Eye on Dependency

08/02/2026

Thanks to Dianne for allowing us to share a bit of our journey with your audience!

30/01/2026

"During a Joint Select Committee hearing in March 2021, director of Eye on Dependency Garth St Clair warned that children in both primary and secondary schools were at risk of recruitment by criminals. He noted that students from single-parent households were particularly vulnerable due to financial pressures at home."

Despite Garth's claim being refuted by a police officer in the very next sentence of the article below, we maintain that schools are in fact a lucrative recruitment site for gangs, either by virtue of their vulnerability to (location, socioeconomic status) or accessibility by criminal elements.

Nor do we believe that the arrest of students is anything to boast about. We are more concerned about what happens to these students (and their families) after arrest; are they prepared for a return to formal education or do they languish in a vortex of the legal system? In other words, what are their prospects for the future?

Since of­fi­cers of the School-Ori­ent­ed Polic­ing Unit were as­signed to schools across Trinidad and To­ba­go last Sep­tem­ber, 33 stu­dents have been ar­rest­ed for var­i­ous of­fences, po­lice re­port­ed yes­ter­day.

29/01/2026

We concur, ALTA TT!

The original statement, from a highly educated former Minister of Education, was tasteless and not befitting the august house in which the NGO's name was used as an insult against a fellow Member of Parliament. Additionally, individuals decided to take to the unregulated social media platforms where the NGO's intellectual property was used without permission.

We deeply appreciate the work of ALTA TT and we honoured to welcome volunteer tutors and students on our programme in December. We learned so much about literacy in Trinidad and Tobago. We have a deeper appreciation for the frequent and, in many cases, inappropriate use of the word "illiterate". The preferred term is "person challenged with reading" or "non-reader".

SHAME
By Paula Lucie-Smith

In parliament last Friday, an alleged need for ALTA was used as an insult. Social media took this up and illegally used ALTA’s logo and even a doctored photo of an ALTA student in two misleading memes that I have seen.

What does it say to current ALTA students when ALTA is used in a national forum to insult someone? Someone thinking about joining ALTA, would they make that call? ALTA is actively improving lives and building up our country while comments like this do the opposite.

And what does it say about those of us who use ALTA, or literacy difficulties, to denigrate others? It shows ignorance of both how the brain works and indeed how the world now works.

50 years of multidisciplinary research, consolidated in the science of reading, has revealed that about half of us learn to read fairly easily with broad school instruction. The other half of any population needs explicit instruction—what we do at ALTA. When our students talk about ALTA, a common thread is that ALTA teaches in a different way to school and in a way that at last enables them to learn.

Those brains not wired for reading are often wired for success in life. A study by the American Management Association (2020) revealed that one in three entrepreneurs in America is dyslexic. Richard Branson, founder of Virgin, says, “So much of my success as an entrepreneur comes from my Dyslexic Thinking. It’s my superpower. Dyslexic Thinking means I’m able to see the world differently and find new solutions to old problems.”

According to Josh Clark, chair of the International Dyslexia Association, “Schools are a proving ground for a world that no longer exists. AI is going to undermine the education system and make the world better for dyslexics.”

The world is changing and the understanding of how we learn to read is changing. What is not changing is the outdated thinking in Trinidad and Tobago that if you struggle with reading you are stupid. This wrong thinking causes tremendous and lifelong harm to so many in our country.

Before they come to ALTA, students say that discovery and the expected belittling was their greatest and constant fear. It’s natural to avoid tasks you find difficult, but this deeply entrenched social stigma means that struggling readers as young as age 4 learn to avoid anything to do with the letters of the alphabet thus compounding their lack of natural aptitude. As student Odella James wrote “As a child, you going to school and other children reading in the same class and you wondering why it is you can't read, because is not a next class or a higher class, you are sitting in the same bench and the child sitting next to you can read. And how you can't read?”

We should be answering that question with, “I know reading and spelling are difficult for you. There are lots of others like you. About half of the people in the world have to work really hard to learn to read. No doubt you have other things you are good at that come easily, but for reading and spelling you will have to put in extra time and effort—and I will help you.”

Reading and spelling are skills like any other, and the ability to think is not the same as the ability to read and spell.

If there is to be shame, I say it should be reserved for those who lack this understanding.

17/01/2026

Today, 17 January, we mark the laying to rest of Lt. Col. (ret.) Wendell Salandy and honour a life of service to country. 🫡🕊️🇹🇹

We revisit this interview from our 2020 series on the 1970 mutiny, in which he shared his first-hand experience of those events, alongside other men who were there.

This episode was first broadcast on 3 May 2020.

The full 1970 mutiny interview series is available on our YouTube channel. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0ClGh53khnLGtMlJRugxImtBjh6D3Yp3

08/01/2026

We’re using the month of January to regroup and build what comes next for Eye on Dependency.

