Rotary Club of Port of Spain

The Rotary Club of Port of Spain is the first Rotary Club established in Trinidad and Tobago and was chartered in 1957. Its charter members included some of the most prominent citizens of the country, representing a wide cross-section of society – a tradition that has been well maintained by its membership over its fifty-six year history.

The Club is part of Rotary International which is made up of a global network of over 1.5 million community volunteers, in over 34,000 clubs across 200 countries, all who initiate service projects to address the challenges faced by many in today’s world such as: peace and conflict prevention or resolution, disease prevention and treatment, water and sanitation, maternal and child health, basic education and literacy and economic and community development.

Under the umbrella principles of Rotary International, the Rotary Club of Port of Spain has endeavoured over the years to be one of the foremost non-profit organizations in T&T that leads the charge against several of the social and financial inequities and shortcomings faced by many in our country. In this light, the Club continues to spearhead and assist numerous inimitable and successful programmes and projects.

The Club's primary focus through the years has been to provide financial and organizational support to institutions responsible for the welfare of differently-abled and disadvantaged children, within but not limited to Port-of-Spain and its environs. It continuously strives to raise funds to assist a range of institutions and organizations – among them the Princess Elizabeth Centre, Goodwill Industries International, ESHE’S Learning Centre, the Mt. Hope Children’s Hospital and the Gordon Home for the Aged –  most of which mirror the Club’s effort to maintain the overall welfare of children in T&T.

Concurrently, through an international grant successfully attained by the Club, a pioneering centre for people with disabilities was established in the form of the International Institute of Healthcare and Human Development (IIHHD). The primary goal of the IIHHD is to assist differently-abled citizens in achieving economic and social independence and promote public awareness and advocacy. With the Rotary Club of Port-of-Spain at the helm, IIHHD is now a consortium of various groups that work with the differently-abled through several unique initiatives to improve overall quality of life.

With the adoption of a new national policy requiring wheelchair-accessible street curbs, the Rotary Club of Port-of-Spain obtained an international grant to help meet these new requirements and to date is one of the few non-governmental organizations to fully undertake and successfully complete over 400 sidewalk ramps in T&T.

The Club also hosts the Annual Primary Schools' Athletics Meet in Port of Spain better known as the “Rotary Games”. This event brings together over 800 primary school athletes for one day of healthy competition and is very popular and well supported by thousands of parents, school officials, administrators and many others. The Rotary Games has even attracted many past and current national athletes like Jehue Gordon to participate – a testament to its popularity and stature.

Another primary school initiative was recently established by the Club where dozens of board games (such as scrabble and chess), books, table tennis boards and equipment, jump ropes and hula-hoops were all donated to over 75 schools in and around Port of Spain to promote healthy, diverse and active lifestyles among children.