Street Pastors Ministries, which started approximately 13 years ago in Antigua, is collaborating with other charitable organizations to reach the nation’s communities.
One of their objectives is to care for the vulnerable and less fortunate in practical ways. Coordinator of Street Pastors Antigua, Barry Sebastian, shared with reporters details about their efforts to work with other charities to achieve common goals.
“We assist the less fortunate who aren’t able to provide basic necessities for themselves such as food, water, clothing and shelter. And for those who may need medical treatment or intervention such as counselling, we would help directly or find other agencies which could assist on their behalf,” Sebastian said.
He further explained that the Street Pastors values the importance of collaboration. He told reporters that it is his core belief that partnership with other like-minded individuals and groups will bring about a faster and greater transformation rather than an isolated effort.
“The Soup Kitchen is part of another Non-profit Organization, which was founded by a member of the Royal Antigua & Barbuda Police Force (Inspector Raguet) whose vision is similar to ours in the area of meeting the basic needs of the vulnerable in our country. Inspector Ragguet had asked interested entities to take responsibility for at least one day in the week, providing a hot meal for the homeless and others who found themselves on the street.”
“ We have committed to doing our part every Wednesday and we have been consistent since we began two years ago. The kitchen is located next to the Craft’s Market in St.John’s”, Sebastian revealed.”
This socially conscious body is in the process of building a database to allow them to keep track and in contact with those whom they serve. With no children on the database, they have so far registered some 60 individuals, 55 men and 5 women.
“We do our best to keep in contact with these individuals beyond our weekly efforts and we are always trying to build on our relationship with them. Recently one individual needed medical attention and we were able to assist them by reaching out to our network of professionals. Another individual needed fresh clothing and we were able to provide him with that.” Sebastian added.
“We are trying to be active in their lives and it brings us real joy to be part of this lifelong journey of helping those in need.”
