The Trinidad and Tobago Music Stars Steel Orchestra panyard is the latest project in the Panyard Upgrade programme.
Speaking yesterday at the Chinapoo Community Centre at the handover ceremony of the recently constructed Trinidad and Tobago Music Stars Steel Orchestra panyard, Dr Jeffrey Reyes, board member, East Port of Spain (EPoS) Development Company, said when the Government invests in steelpans, it invests in young people’s education and the social cohesion of the community.
‘Pan can be used to develop knowledge, address deviant behaviour, and improve memory. This facility in Chinapoo is an opportunity for you to pull the community together,’ Reyes said.
Speaking at the function, Housing Minister Camille Robinson-Regis said the panyard is an institution of discipline. ‘A panyard is by no means an ordinary space. It is part of the community. It is here that community values are handed down. It is here that the stories of victory and the stories of defeat are repeated. It is here that the elders are bestowed with the respect that they deserve,’ Robinson-Regis said.
She added, ‘The discipline of the panyard could easily trump that of a formal classroom and the diligence and dedication of the pannists can easily rival the most brilliant scientist. This is the location where our representations of our cosmopolitan country are most existent and where colour and creed are syncopated as the notes on the tenor pan and where beauty and brokenness grow strength from each other,’ Robinson-Regis said.
Obligation to give back
Robinson-Regis assured young people that they can expect to see more Government projects with youths in mind. ‘Under the Panyard Upgrade programme, EPoS Development Company has been opening new worlds for young people in panyards. EPoS has developed several panyards throughout communities in East Port of Spain today, on time and within budget, we are proud to deliver this panyard to Music Stars, the people of Chinapoo, the people of Morvant and the people of East Port of Spain,’ she said.
She added, ‘I am sure that you understand that as we come out of the Covid- 19 pandemic that more and more will happen in Trinidad and Tobago to ensure that the best is continued to be afforded to you….’
Robinson-Regis said, however, that young people have an obligation to give back and ‘to be grateful to your country and to uplift others, not just with words but with meaningful, sustained support’.
Robin-Regis said the people of East Port of Spain are builders and pioneers.
‘The citizens of East Port of Spain deserve no less than what is provided to other communities throughout Trinidad and Tobago, irrespective of which administration is occupying the seat of government. The people of East Port of Spain have been pioneers, builders, creators, and sustainers of the culture of this great republic,’ she said.
