As heavy showers pelted Barbados on November 21, dozens of early childhood caregivers refused to be deterred and braved the rains to attend a training seminar hosted by the Foundation for the Development of Caribbean Children (FDCC) in conjunction with The UWI – Family Development Centre (UWI-FDC), and the Child Care Board, with funding from Sandals Foundation.

The FDCC’s Board Chairman, Dr. Carol Logie noted that FDCC hopes to reach additional day care providers by targeting rural areas in Barbados. She expressed her pleasure at the budding partnership between all entities involved and particularly at the willingness of the Sandals Foundation to fund and be a part of such a venture. Deputy Director of the Child Care Board, Ms. Denise Nurse conveyed similar sentiments, acknowledging the usefulness of private and public sector partnerships.

Launched in January 2012, the FDCC is the first indigenous non-profit foundation in the Caribbean dedicated to advancing the cause of and providing avenues for early childhood development for poor, vulnerable or at-risk families. It builds on a 10-year platform of success created by the Caribbean Child Support Initiative, a programme that was introduced in 2002, dedicated to mainstreaming effective and high quality early childhood development and parenting support practices. FDCC aims to give children equal opportunities to reach their full potential.