Join us now

Get Involved

Facebook

About

Executive Director & Founder

Hazel Da Breo, PhD (Canada/Grenada)

Hazel Da Breo is a Psychotherapist and Child Protection Specialist, who specializes in treatments for both victims and perpetrators of Child Sexual Abuse and Intimate Partner Violence. She is Founder and Director of the Sweet Water Foundation which is headquartered in Toronto and has a sister branch in Grenada. She is a contributing author to the first scholastic text on Child Sexual Abuse in the Caribbean Understanding Child Sexual Abuse: Perspectives from the Caribbean, (2013) A.D. Jones ed., and co-author of two further texts in the series (published 2014 and 2015, Palgrave McMillan).  Along with running a private practice, Hazel works as consultant to various UN agencies and returns frequently to Toronto where she lectures, maintains a private practice, and attends to her on-going professional development. She served on the Board of the Canadian Association for Psychodynamic Therapy, 2006-2007.

Hazel was born in Grenada, and left at age 17 for Canada, where she qualified as a Psychotherapist and raised a family, now comprising two daughters, two sons-in-law and two grandchildren.  In 2006, she returned to the home of her birth.  Along with running a private practice, Hazel currently works for the Legal Aid and Counseling Clinic, for Action for Children (formerly National Children’s Home – NCH), s in consultancies for various UN agencies. She returns frequently to Toronto s in consultancies for various UN agencies. She returns frequently to Toronto s in consultancies for various UN agencies. She returns frequently to Toronto s in consultancies for various UN agencies. She returns frequently to Toronto and engages in consultancies for various UN agencies. She returns frequently to Toronto s in consultancies for various UN agencies. She returns frequently to Toronto s in consultancies for various UN agencies. She returns frequently to Toronto.

In Grenada, Hazel served as Clinical Supervisor of the Psychosocial Department, Legal Aid and Counseling Clinic, for over six years.

Sharing

Sharing

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do sunt eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et quis.

Find Campaigns
Donate

Donate

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do sunt eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et quis.

Make a Donation
Community

Community

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do sunt eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et quis.

Join Us
Responsibilities

Responsibilities

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do sunt eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et quis.

Our Promise

The Team

The spirit of giving is alive and well

Linda J. Butler

Co-Founder (Canada)

Linda J. Butler is a former freelance actor/writer, co-author of Shadd: The Life and Times of Mary Shadd Cary, the ground-breaking biography of the 19th century feminist/abolitionist/publisher. Ms. Butler was a founding member of THOG, a seminal experimental theatre group in the early 1970s in Toronto. She has been for many years senior partner of a prominent Toronto talent agency. The nurturing of Spirit and the practical manifesting of the energy of love are the underlying motive force in her life. A fifth generation Floridian on both sides of her family, Canada has been home for many decades. The nurturing of Spirit and the practical manifesting of the energy of love are the underlying motive force in her life. A fifth generation Floridian on both sides of her family, Canada has been home for many decades. The nurturing of Spirit and the practical manifesting of the energy of love are the underlying motive force in her life. A fifth generation Floridian on both.

Tyrone Buckmire

Community Activist (Grenada)

Almost 20 years as an Activist, advocating for Child Rights, Youth and rural community development and environmental protection. First worked with the Grenada Planned Parenthood Association for 10 years, and subsequently worked as Coordinator of the Inter-Agency Group of Development Organizations and the Grenada National Coalition on the Rights of the Child, umbrella agencies whose members grappled with a host of social issues, primary among them poverty alleviation, education and training, domestic violence and social/legal assistance. Tyrone was instrumental in the establishment of Grenada’s first Remedial Education Programmes for teenage mothers, and more recently served as the Manager of the Programme for Adolescent Mothers, a project of the Coalition that provides an opportunity for teenage mothers to continue and complete their formal education. Trained extensively in relevant regional and international projects, with internships in the US, UK, Canada and Europe. Served on various youth expert panels within UN-Specialized agencies and in the international Planned Parenthood and adolescent health field. Currently a Facilitator on the ongoing Man-to-Man Batters Intervention Programme in Grenada.

Frederick Praack

C.T.P.C., C.Ht., R.M.T.(Canada)

Fred has been focussed on raising consciousness for most of his life after being introduced to Zen Meditation at age 13For over 45 years he has facilitated individuals and groups by teaching various forms of Meditation, Visualization, Breathwork and Personal Development programmes. He offers effective techniques for Personal Growth, increasing Mind/Body Awareness, Stress Management, overcoming limitations and realizing one’s Potential. Fundamental to his work is the core understanding that within each one of us is the source of everything possible in life. In practice his orientation to healing and wholeness is two fold: neutralize the fears that distort and limit one’s life and, by connecting with one’s source, unfold the full expression of creative potential internally, in relationships, in work and the world. For more than 25 years Fred has been in clinical practice in Oakville Ontario. He has a Certification in Transformational Psychotherapeutic Counselling; is a Certified Hypnotherapist and a Registered Massage Therapist specializing in Rhythmic Deep Tissue Massage and Mind/Body Integration. Fred is a member of the Canadian Association for Psychodynamic Therapy (CAPT). He has served on the Board of Directors of the LifeSpace Institute in Toronto, and has been a member of the Advisory Council of the Toronto Zen Buddhist Temple for the past 15 years. He cycles year round and kayaks on the wonderful waters of Lake Ontario and other places during the warmer months.

