Father Gerard Pantin (Founder of SERVOL) passes away

The Right Livelihood Award Foundation mourns the death of SERVOL’s founder, Father Gerard Pantin, who passed away yesterday, June 23rd, at age 85.

SERVOL, the organisation he initiated in Trinidad was awarded a 1994 Right Livelihood Award for “fostering spiritual values, co-operation and family responsibility in building society.”

Their work focuses on educating young people all around the country in a way that goes beyond the traditional school system, where literacy skills are just as important as family values. Fr Pantin was a Trinidadian Catholic priest, a member of the Holy Ghost Order and recipient of the Trinity Cross, now known as the Order of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. He was also a dedicated biology teacher, praised for his contribution to youth education and to the Trinidadian community in need. He made a lasting memory with his non-preaching approach, by listening to people before making assumptions about what they would need. His approach stood at the basis of the success of Servol’s education methods.