The Bel Air Home in Calliste

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Grenada is close to most peoples' dreams of an idyllic tropical island and so it is, as in any other country in the world there are less fortunate individuals who are not able to share in that idyll - in the case of the residents of Bel Air, children who have not had any control of their own destiny

The Bel Air Home in Calliste, was opened on January 12th 1999 and is a not for profit company that is incorporated in Grenada. A Board of Directors, who all serve in a voluntary capacity, runs the company. The Friends of Bel Air (UK) is registered with the Charity Commission in the UK. Registration number 1074764 Details of the revenue funding base can be seen in the Annual Report of the Company.

The Home was purpose built to accommodate up to 20 babies and toddlers in the nursery and 20 adolescents girls in individual cubicles (measuring 5’ x 8’) on the upper floor.
There are currently thirty two children in the home, aged between 6m and twenty.
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The day to day running of the home is carried out by the Home Manager and eighteen other staff. The quality of the care provided now is reflected in the behaviour of the individual children and the atmosphere that exists at the Home. It is something of which they are proud. Bel Air is spotlessly clean, but very stark and bare. Money has not been available for luxuries like decoration, or educational/ motivational material and equipment to give the children hope for a brighter future.
They are woefully understaffed and rely heavily on volunteers, mostly from the local university, but when the school is out for the summer, and the students go home the challenges are even greater.

The children are from background of neglect, abuse, and abandonment. Their care is centred on personal development and personal tutoring based on each child's capabilities. There is a pre-school for the older children from the nursery which helps with early childhood development. Corporal punishment is not permitted.
We have recently set up a new website where you will be able to read more about Bel Air. The link is www.belairchildrenshome.com. There is also a Facebook page which can be found on the following link http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=8059968012&ref=ts

In 2002 the idea of a permanent memorial to remember the enslaved and their descendants was born. As a result Memorial 2007 as a group was formed in January 2005 by volunteers and is now a charitable company limited by guarantee.

We are seeking to erect the first national memorial anywhere in the world to commemorate enslaved Africans and their descendants on a site in the Rose Gardens of London's Hyde Park.

The Memorial statue, a powerful work designed by leading international artist Les Johnson and selected after a public competition depicts the story of the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

It will be placed within a landscaped site including the flora of Africa as an oasis of remembrance.

The statue and memorial garden will become a place for reflection and education and will form part of the UNESCO World Slave Route Heritage Project linking the key global sites associated with the slave trade.

Donations
To make your contribution to this important initiative please to give a personal donation. No amount of money is too small. donation form (pdf)

Memorial 2007
c/o Voluntary Action Westminster
37 Chapel Street
London NW1 5DP

[email protected] | http://www.memorial2007.org.uk/