Tag Archives: Selwyn R. Cudjoe

Crime in T&T, Education, Racism Watch

Rethinking Our Approach to Education

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By Dr Selwyn R. Cudjoe
February 24, 2020

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeEducation has an important role to play in getting us out of the degenerating situation in which we find ourselves. By education I do not mean the mere acquisition of mathematical and scientific knowledge and reading skills. I also mean the cultivation of an inner faculty that allows us, individually and collectively, to act purposefully within the social whole.

I was excited when Dr. Roland G. Baptiste, chairman of the Catholic Education Board of Management, in speaking about the performance of the Catholic schools under his remit, observed: “I left St. Mary’s College many years ago, and I believe at this time of my life that the most important aspect of my education [was/is]…the system of values the school left with me” (Express, February 18].
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Carnival, Culture, General T&T, Racism Watch

Puttin’ Yo Self in People Mouth

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By Dr Selwyn R. Cudjoe
February 18, 2020

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeJudith Reyes is my neighbor. Our parents lived in the same spot for over eighty years. Neighbors thought our mothers were sisters. Judith’s brother Giles and I live like brothers. We have never quarreled with each other.

Every morning when I am in Trinidad Judith sends me a cup of porridge with prunes in it. She makes it clear that she is not doing that for me. Rather, she is doing this for my mother who she reminds me was my protector. She says: “Yo’ know how much candles yo’ mother light for you at Mt. St. Benedict?”
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General T&T, USA

Biden’s Dilemma

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By Dr Selwyn R. Cudjoe
February 10, 2020

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeOn Monday night I tuned into CNN to listen to the results of the Democratic caucus that had taken place in Iowa earlier in the day. By one am on Tuesday morning the Iowa Democratic Party (I.D.P.) had issued no results although some of the candidates made their speeches and headed off to New Hampshire to continue their quest to become the Democratic presidential nominee for the 2020 election.
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General T&T, Hinduism, Racism Watch, Religion

Makeda Darius crowned NWAC National Calypso Queen

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Makeda Darius’ response, in song, to Prof Selwyn Cudjoe’s claim that the late Sat Maharaj reminded him of US civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr, earned her the National Women Action Committee’s (NWAC) National Calypso Queen crown. Her piece was entitled, No Martin.
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General T&T, Religion

Blessed Are They Who Hunger after Righteousness

By Dr Selwyn R. Cudjoe
February 04, 2020

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeA few weeks ago I wrote about the presence of money in our churches. Rev. Henry Richards of St. Mary’s Anglican Church, Tacarigua, absconded with over $1,000,000 in the 1880s whereas Pastor Vinworth Anthony Dayal, pastor of the Third Exodus Assembly Church in Longdenville, accumulated about $31 million, the product of 19 years of tithes. As we contemplate these excesses, we must remember there are better exemplars of God’s words and how His blessing manifests itself to believers.
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Elections, General T&T, PNM, Politics

A Foolish Dog

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By Dr Selwyn R. Cudjoe
January 21, 2020

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeLast Sunday Jeralean John, one of the most dynamic persons to enter the political arena in the last year, invited me to visit Savannah Park, Waller Field, or what is known as “Gaza.” I eagerly accepted the invitation, excited at the possibility of hearing what ordinary people—although people are never ordinary—had to say about the conditions under which they live.
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Christianity, General T&T, Religion

Tithes and Thefts

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By Dr Selwyn R. Cudjoe
January 14, 2020

PART 2

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeArchbishop Henry Richards was one of the most respected members of the Tacarigua community. His brother, S. L. B. Richards, the rector of Trinity Cathedral, was considered the “embodiment of Christian charity and was never so happy as when engaged in the relief of distress or suffering.” His well-attended funeral in 1877 demonstrated the esteem in which he was held by the community.
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Finance, General T&T, Religion

Tithes & Thefts

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By Dr Selwyn R. Cudjoe
January 8, 2020

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeAfter it was reported that Pastor Vinworth Antony Dayal, leader of the Third Exodus Assembly Church, had assembled $29 million in assets over 19 years, Dr. Knolly Clarke, head of the IRO, declared: “Each church has their own way of doing things but in the Anglican Church and I think in the Roman Catholic, we have trustees. We audit our accounts every year. Our church is very strict with funds. It is not a one-man show” (Express, January 3, 2002).
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Finance, General T&T, PNM, Recession

How Our Banking System Dis-serves the Poor

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By Dr Selwyn R. Cudjoe
January 02, 2020

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeThe issuance of the polymer $100 bill and the hardships it caused many citizens should make us realize how the banking system discriminates against the poor and looks down on them for having created an alternative financial system that serves their needs.

The Trinidad Express, in an insightful editorial, offered a useful history of banking in this country. It cautioned: “It is in the interest of the national economy and social harmony that policy makers and bankers understand T&T’s culture of savings and design instruments appropriate to them instead of demeaning them and pushing them underground.” (December 19).
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