SUNDAY 6TH DECEMBER, 2015 – UWI TODAY
31
TAKING SOCIOLOGY TO SCHOOLS
The Sociology Unit launched its School Outreach
on October 28 at the Bishop Anstey Trinity College East (BATCE).
This outreach is the newest addition to the activities of the Unit: yearly conferences, its weekly Open Forum and
community outreach programme all aimed at taking the work of the University beyond its physical space and to carry
intellectual thought beyond the academic community.
The outreach provided both staff and students of the Sociology Unit the opportunity to interact with Lower 6
and Upper 6 students of BATCE. Dr. Anand Rampersad, Instructor in the Sociology Unit, talked to them about careers
and the skills they could develop through the study of Sociology. They were also informed of the degree structure and
opportunities for further study at The UWI. Shanice Williams and Fareena Alladin, both post-graduate students and
research/teaching assistants in the Unit, shared their research interests and experiences as students of Sociology. The
students also had the opportunity to meet one of the first lecturers they may have as students of the Faculty of Social
Sciences, Dr. Bennie Berkeley. Dr. Berkeley gave the students practical advice on their syllabus and encouraged the
students to share their own research interests with the team. The students were then offered the space of the Unit’s Open
Forum to present their projects to a wider audience.
Dr. Bennie Berkeley
engaging students in
discussion of their
research interests
PHOTOS COURTESY: SUSTAIN T&T
Jeanette G. Awai is a freelance writer and marketing and communications assistant at the Office of Marketing and Communications
a farfetched concept to some, but this is the reality of the
Guanapo resident and the film captures their unfiltered
stories of hardship. One of the residents who also served
as a mentor for the ASCC Children’s Discovery Workshop
cautions the public in a heartbreaking scene to “think before
they throw away their garbage...portion your food remains
in a separate bag because it’s going to end up as someone’s
next meal.”
Dr. Carla Phillips, lecturer at The UWI School of
Veterinary Medicine (UWI-SVM) serves as the SECCRS
project representative in the film and says that seeing herself
on screen was “rewarding to make the public aware of the
role that the aquatic veterinarian can play in food security
and community development.”
She feels the film’s only drawback is the omission of the
aquaponics systems’ products. “At no point did the audience
see the animals that fueled the system or the many plants
that were actually derived from the system to show that
the repurposed materials we used actually did work well.”
Overall however, Dr. Phillips says she is hopeful that the
film will enable wider audiences to recognise the value in
recycling, repurposing and reusing materials to reduce the
waste produced per capita; consider aquaponics as a viable
and inexpensive option in subsistence level farming and
home gardening and perhaps, most importantly recognise
that out of hardship great things can be achieved.
SECCRS Project Team Leader, Dr. Leonette Cox of
The UWI’s Department of Chemistry advocates the use of
projects to change communities. She advises that “a good
project to submit for funding is one that has impact long after
the project closes. The RDI funds projects with a research
agenda, but I think it is important to clearly articulate who
the project impacts. Staff members submitting projects
to the RDI-fund or even the GEF-SGP should make sure
that their heart is in whatever project they choose. The
in-kind contributions and the effort that go into making
these projects successful greatly outweigh the monetary
contribution from the funders.
Dr. Cox wants to raise awareness of the plethora
of project grants available at The UWI St. Augustine
Campus, “It is not widely known that the University holds
multiple GEF-SGP funded projects. Also, there are GEF-
SGP planning grants up to US$5000 available to help get
organisations started on projects that may qualify for full
funding.”
The documentary highlights the human element behind
community outreach proposals while showing how real
change can be effected through recognising a need, seeking
practical solutions and coming together to find funding
through grants such as GEF-SGP so that we can indeedmake
the world a better place. In the words of director, Miquel
Galofré, “Communities have heroes and I’m happy you can
see for yourself, how beautiful you are.”
One of the residents cautions the public in a heartbreaking scene to
“think before they throw away their garbage...portion your food remains
in a separate bag because it’s going to end up as someone’s next meal.”
