NH Chairman Emile Elias has been the architect of the company’s community service.
It is an integral part of our vision and commitment to national development. NH’s parent company, Emile Elias and Company, had an active giving policy even during start-up in the 1960s.
Our efforts at nation building extend beyond the bricks and mortar employed in building schools and hospitals. This giving started with planning, strategy, leadership, team building and advocacy: first to the Family Planning movement in the 1960’s and then to many other national and regional NGOs.
His contribution to the Family Planning Association of Trinidad and Tobago led to him being installed as the first ever life member of the Executive Committee. A position created for him, after decades of service.
Keen to pass on the values he learned as a self-made builder, Elias founded and developed the National Commission for Self-Help in 1987. As Chairman until 1996, Elias worked to support a wide range of development projects through training and partnership with communities throughout the country.
He was also the co-founder of the Cancer Society of Trinidad and Tobago and the co-founder of the Beryl McBernie Foundation for the Arts Limited.
All this still represents only a fraction of his significant contributions to the arts, education and sport, developing proper procurement legislation and as a leading advocate for regional transparency. Through scholarship, grants, mentorship programmes and leadership Emile Elias represents a lifetime of generosity that seeks the truth and supports what he sees as vital for an evolving young country.
He co-founded the Joint Consultative Council for the Construction Industry (JCC) in 1978 and served on the Council representing the Trinidad and Tobago Contractors Association (which he also co-founded in 1968) from 1996. He also played an instrumental role in the development of the Trinidad and Tobago Transparency Institute.