keith R. Gilges (Chief of the Political-Economic Section) and Stephen Weeks (Public Affairs Officer), welcomed us to the U.S. Embassy with open arms.

Our hosts discussed the purpose and structures of embassies, the function of the U.S. embassy in Trinidad and Tobago, the process of becoming a foreign service officer, and current events in Trinidad and Tobago, and the embassy's response to those particular current events.

One of the most notable occurrences during our stay was the lock-down of the city by the local police department. During this lock-down the police searched cars and persons until there was a strong response for government to end the lock-down. It is believed that the local police department used the lock-down as a negotiation tool for higher wages.

Though, our hosts were very professional, well-informed, and official; that did not stop them from having a sense of humor.

UCLA Law Delegation with Stephen Weeks, Public Affairs Officer

The pictures are blurry, but you get the idea!!!

Our Visit to the House of Stokely Carmichael (Kwame Ture)!

Kwame Ture, also known as Stokely Carmichael, was born in Trinidad and raised in New York. While attending Howard University in Washington, D.C., Ture spent his summers in the south working with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). Much of his effort with SNCC was to get African-Americans registered to vote, these efforts were often met with violent resistance from segregationists. It has been said that Ture had his hand in every major demonstration and event that occurred between 1960-1965. Ture spent the early ‘60s embracing non-violent protest, but his stance began to change when 3 civil rights workers were murdered, followed by the assassination of Malcolm X, and the crushing military presence in several cities, Ture began to rethink his beliefs. In 1966, at a demonstration in Mississippi, Ture coined the term “Black Power”. With increased pressure from the FBI and CIA, Toure decided to flee America. Ture would travel the globe preaching the merits of pan-Africanism for another three decades. Mr. Kwame Ture was laid to rest in Guinea in 1998 at age 57.

Exploring Trinidad!

Nice Dinner at Buzo's to Celebrate our Week

Maracas Bay

Emperor Valley Zoo

Giraffe

Tapir

Siberian Tiger Cub

Lion

Royal Botanic Gardens

West Indian Cedar

 

  

UCLA Law Delegation staying fit with a local workout group!

 

We even got to meet up with the NYU Law Women of Color Collective (WoCC), whom after hearing about our trip, decided to do a similar trip of their own!

UCLA Law Delegation with Salmah Rizvi, an co-chair for the NYU Law WoCC