DIGICEL FOUNDATION REFLECTS ON A DECADE OF TRANSFORMATION

(L-R) Digicel Foundation Board Member Pamela Sankar cuts the ribbon to launch the staff open day at the Digicel Foundation’s AGM held on 26 July 2023 at its headquarters, Maraval Road, Port of Spain. She is joined by fellow Digicel Foundation Board Members and Digicel TT Executives (L-R) Trijata Maraj, Bibi Mohamed-Singh, La Toya Gopaul, Abraham Smith, Nalini Goorahlal, Guy Small and Penny Gomez.

THRUSDAY, 27 JULY 2023: PORT OF SPAIN, TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO – The Digicel Foundation hosted its 9th Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Wednesday 26th July 2023 at its headquarters at the Ansa Centre, Port of Spain. The AGM highlighted the major investments and key milestones of the Foundation’s 10 year anniversary during the 2022-2023 period.

Since its establishment 10 years ago, the Digicel Foundation has supported 583 development projects, impacting more than 202,000 people through investments of over US$6.5million. The AGM presented an opportunity to reflect on this momentous ‘decade of transformation’, in which the Foundation has made incredible strides in its three main focus areas of Special Needs, Community Development and Digital Citizenship. 

Over the last year, the Foundation invested US$448,410 in development initiatives to commemorate its 10th anniversary in 2022. This included enhanced Extraordinary Projects Impacting Communities (EPIC) grants that went to 10 diverse and innovative community projects based across the country, such as Beausejour’s Indigenous Bakery and Community Dirt Oven and a sustainable animal rearing farm at the Tobago School for the Deaf Speech and Language Impaired.

Digicel Foundation CEO Penny Gomez presents an award to Barbara Alleyne, CEO of Goodwill Industries, for her outstanding contributions to special needs during the Digicel Foundation’s AGM on 26 July 2023.

Additionally, the Foundation’s flagship anniversary project was the establishment of state-of-the-art tech innovation labs at 10 special schools in Trinidad and Tobago. According to Digicel Foundation CEO Penny Gomez, these tech labs, equipped with virtual reality headsets, assistive devices and more, “will revolutionise the way persons with disabilities learn and how they experience the world.”

Another major achievement of the past year was the unveiling of the new Special Olympics Trinidad and Tobago (SOTT) Secretariat at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium, bringing completion to a goal that the Foundation set more than ten years ago when it was founded. During the AGM, the Foundation took the opportunity to present tokens of appreciation to a number of SOTT athletes in celebration of their recent achievements at the Special Olympics World Games in Berlin.

The AGM also incorporated an open day with pop-up booths displaying the work of the Foundation’s partner NGOs and community organisations. This allowed Digicel staff to engage with and learn more about the Foundation’s many beneficiaries. The atmosphere throughout the morning was collaborative and festive, with performances during the official AGM proceedings by some of the Foundation’s partners, including Lara Brothers parang group and violinist Anslem Walters. 

Digicel Foundation CEO Penny Gomez (far left) and Digicel TT CEO Abraham Smith (far right) celebrate the year’s successes with athletes from the Special Olympics Trinidad and Tobago (from left to right) Malachi Sylvester, Cadell Cuffy,  Victoria Samuel and Omari Patterson at the Digicel Foundation’s AGM on 26 July 2023.

ENDS

About Digicel

As a Digital Operator, Digicel is in the business of delivering powerful digital experiences 1440 minutes of each day to customers – that’s every minute, all day, every day.

Through its world-class LTE and fibre networks, together with its suite of eight apps spanning sports (SportsMax), music (D’Music), news (Loop), local radio and podcasts (GoLoud), TV streaming, (PlayGo) enhanced messaging and marketplaces (BiP), cloud storage (Billo) and self-care (MyDigicel app), Digicel is the only operator in its markets that can deliver the complete digital experience.

Serving consumer and business customers in 32 markets in the Caribbean, Central America, and Pacific with investments of over US$7 billion and a commitment to communities in Haiti, Jamaica, Papua New Guinea, and Trinidad & Tobago, the Digicel Foundation has contributed to positive outcomes for over three million people to date.

With its Better Together brand, Digicel is promising “simply more” to its customers and communities as the company’s 7,000 employees worldwide work together to make this pledge a powerful reality day in, day out.

For more visit www.digicelgroup.com