As Father's Day approaches this weekend, President Anthony Carmona wants fathers to take charge of their families and spend time with their children, especially those children who are disabled.Carmona was speaking to reporters while attending the Presentation College Past Students' Association reunion at the school compound in San Fernando yesterday.Carmona, who once acted as legal adviser for the T&T Mental Retardation Foundation, said too often disabled children are forgotten by society.
He said on Saturday, the day before Father's Day, the Presidency will be organising a concert at the band stand in Port-of-Spain to encourage family bonding."Going to the band stand is something I enjoyed as a young boy. My aunty would carry me there and I felt there is a need to put back some oxygen in Port-of-Spain, because I can tell you in human terms, there is too much carbon monoxide in Port-of-Spain and I am not talking about gas exhaust of cars," Carmona contended.He said he hoped that fathers who take their children to the zoo would pass at the band stand between 4 pm and 6 pm and enjoy the concert.
Carmona said the Police, Coast Guard or cadet band will play there every Sunday after Father's Day for the next few weeks.Saying there was a need to improve the role of the father in the family, Carmona added, "I think that I want to see more fathers engaging children suffering from disabilities."He also expressed disappointment with the press coverage of issues relating to disabled people, including coverage of China's First Lady, Peng Liyuan, who announced a $1 million Yuan donation (just over TT$1 million) of materials to the Lady Hochoy Home in Cocorite, during a visit to the school for children with mental and physical disabilities."I think, for example, for far too long we tend to emphasise the negatives and not the positives. I felt that gift of love expressed by Lady Peng should have been emphasised (by the media) because for far too long, persons with disabilities and children who are found at the Lady Hochoy home suffering from down syndrome suffer because no one thinks about them and no one cares about them," Carmona said.
He added, "When for example someone celebrates their existence, in that manner, I am really disappointed with the press of T&T for not emphasizing that."Carmona also called on fathers to take their children home on Father's Day instead of leaving them in the care of others."I can speak with conviction because when I was at the DPP office, I was legal advisor to the T&T Mental Retardation home and I know, for example, how the nuns have been saddled with the responsibility during Christmas, Easter because parents kept the children there instead of bringing them home," he said.