During this time, we’re strengthening our digital platforms and expanding the services we offer to communities, organisations, and workplaces dealing with addiction and its impact.

We’ll remain active online, sharing insights from past programmes and preparing for our return to live broadcasts.

If your organisation is planning talks, training, or facilitated discussions for 2026, we’re happy to connect.

07/01/2026

Big shout out to my newest top fans! 💎 Debbie Cameron, Philomen Henry Collier, Lyndon Murrell, Evelyn Smart Phillps, Stephen Germain, Benton Williams, Rosario Williams, Pearl Dowlath, Camika Mc Letchie - Hector, Alison Salandy, Leon Greaves, Dolly Paul, Agnes Joseph-Small, Kay Joseph, Valerie Gill, Helen Isaac Cunningham, Evon Toussaint, Daphne Park, Ann Marie Davis, Betty Phillip, Firey Antsified, Claudette Alexander, Patricia Charles, Janice Harrison, Michael Brown, Elizabeth Wyke, Ephraem Robinson, Kenneth Francis, Liza Miller, TJ David, Francis Titre, Stephanie Fournillier Edwards, Christopher Borde, Sam Desuze, Marcia Watson, Nicole Greaves, Laurel Aguillera, Violet Ingrid, Agnes St Hill, Henry Ottley, Alethea Alleyne, Marketplacemedia Ai, Rosemarie Bishop, Liz Belcon, Frankie Mapp, Shaffina Singh, Vivena Joseph, Jerry Michael Goodridge, Lorna Euin

Drop a comment to welcome them to our community, fans

07/01/2026

Shout out to my newest followers! Excited to have you onboard! Courtnell Cbness Bernard, Trevor Cool, Alana Mckenzie-James, Annmarie Alexis, Gerry Downes, Vilma Fortune, Althea Mc Burnie, Paul Voisin, Judy Dewsbury, Lydia Fox, Gweneth Arnold, Meb Boss Ladi, Christiana Erskine, James Philbert, Yung Von, Melissa Jones-ali, Yohansey Williams, Paul Jason Leacock, Tyrone Rodulfo, Lester Bartholomew, Karen Michelle Mitchell, Terrance Browne, Tresha Dobson

05/01/2026

Many have asked so here are 3 ways you can support Eye on Dependency, a registered NGO. All support goes toward education, advocacy, and outreach.

1. Make a deposit to our RBL account #440 800 707 301
2. Follow and Like our page
3. Subscribe (or become a Member) of our YouTube channel

Stay tuned to both pages to keep up to date with us!

04/01/2026

EOD

03/01/2026

After 20+ years on air, Eye on Dependency is asking a simple question: Does Trinidad and Tobago really understand addiction?

This Sunday, 4 January at 10 a.m. on i95.5FM (and livestreaming on FB and YT), we’re opening the lines and inviting you to weigh in on the relevance of this programme and the role NGOs play in recovery, rehabilitation and treatment.

Your voice matters. Join the conversation. fans

01/01/2026

Big shout out (and happy new year) to my newest top fans! 💎 Debbie Cameron, Philomen Henry Collier, Lyndon Murrell, Evelyn Smart Phillps, Stephen Germain, Benton Williams, Rosario Williams, Pearl Dowlath, Camika Mc Letchie - Hector, Alison Salandy, Leon Greaves, Dolly Paul, Agnes Joseph-Small, Kay Joseph, Valerie Gill, Helen Isaac Cunningham, Evon Toussaint, Daphne Park, Ann Marie Davis, Betty Phillip, Firey Antsified, Claudette Alexander, Patricia Charles, Janice Harrison, Michael Brown, Elizabeth Wyke, Ephraem Robinson, Kenneth Francis, Liza Miller, TJ David, Francis Titre, Stephanie Fournillier Edwards, Christopher Borde, Sam Desuze, Marcia Watson, Nicole Greaves, Laurel Aguillera, Violet Ingrid, Agnes St Hill, Henry Ottley, Alethea Alleyne, Marketplacemedia Ai, Rosemarie Bishop, Liz Belcon, Frankie Mapp, Shaffina Singh, Vivena Joseph, Jerry Michael Goodridge, Lorna Euin

Drop a comment to welcome them to our community, fans

28/12/2025

That's all, folks!

We're stepping back from the radio airwaves after 24 years but we remain thankful for the lessons we've learned, the steps we've taken along the journey and the lives we have touched through our work.

The next chapter will be written soon and we'll be sure to share it with you - our loyal listeners.

Happy New Year from the first (and only) husband and wife team on radio!

ICYMI, please go back to FB or YT to watch the final show!