Republic Bank’s Inclusive Social Investment

How the Bank’s CSR programmes are making a positive difference

In its quest to ‘make a positive difference’ in the lives of our people, Republic Bank, one of the largest, longest operating and most successful indigenous banks in the English-speaking Caribbean, continues to support social programmes that promote practical approaches to meaningful and lifelong change.

Built on four pillars: the Power to Care, the Power to Help, the Power to Learn and the Power to Succeed, the ‘Power to Make a Difference’ programme focuses on three specific areas namely, the development of young people through education, sport and the arts; poverty alleviation through training programmes for at-risk youth and the provision of facilities for elderly community members, helping differently-abled persons and groups find their place in the world by providing training and physical facilities, to help them become more self-sufficient and effectively contribute to society.

Expanding investment

The Power to Make a Difference was introduced in 2004 with an investment of $52 million in social programmes in Trinidad and Tobago, over a four-year period. The second phase, over 20092014, saw a doubling of Republic Bank’s social investment to $100 million. In its 2014-2019 phase, the Bank continues its work with an additional $100 million investment.

The Power to Make a Difference Programme has also been introduced in other countries where Republic Bank has operations, including Grenada, Guyana and Barbados, with a similar focus on youth development, poverty alleviation, and helping the differently-abled.

Combating illiteracy

During the 2014-2019 phase, Republic Bank has decided to pay specific attention to the area of illiteracy across the region. One of the major initiatives being undertaken is the partnership with the Trinidad & Tobago National Commission for UNESCO and its ‘Leading for Literacy Now!’ project. The programme will be rolled out in 40 primary schools each year and aims to improve the reading standards and numeracy skills of the infant population in schools.

“The biggest thing we have discovered is that illiteracy is prevalent across all generations, so everyone needs to be taken into account. UNESCO is addressing illiteracy at the entry level and is getting buy-in from principals and teachers, ensuring that they are committed to taking a firm hold on it and breaking the cycle,” said Nadia Williams, Social Investment Officer, Republic Bank. Another essential component of the programme, is the “Parenting

for Literacy” segment. Through its partnership with the Archdiocesan Family Life Commission, the Commission has created the parenting programme, which will help parents to create an environment conducive to learning in their homes.

“It gives parents the tools and techniques where they can engage their children in conversation and open up communication lines. The programme takes parents through every step. It helps with listening to your children, understanding the motor skills of your child at a certain age. It encourages parents to engage with children whether driving or walking to school, and it encourages children to talk and express themselves,” added Williams. Under the literacy programme, parents will also attend sessions on anger management and conflict resolution.

The Bank will also continue its longstanding support of programmes with the Adult Literacy Tutors Association,

Butler Institute of Learning & Labour, Cotton Tree Foundation and many others. Alongside the school literacy programme, all social programmes supported by Republic Bank will have a literacy component.

The SickKids Foundation

Another major programme for Republic Bank in the latest phase is its $5.3 million, four-year support to the Canadian Hospital for Sick Children to assist in the treatment of children with Sickle Cell, across the Caribbean. The SickKids Caribbean initiative is managed by the SickKids Foundation. This Foundation is the largest funder of child health research, learning and care in Canada. One of the main goals of the SickKids Caribbean Initiative is to implement universal newborn screening for sickle cell disease in six Caribbean countries.

At the launch of the initiative in February, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Colin Furlonge noted that sickle cell trait is very common in the Caribbean, with an estimated ten per cent prevalence rate in Afro-Trinidadians.

Through the partnership with the Hopsital for Sick Kids, the SickKids Foundation and the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, the Bank’s funding will allow for the increased capacity building in the area of Sickle Cell Disease.

Habitat partnership to educate

Still on the literacy trend, Republic Bank’s support for Habitat for Humanity programme also carries a financial education component on managing funds. Now in its third year running with an annual investment of $1 million, the Habitat for Humanity programme seeks to bring relief to socially marginalised and poverty stricken families.

“When you hear the stories, it puts a lot of things in perspective from where people live, to the circumstances under which they live; and if you don’t intervene, the cycle continues from one generation to the next,” remarked Williams.

She spoke about one family in Valencia that had to separate because it was difficult to continue living together

in their small and dilapidated house. “They had to choose between good living conditions and going to school... they chose education, and the daughter went on to study law. When the family got into their new house under the Habitat for Humanity programme, they were back together under one roof. What is amazing is that the mother volunteered for all the building projects at her neighbours’ homes and never once asked for a house to be built, but she got hers. Everyone else lived in the same conditions as her family, but it is things like this… (the compassion and the sacrifice) that keep us going.”

Republic - Inclusive Social Investment