Dr. Beverly Nelson, MD.

Pediatrician (Grenada)

Dr. Beverly Nelson, M.A. F.A.A.P, is licensed to practice Medicine in the States of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Florida and is a Diplomat of the American Board of Pediatrics, 2004-2013. She currently holds the position of Head of Pediatrics/ Consultant Pediatrician, Ministry of Health, Grenada. She is responsible for full pediatric service in Grenada covering a population of 40,000 children shared with another pediatrician. She serves on various Ministerial Boards such as Maternal Child Health, Immunization and Breast feeding committees and is responsible for the teaching of junior physician staff and nursing students.

The Team

Consulting Associates

Adele D. Jones

Adele D. Jones

PhD

Alex P. Vega

Alex P. Vega

Ena Trotman-Jemmott

Ena Trotman-Jemmott

PhD, CPsychol, AFBPsS

Priya Maharaj

Priya Maharaj

PhD, CPsychol, Csci, AFBPsS

Professor Adele Jones, is the Director of the Centre for Applied Childhood Studies and heads a group of some 30 multi-disciplinary academics and PhD students who are involved in applied childhood research. She has previously worked at the University of The West Indies, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago; Manchester Metropolitan University and Royal Holloway, University of London.

Her professional social work background spans statutory, non-governmental and international agencies and includes several years as a Consultant with the former National Institute for Social Work.

Professor Jones has extensive experience as a social work practitioner, researcher and social work educator specialising in the field of children’s rights and issues affecting vulnerable children and marginalised childhoods. She has conducted studies and published work on child abuse, children’s rights, residential childcare, adoption, child asylum seekers, HIV-AIDS and children of parents who have migrated. Professor Jones has professional experience of programme development in many of these areas and was a founder of The Bibini Centre for Young People (a UK-based NGO that achieved prominence for its work with black children and families); she is also the architect of the Sondai Project, a “flagship” project based at UWI, Trinidad which links research, practice, postgraduate study and international exchange to produce interventions to address the psychosocial implications of HIV-AIDS and has recently completed a six-country study for UNICEF in collaboration with Action for Children aimed at addressing child sexual abuse in the Eastern Caribbean.

Professor Jones has contributed to programme development (children’s rights, social work, counselling, capacity-building) in St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Vincent & The Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago and Grenada. She has also worked with several international organisations (for example, work with the OAS on the implementation of the Declaration of Mar Del Plata to improve the social and economic circumstances of disadvantaged youth in the region; work with ILO – piloting of teaching materials on child labour; work with UNDP – the social work implications of HIV and ECLAC – gender violence & socialization).

Professor Jones has a keen interest in developing work on global issues affecting children.

Alex P. Vega, received a Bachelor and a Master’s degree in Social Work from New Mexico State University (Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA) with a specialization in Family-Centered Social Work Practice. He has worked in the field of HIV/STI prevention and sexual health promotion at the Pan-American Health Organization/World Health Organization in Washington, DC and has trained cadres of health and human services professionals in Central and South America and HIV prevention workers serving men who have sex with men (MSM) and sexually diverse groups across the USA in the area of sexuality education, sexual health promotion and HIV/STI prevention. In Mexico, with funding from the National AIDS Program (CENSIDA), he was principal author and coordinator of two intensive sex-positive sexual health HIV Prevention interventions that were implemented in five Mexican states and Mexico City for two years. Under the leadership of PAHO HIV Caribbean Office in Trinidad, he coordinated an intensive sexual health and HIV prevention and care training intervention called ‘Men’s Health, HIV and Sexual Diversity’ targeting health service providers to improve their competences in delivering quality services to men in general and in particular to gay, transgender, and MSM (GTM) in the Caribbean. This training applied a sex-positive sexual health approach, gender-analysis framework and a human rights-based approach. Vega is currently a technical consultant for several UN agencies in the area of gender and development, gender based violence prevention and in particular sexual violence among boys and young men, and continues to promote sexual health in the Caribbean under the leadership of several Caribbean-based organizations. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Psychology with a focus on Human Sexuality.

Dr. Ena Trotman Jemmott is an experienced researcher (quantitative and qualitative) child protection specialist and organisational development consultant working with the Sweet Water Foundation. Dr. Trotman Jemmott has a wide-ranging background involving social research and policy development within the Caribbean region and in the Overseas Territories (South Atlantic). Her recent work includes situational analyses, strategic planning development and policy formulation. She is co-author for a three volume series (Palgrave MacMillan) on different perspectives of child sexual abuse.

