Prime Minister Gaston Browne has said his family’s own struggles shaped his conviction that people should never be abandoned, no matter their circumstances.

Speaking on his weekly Browne and Browne radio show, he recalled how his mother and uncle “fell through the cracks” after losing their mother at a young age. Despite receiving a good education in Trinidad, both faced hardship without support from their father. Browne said the experience left him with one guiding principle: “Never turn your back on loved ones.”

He argued that this philosophy extends to society as a whole, particularly young people dismissed as “troubled” or “hopeless,” a mindset he described as “backward.”

To illustrate, he recounted the case of a young man once involved in gangs who has turned his life around through a government-backed skills programme. Run by the Department of the Environment, it trains at-risk youth in areas such as shutter installation and air-conditioning repair. Browne said the man’s mother personally thanked him for the change in her son’s life.

The prime minister also spoke of the harmful stigma faced by teenage mothers, recalling one girl expelled from school after becoming pregnant. He said she endured humiliation and pressure to end the pregnancy, but overcame the ordeal with her father’s “unconditional love.”

“These are the stories that remind us why compassion matters,” Browne told listeners. “With the right support, people can rebuild and go on to achieve great things.”

For Browne, the lesson is simple: families, communities and government all have a duty to ensure no citizen is left behind.