Trinidad

Food For The Poor has been in Trinidad for 26 years. The charity has partnered with Living Water Community in Port of Spain, which has been serving in Trinidad since 1975. Food For The Poor works with six orphanages there as part of the Angels Of Hope program. Through Gifts In Kind, the charity has shipped 37 containers in 2012, which include: Food Personal care items Educational supplies Food For The Poor has also funded the construction of 562 homes in Trinidad. Learn more about our projects in Trinidad

General Information

Trinidad and Tobago is a developing nation composed of two islands located at the southern end of the Caribbean chain of islands. The economy of T&T is heavily dependent on the production and export of petroleum and gas, making it extremely vulnerable to fluctuations in world oil prices. The government has implemented an economic reform program and a steady improvement is expected, due in part to diversification into agriculture, non-oil manufacturing and tourism.

Recent estimates indicate that poverty levels are continuing to rise, 21 percent to 22 percent, with a further widening in the distribution of income. About half of these individuals are considered extremely poor - those who are unable to afford even basic foods. Although the national school-feeding program has been reorganized in an attempt to increase the number of schools it serves, the country is reliant on the food provided by charitable groups to feed schoolchildren and the needy.

History

First colonized by the Spanish, the islands came under British control in the early 19th century. The islands' sugar industry was hurt by the emancipation of the slaves in 1834. Manpower was replaced with the importation of contract laborers from India between 1845 and 1917, which boosted sugar production as well as the cocoa industry. The discovery of oil on Trinidad in 1910 added another important export. Independence was attained in 1962. The ethnic makeup of Trinidad and Tobago is almost equal proportions of persons of African and East Indian descent, approximately 40 percent of each, with the remaining 20 percent consisting mainly of persons of mixed ethnicity.

Fast Facts

• Area - 5,128 square kilometers (Trinidad is slightly smaller than Delaware)
• Population - 1,229,953 (July 2010 est.)
• Capital - Port-of-Spain
• Independence Day - Aug. 31 (1962)
• Languages - English (official), Caribbean Hindustani (a dialect of Hindi), French, Spanish, Chinese
• Religion - Roman Catholic 26%, Hindu 22.5%, Anglican 7.8%, Baptist 7.2%, Pentecostal 6.8%, Muslim 5.8%, Seventh Day Adventist 4%, other Christian 5.8%, other 10.8%, unspecified 1.4%, none 1.9% (2000 census)
• Currency - The Trinidad Tobago Dollar (TTD) / 6.4 Trinidad Tobago dollars = $1 USD
  (Oct. 2010 est.)
  
• Unemployment - 5.8% (2009 est.)
• Literacy rate - Total population: 98.6% | Male: 99.1% | Female: 98%
  (Defined: Age 15 and older who can read and write) (2003 census)

Demographics