Trinidad and Tobago

January 6, 2010

A geographic map of South America with Trinidad and Tobago highlightedHistory
There are currently two active Goodwill affiliates in Trinidad and Tobago: Goodwill Industries of the West Indies (Port of Spain) and the National Centre for Persons with Disabilities (NCPD). Established in 1955, the Port of Spain Goodwill has held associate member status since 1968. NCPD was founded in 1964 and has been an associate member since 1985.

Programs and Services
Goodwill Industries of the West Indies offers exceptional and effective services within its employment training program to people with disabilities. Its key areas of operations include work adjustment, occupational skills training, job placement and work services.

Participants enrolled in the program are exposed to an array of specific trade courses to enhance work skills. Courses available include basic remedial education, independent living skills and work behaviors, printing, bookbinding, hair styling, food preparation, furniture refinishing and production, and textile sewing. Additionally, the organization fulfills a variety of employment contracts that allow hands-on training in a real work environment. Goodwill West Indies generates 40 percent of its revenue from its retail store. The revenue helps fund business services, along with job training for people with disabilities in the fields of culinary arts, woodworking, and hair and beauty.

The mission of the NCPD is to provide persons with disabilities with effective and efficient training and rehabilitation services that enhance the quality of their lives and promote their integration into the wider community. The agency has four areas of operations: vocational rehabilitation and skills training, light manufacturing, community outreach and consultative services. The organization offers a comprehensive training and rehabilitation program that provides individuals the certification, experience, guidance and self-confidence needed to become job ready and employable in today’s competitive labor market.

Additionally, the NCPD operates a cafeteria, called Paradise Plum, in a local hospital, providing both training opportunities and revenue for the organization. Graduates participate in an apprenticeship program, which allows them to gain work experience in a real world environment, internally at the agency or externally at community-based employers. Job placements are sought in the open labor market for suitably qualified individuals, with support provided from the center. Sports, recreation and cultural events also play an integral part in the holistic development of the trainees.

Fast Facts
Goodwill Industries of the West Indies
Fast Facts for 2008

  • Staff: 22
  • Number of people served: 150
  • Number of people placed in competitive employment: 30

National Centre for Persons with Disabilities (NCPD)
Fast facts for 2010

  • Staff: 59
  • Volunteers: 30
  • Number of people served: 260
  • Number of people placed in competitive employment: 25
  • Total Services Provided: 1040

Contact Information
Goodwill Industries of the West Indies (Trinidad)
Chief Executive Officer: Barbara Olumide-Alleyne
Board Chair: Dr. Mitra Sinanan
9 Fitz Blackman Drive
Wrightson Road Extension
Port of Spain, Trinidad
West Indies
Tel.: (868) 625-8867
E-mail: babsaol@yahoo.com

National Centre for Persons with Disabilities
Chief Executive Officer: Beverly Beckles
7 – 21 New Street
San Fernando, Trinidad
West Indies
Tel.: (868) 652-4880
Fax: (868) 657-3525
E-mail: ncpd@carib-link.net
www.ncpdtt.org

Country Profile
Country name: Trinidad and Tobago
Capital: Port of Spain
Population: 1,227,505
Land Size: 1,978 square miles (slightly smaller than Delaware)
President: George Maxwell Richards
Prime Minister: Kamla Persad-Bissessar
Language: English
Unemployment: 6.4 percent
GDP (PPP): $26.1 billion
GDP (PPP) per capita/average income: $21,200
Statistics for Persons with Disabilities: According to a 2000 Census, 4.5 percent of the population have disabilities.

State of Disability Legislation
Trinidad and Tobago has signed but not ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The National Policy on Persons with Disabilities was launched in 2006 and has sought to create a social and physical environment favoring accessibility, integration and the full participation of persons with disabilities into every aspect of society.