In 2004, a group of UWI lecturers, alumni and students crafted a small, community based mentorship programme that truly made a differennce. The initiative was designed to 'instil values of good citizenship and community service, while improving the quality of life' of children in underprivileged communities. They started with a school close to the Campus, the St. Benedict's RC Primary School, on St John's Road, St Augustine - this was their base.

The essence of the innovative programme is one-on-one mentorship which focuses on supporting children who need improvement in their Science, Math and Language skills (spelling, creative writing, reading, etc.). But the programme is not all about academics, it is all encompassing, with academic, personal development as well as sporting initiatives(including field trips) rolled into one. For a child to be able to participate in the programme the parents, Principal of the Primary School and the child himself must all consent. In order to get parents more involved, mentors visit the homes each semester to discuss the child's progress with the parents and to solidify the parents' support.

The mentors, all students at the UWI, are not substitutes for teachers, but support the teachers and the students. The mentor is essentially a "big brother". The university student essentially acts as a positive role-model for the child and this in turn helps the mentor to feel a sense of fulfillment, knowing that he is making a difference in the lives of others.

The programme kicked-off when a group of university students from UWI St Augustine Campus decided to participate in a weekly social work activity. Thursday afternoon from 2:30 to 4:30 pm was agreed as the most appropriate time. The commitment was to spend two hours with a primary school boy in a voluntary mentoring programme. In order to provide training for the mentors, UWI lecturers together with resources from North Hall were used; Clyde Abder (Engineering), Surendra Arjoon (Social Sciences), Gerard Pounder (Engineering), and Romulo G. Fernandez (Humanities & Education) volunteered their services.

Over the years, the programme has expanded beyond the classroom to provide support for families; for instance in December 2005 and 2006, GoodStart's mentors collected hampers to give to the mentees' families in the villages of St. Michael and St John. In 2007 mentors began construction of a small house for the family of one of the children.

For the mentor, it continues to be very a very rewarding experience. The altruism of one of the programme's members was recognised in 2006 when one of the mentors, Christopher Castagne won a UWI award for social work related to his participation in GoodStart. Among the mentors are Sanjiv Samaroo (Petroleum Geosciences), Sheldon Bowman (Engineering), Daley Sirjuesingh (Engineering), Christopher Lum Kin (Natural Sciences), Kevin Singh (Natural Sciences), Corey Jackman (Engineering), Joel Castagne (Engineering), Josh Drayton(Social Sciences), Jameon Thomas (Engineering) and Riad J (Law), Anning Hoo (Engineering), Vickash R (Engineering), and Andrei Edoo (Social Sciences). There are plans to expand the programme to other needy areas of Trinidad and Tobago by increasingly tapping into this spirit of social awareness in the University community. To learn more about GoodStart, visit http://www.goodstart.page.tl