Dr. Maharaj is an Assistant Lecturer in the Department of Clinical Medical Sciences, The University of the West Indies, Trinidad. Dr. Maharaj is committed to teaching, research and advocacy related to child sexual abuse and children’s rights. She was a researcher for the landmark study Child Sexual Abuse in the Eastern Caribbean (Jones and Trotman Jemmott, 2009) and is Co-Principal Investigator of the Adult Sexual and Physical Intimate Partner Violence Survey & Public Health Intervention in Trinidad. She was a contributing author to Understanding Child Sexual Abuse: Perspectives from the Caribbean (ed. Jones, 2013)

Advisory Council

Andrea St. Bernard

Andrea St. Bernard

Lawyer (Canada)

Alex P. Vega

Ena Trotman-Jemmott

PhD, CPsychol, AFBPsS

After obtaining a business degree in America, Andrea returned to Toronto where she completed a law degree at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law, and was called to the bar in 2006. Andrea is an associate in the Toronto office of McMillan LLP, with a practice that focuses on acting for lenders and borrowers in domestic and cross-border debt financing transactions.

Memberships:

  • Canadian Bar Association
  • Ontario Bar Association

People We Helped

0 k+

years of experience

0

our partners

University of Huddersfield, UK

The research partnership between the Sweet Water Foundation and The Centre for Applied Childhood Studies at the University of Huddersfield was established in 2009 based on a shared value position about the locus of responsibility for child sexual abuse and a commitment to empowerment-based public health approaches to prevention. This unique relationship means that the Foundation is able to access research expertise ensuring that our work is underpinned by rigorous research and evaluation frameworks. In reciprocal nature, the Foundation enhances the work of the Centre by translating research findings into meaningful interventions, training and programmes for victims of abuse and those who engage in abuse behaviours. As with the University of the West Indies, the Centre for Applied Childhood Studies functions as the research arm of the Foundation while Sweet Water functions as the practice arm for our research partners.

Our partnership has resulted in many tangible results, such as Project RISE, described on the Programs page.

A second example is the development of the IMPACT Project Concept – a conceptual programmatic roadmap for establishing interventions for the prevention and treatment of child sexual abuse based on the systems model that emerged out of the landmark study on CSA in the Caribbean (Jones and Trotman Jemmott – see our research and publications page). In creating the IMPACT Concept, the Sweet Water Foundation worked alongside The Centre for Applied Childhood Studies to review international approaches to tackling different aspects of the problem, explored models for their relevance to the Caribbean and provided training on the various approaches in both Grenada and Trinidad. More information on the IMPACT Project Concept can be found in: Pasura, D., Jones, A. & Da Breo, H. ‘IMPACT: Interventions and Mitigations to Prevent the Abuse of Children – it’s Time. A Public Health Oriented Systems Model for Change’, in Adele Jones (ed) Understanding Child Sexual Abuse: Perspectives from the Caribbean, London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Together with the University of Huddersfield, we have undertaken many joint publications, conference and seminar presentations, training, research collaborations and consultancies; most notable is our partnership in the authorship of a three-volume series of work on child sexual abuse in the Caribbean published by Palgrave Macmillan – a first for the region.

Working with the Centre for Applied Childhood Studies also extends the reach of the Foundation in important ways; for instance, we now have very strong links with Dr. Daniel Boduszek, Senior Lecturer in Criminal Psychology and Director of Quantitative Research Methods Training Unit (QRM-TU) at University of Huddersfield to enable us to provide advanced quantitative research training in child sexual abuse research and also, with Professor Melanie Barwick, Senior Associate Scientist at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada who is helping us to ensure that our interventions can be effectively replicated in other countries in the Caribbean.

Explore More

University of the West Indies, St. Augustine.

The Alpine Project, Trinidad

The Sweet Water Foundation has formed collaborative links with the Department of Clinical Medical Sciences, The UWI, St. Augustine in the areas of applied childhood research and research concerning gender-based violence. The Department of Clinical Medical Sciences is led by Professor Gerard Hutchinson, a Consultant Psychiatrist and Professor of Psychiatry, who oversees collaborative work; Dr. Priya E. Maharaj, an Assistant Lecturer in the Department and a Psychologist is also closely involved in research linked with The Sweet Water Foundation. Project RISE, a psychotherapeutic intervention designed for sexually abused girls, is being evaluated by Dr. Priya E. Maharaj, with the support of the Department, in conjunction with the University of Huddersfield. We have undertaken joint publications, conference and seminar presentations, professional training and other research collaborations relating to child sexual abuse and child protection.

The Alpine Project is a NGO based in Trinidad, co-founded by Dr. Priya E. Maharaj, in 2011. The Sweet Water Foundation has a robust partnership with The Alpine Project in the areas of child protection; critical thinking, research and dialogue (with the aim of reducing childhood trauma including physical, sexual and other forms of abuse and exploitation); the development and implantation of interventions, such as Project RISE, to mitigate the negative effects of child sexual abuse; to advocate on behalf of children; to encourage children’s voices to be heard, respected and acted upon; and to promote ethical and responsible behaviour to children.