Paradise Plum Project

December 31, 2009

Paradise Plum LogoSan Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago — The Paradise Plum cafeteria was opened in San Fernando, in a joint venture between the National Centre for Persons with Disabilities (NCPD) — a Goodwill Industries International affiliate — and the South West Region Health Authority (SWRHA). The cafeteria provides affordable and nutritious meals in the nurses’ dining room at the SWRHA health facility, and is part of the NCPD’s holistic rehabilitation program. The Caribbean home-style cafeteria serves the nearly 2,500 medical and administrative employees of the health facility.

NCPD is actively involved in the social and economic integration of persons with disabilities in Trinidad and Tobago. Before opening Paradise Plum, the organization had a thriving food preparation training program that provided job training for approximately 15 young adults with disabilities annually. As an integral part of the training program, the participants were in charge of an internal cafeteria at NCPD, which has been operational for the last 10 years. The internal cafeteria was established to provide hands-on training — and with commendable results, as the unit has placed more than 25 graduates in competitive employment in local restaurants, cafeterias and bakeries.

Paradise Plum was a natural part of the evolution of the food preparation training program. NCPD is not only committed to providing nutritious and appetizing meals at affordable prices to the personnel of the SWRHA, but the organization views the cafeteria as a place where it can create more training opportunities and employment for persons with disabilities in San Fernando. Of the current seven-member staff at Paradise Plum, six are persons with disabilities, with an additional four apprentices receiving on-the-job training.