On October 16, the community of Rio Claro, in collaboration with the United Nations Information Centre of Port-of-Spain, partnered with the rest of the world to participate in an event titled: Stand Up Take Action End Poverty Now. Several residents walked to the sweet sounds of music provided by the Defence Force MiLat MyPath, Port-of-Spain Pathfinders, Moruga Pathfinders, St Patrick Brigade and the Mayaro Scout bands.Guest speakers included Hazarie Ramdeen, chairman of the Mayaro Rio Claro Regional Corporation; Vernon Persad, president of the Supermarket Association; and Wayde Ramnarine, representative of the United Nations Information Centre.
The event was held in commemoration of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (IDEP), which was held on October 17, at United Nations Headquarters in New York, focusing on the theme From Poverty to Sustainability: People at the Centre of Inclusive Development. Participants give their support and voiced their concerns to world leaders in addressing the issue of hunger and poverty in keeping with the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDG), expected to be achieved by 2015.