Latest update July 27th, 2024 12:59 AM
Jan 05, 2014 News
…founder and CEO of International Children’s Outreach
Onica Charles migrated to the United States of America during her teenage years, but the now 29-year-old woman has not forgotten her roots. She is determined to make a difference in the lives of children across the world.
The former St. Joseph High School student is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the International Children’s Outreach (ICO), a non-profit organization which started in September 2007.
Most of the members of the ICO are Charles’s classmates of the Nova South Eastern University, Miami, USA.
Therefore, conveniently, the group would raise money during the school year, and conduct its work during vacation.
“We don’t partake in the regular spring and summer breaks and so forth, we do “Alternative Breaks”, where we move away from the usual party atmosphere, and we travel to various parts of the world to conduct outreaches which will benefit children,” Charles said.
The ICO kicked off its work here in Guyana, and has since undertaken several community development projects in Grove, East Bank Demerara.
Over the past few years, the group has had several visits to the community where residents, particularly the youngsters, benefitted significantly.
Some of the ICO’s work in that community includes the establishment of a new and modern library for the Grove Primary School where the facility was equipped with much needed learning materials.
The Campbell’s Trust Nursery School was also given a major facelift, while the general community outreach aspect saw the group handing out hampers to a number of households in Grove and a few other communities along the East Bank Demerara corridor. These hampers contained food supplies, clothing and first aid kits.
Charles has focused extensively on her homeland, but said that she finds the need to live up to her foundation’s name as being ‘International’.
Thus, during her 2013 summer break, Charles took nine students of Florida International University (FIU) to Durban, South Africa where the group worked with both children and adults living with HIV/AIDS. It was the group’s first travel to the African continent.
While in South Africa, Charles was able to partner with the infamous Alicia Keys foundation Keep a Child Alive (KCA).
This saw the group extending its services to the Blue Roof Centre where even more HIV/AIDS patients were offered assistance.
In addition to physically caring for the patients, the group chose to remodel some of the children’s room, and developed a community garden- a first for the center.
“The entrance to the clinic was beautified, and we thought that that would lighten the moods of people going for treatment, while adding something beautiful to the lives of the people living there,” Charles said.
In an interview with Kaieteur News, the former Grove Primary School student said that the group spent a lot of time at the Methodist church where the members took part in group counseling sessions with HIV patients.
“The session was made up of about 30 men and women, some of them with their small children,” Charles said.
She explained that the “group went about asking questions about how families cope with HIV and how it has affected them. The overall response was about their drive to promote awareness in schools and to shatter this state of denial that many people fall into when they find out they have HIV.”
The group also supported the distribution of food to the hungry. “We handed out soup and bread to a line of locals just waiting for a hot meal,” she said.
Charles told this newspaper that the ICO also visited ‘Bobbi Bear’, a home serving children who have been raped.
There, the trained members of the group were able to interact and counsel with about 4,500 children, of all ages and genders, on a monthly basis.
Bobbi Bear only serves as an emergency, temporary shelter for these children.
In addition, the group visited the home of a woman who has adopted four young girls with HIV.
Charles explained that knowing the woman has been an inspiration.
“The woman has dedicated her life to raising these children since childbirth, describing how when she found the girls they were near death.”
The group donated a few items to the woman and her daughters after taking a quick tour of their humble home.
The group also visited a shelter for the differently-abled, which houses about 34 residents. They donated clothing to the residents.
Charles added that the group also visited Saint Monica’s House, an orphanage housing 86 children.
“They are divided into pods and each has a small “family” of about 12 children and one caretaker,” Charles said, adding that the group donated clothing and toys to the children.
She noted that immediately after returning to USA, she gathered another group of volunteers and flew to Kingston, Jamaica where they volunteered at Strathmore Gardens Children’s Home.
There, the group donated toys, clothing, and school supplies to over 40 children, and also gave the orphanage a facelift.
“We also helped Ebony Vale School, a basic school for children from low-income families who can’t afford fancy schools.”
“We repainted the buildings from the outside, and put up swings for the children on the playground,” Charles said.
The woman told Kaieteur News that her aim is to leave the world in a better place, knowing that she did her part in helping someone.
She noted that “just one hug and a smile from a child makes the work that we do, worthwhile; its worth it.”
Charles said that another group will soon be returning to Guyana, where emphasis will be placed on improving the lives of disadvantaged and homeless children.
“Plus we will also be doing more community outreaches. We are open to physical assistance. It is good to volunteer and help keep the pots boiling for others,” Charles said.
Born to Amanda Kumar and Augustus Charles, the young woman said that thankfully, she was able to overcome the many challenges, financial and otherwise, and was able to pursue a proper education. “Every child deserves a proper education.” Charles now holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration.
She added that persons wanting to follow the work of the International Children’s Outreach or provide assistance can do so via their website at www.icocharity.org.
BE THANKFUL AND GRATEFUL TO THE FOREIGN EXPLOITERS
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