Events

Felix Dexter Foundation Visits St Kitts & Nevis

The Felix Dexter Foundation visited the Island of St Kitts & Nevis represented by our Trustees Geoff Schumann and Edna Illidge respectively.

The purpose of the visit was to open dialogue with government and local officials to discuss the legacy of Felix Dexter and the work the Foundation will undertake in St Kitts with stakeholders from Education and social care, and to assess how best the Foundation can both assist the underprivileged in St Kitts as well as purposefully spreading and developing the Felix Dexter Foundation in his country of birth and to nurture a climate of awareness of the work of the Foundation, but more importantly awareness of Felix Dexter himself.
Very little is known about the comedian in St Kitts, this is hardly surprising as Felix himself had made his name largely In Europe and not in the country of his birth.

The Tobin/Dexter family also donated 2 barrels of clothing to the Cardin Home, and the barrels were presented by Edna Illidge who is Felix Dexter’s first Cousin.

The Cardin Home is a place where 80 Kittitians have found refuge. The residents are between 19 and 99 years old and have different physical and mental disorders including diabetes, hypertension, schizophrenia, and heart disease. Most Cardin Home residents don’t have a family. The centre relies also on donations and other gift aids to help them to continue their work on the island.

 Trustees Geoff Schumann and Edna Illidge, Daryl Lloyd Senior Education Officer, with Nurses and Staff at the Cardin Home

The Trustees also visited the St Christopher’s Children’s Home, the islands main orphanage and were shown around the facility. It is run by a British ex pat of Kittitian heritage. The facility receives some government support but like most institutions of this nature it is assisted by charitable donations and personal benefactors. It is hoped that the Foundation will work closely with the orphanage administrators to raise further funds to help and provide further assistance to the children who are in need.

In the same week the Trustees also visited the Ades Place Day Centre. This is an institution that works with persons with learning difficulties and mental health issues. They run day centre classes trying to empower the attendees to become self-sufficient as well as offering a variety of life skills courses. The Trustees observed some students learning to cook, iron and learn basic home life skills for their own on-going development.

Ades Place is also looking for as many volunteers as possible as well as financial assistance for further development and urgently needed equipment and trained staff.

Trustee Edna Illadge with residents at the Ades Place Day Centre for people with learning difficulties

Finally the Trustees visited the birthplace of Felix Dexter, where they met several family members who were entertained by Edna and invited to the hotel to share family stories of Felix’s late mother Doreen, who recently passed last year.