A CALL TO ACTION FOR SOCIAL CHANGE
To advocate for and empower the disadvantaged in society.
Our Vision
A nation in which equity and social justice are a lived reality.
Our Mission
To create opportunities for citizens to become healthy, empowered and to reach their full potential through advocacy and the promotion of equity and social justice.
Our Story
Our story began with the publication of an article in 2021, in response to the violence against women in our society. The name ‘Call to Action’ was coined by one of our founders on a WhatsApp group chat as she saw the group as exactly that: like-minded persons from all sectors of civil society and all walks of life coming together to speak out and act towards a better Trinidad and Tobago.
We are a multi-religious, multidisciplinary group from civil society that advocates and promotes social responsibility and accountability in Trinidad and Tobago. Registered as a non-profit organization in 2022, we hope through our projects and programs to bring about the necessary positive societal development through changing behaviours and mindsets and through our collaborative proposals with the relevant stakeholders, to bring about the institutional changes which are necessary for a well-functioning society.
We acknowledge that change of this nature is slow and requires work in various sectors and through collaboration and cooperation at various levels throughout our nation. We believe and adhere to a two-pronged approach of both prevention and corrective action that is critical to achieving the change we seek.
Parenting & Family Life
Strengthening the Core of Our Society.
Education
Empowering Minds, Shaping Our Future.
Judiciary & Law Enforcement
Together, Crafting a Blueprint for Justice.
Culture
Reshaping Biases and Inequality.
Foundation Members
Shaleeza Khan-Ali
Leela Ramdeen
(Pastor) Clive Dottin
(Rev.) Joy AbduL-MOHAN
Dr. Katija Khan
Directors
- Shaleeza Khan-Ali (President)
- Leela Ramdeen (Vice-President)
- Rev. Joy Abdul-Mohan
- Azim Ali
- Arnaldo Conliff
- Pastor Clive Dottin
- Dionne Alicia Guischard
- Dr. Katija Khan
- Dr. Joanne Shurland
Our Committees
Our 5 foundation members envisioned a civil society group that would work on changes in four main areas of our society: Parenting and Family Life, Education, Culture and Judiciary and Law Enforcement, working together to plan activities and projects to create solutions.
We note the need to have the participation of the youth to ensure that our objectives cater to their needs and that they understand the importance of building a solid foundation for the future. As such on each committee there are at least two youths to guarantee their input and inclusion at all phases of our work. We also invite you, the public, to get involved.
F
Parenting & Family Life
We believe that family is the primary institution of our society and the family’s ‘health’ affects the society’s ‘health’. One of the key challenges to the family’s health is the lack of understanding and clarity regarding individual roles within the family unit. This can result in confusion, conflict, and a breakdown in effective communication. These issues, in turn, have a cascading effect on the family’s overall health and functioning, ultimately impacting our society.
To address this challenge, our committee is dedicated to promoting awareness and education surrounding family roles and dynamics. By providing resources, workshops, and support, we aim to empower families with the knowledge and skills needed to establish clear roles and expectations, foster effective communication, and cultivate healthy relationships among family members. By fostering healthy family dynamics and promoting clear roles within the family, we will contribute to strengthening individual families, which in turn contributes to the overall well-being and vitality of our society.
Our first initiative, the ABC’s of Parenting, is a collection of 26 educational videos aimed at millennial parents and combines both healthy old and new school techniques with a Trinbago flavour. The tips in the videos are aimed at helping to create a better family environment.
Education
Education is the canvas on which our nation’s future is painted. Recognizing the diverse learning needs of our youth, we advocate for an inclusive educational system. Our committee has identified two key areas of change. A lack in both training opportunities in the school system for young persons who may not be academically inclined but who are talented in other areas, and remedial and special education to ensure that all children become the best version of themselves. Children with low numeracy and literacy skills enter the secondary school system but are unable to navigate at that level.
The committee will work to capture and utilize data that would inform its proposals to provide students and young persons more opportunities for self-fulfillment. In collaboration with other CTA committees and relevant stakeholders in the Education and Business sectors we seek to bring about changes which would reduce the drop-out rate, keep children motivated to stay in school and ready to learn, so that at the end of their 5-year term at secondary school, they leave with the ability to become productive citizens.
E
C
Culture
Culture embodies our identity and shapes our ideas, traditions, expressions and behaviours. Our culture can make us proud, but it can also fuel the violence, misogyny and gender inequity which underlie gender-based violence, but culture is dynamic and continually being reshaped.
Our committee focuses on understanding our culture, biases, socialization, and the range of psychosocial factors that play a role in facilitating, reinforcing and perpetuating gender-based violence. We are data driven and evidenced based, leveraging this understanding to inform ideas and strategies for awareness and interventions to eliminate GBV and the general violence in our society. Culture also impacts the work to be done within the other CTA committees, and we embrace this intersection to work together in achieving the CTA’s mission.
Judiciary & Law Enforcement
Justice isn’t a privilege; it’s a promise. Our committee calls for immediate improvements to our Justice system in particular the Criminal Justice System. In spite of legislative reform, there exists a huge disconnect between the persons making changes to the system and the users of the system. We seek to address the root causes of problems by educating ourselves first on their nature and origin and then cooperating with stakeholders to find solutions.
We aim to partner with relevant stakeholders and NGOs to advocate for the elimination of gross delay in the Courts. We call for measures to mitigate the effect of corruption in the public and private sectors such as ensuring the Whistleblower Protection Bill becomes law and for laws to regulate Campaign Financing. We will work towards making recommendations to implement measures which will give Statutory bodies such as the Integrity Commission and other Authorities tasked with the regulation of the social and natural environment, real power to enforce breaches of the law.
