Call for charity push

THE REGION IS LAGGING in utilising philanthropy as a development tool, says Richard Jones, consultant to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade. Making a presentation on the Better Barbados Foundation during a session on Philanthropy: Expanding The Horizons For Overseas Barbadians And Friends of Barbados on Friday at the inaugural Barbados Diaspora Conference at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, Jones said:  “Jamaica can be considered one of the leaders in the region, and Barbados has seen some movement in the thinking of a few private companies, [non-governmental organisations] and individuals to establish proactive structures for charitable giving.” The consultant said there needed to be a partnership between Government and non-governmental actors to work towards the equitable social development of the country.He stressed that “no government has the capacity to meet all the needs of its citizens all the time”.