The Lady Hochoy Home South sits on 11 acres of land, and the home is putting every inch of it to work. What began as a school for children with learning disabilities is now expanding into poultry farming and agriculture, creating new pathways to employment readiness and independence for the people it serves, while generating earnings from the sale of chicken and eggs.
For more than 60 years, the Lady Hochoy Centre of Trinidad and Tobago (LHCTT) has been a sanctuary for children with learning disabilities, empowering them to achieve their full potential for integration into society. Founded by Lady Thelma Hochoy and American social worker Rose Miles after a visit in the 1950s to the House of Refuge – St. James, where children were housed among mentally ill adults, the residential home received its first 24 children in Cocorite in March 1961.
Today, it has expanded to locations in Arima, Gasparillo, and Penal, providing educational and vocational skills to both resident children and those from surrounding communities.
At the Gasparillo location, which houses three schools on the compound, 150 children currently attend the school from early childhood learning to primary school, while students over 18 receive vocational training. But with 11 acres of land at its disposal, the Home saw an opportunity to do more, to turn open space into a sustainable source of food security, income, and skills development.
Seeking to make use of the land and generate revenue, LHCTT’s Project Manager, Samiya De Bruin, backed by Marlon Bascombe, General and Transformational Manager, envisioned what would become Project H.E.N.
Project H.E.N. is an innovative initiative that integrates poultry farming, vocational skills training, and agricultural education to foster independence and employment readiness among people with disabilities. For De Bruin, the programme is about more than agriculture — it is about giving residents meaningful, transferable skills.
“By combining vocational training with real-world application, the programme prepares participants for greater independence and future employment opportunities,” she said.
“The facility currently houses approximately 200 chickens, which will improve food security at the Home through a steady supply of chicken and fresh eggs,” said Bascombe. “This initiative will also support operational costs by generating a modest income from the sale of eggs and chickens.”
RBC Royal Bank (Trinidad & Tobago) Limited stepped in to support Project H.E.N. with a donation that speaks to the bank’s commitment to the communities it serves. The donation will fund a poultry plucking machine, which will automate the Home’s poultry processing operation, reducing manual labour and increasing efficiency, while allowing residents to focus on developing broader vocational and entrepreneurial skills.
“Project H.E.N. is a powerful example of how practical, hands-on training can transform lives,” said Marc Jardine, Managing Director, RBC Royal Bank (Trinidad & Tobago) Limited. “We are proud to support the Lady Hochoy Home in its mission to equip people with disabilities with the skills and confidence they need to thrive.”
For Marlon and the team at the Lady Hochoy Home, the vision behind Project H.E.N. is slowly coming to fruition. As Project H.E.N. breaks its shell, the Home is one step closer to a future where every person with a disability has the skills, confidence, and opportunity to thrive, not just within the walls of the Home, but in the wider world.