Caribbean Times 55th Issue - Tuesday 13th December 2016

More documents

Recommendations

Info

6 c a r i b b e a n t i m e s . a g Tuesday 13th December 2016 State Insurance stages beach clean-up On Saturday December 10, State Insurance Corporation Green Team, in their on-going environmental exercises, took the clean-up to Pensioners Beach, in the vicinity of Side Hill. When the clean-up was brought to a somewhat premature end, due to the overpowering stench of human faeces, the teammates collected 82 large garbage bags of trash which comprised mainly Styrofoam cups and plates, plastic forks, dirty diapers, plastic bottles, items of clothing, used condoms and wrappers, empty and broken alcohol bottles, juice boxes and cans, along cushions and someone’s lost stash of several smaller bags of a suspicious looking substance. And not forgetting the baby stroller and tires. Nor the dead dog, wrapped in black plastic, which received an impromptu funeral when it was buried by one brave member of the party. Sadly, no less than five individuals that we met at the beach issued the identical warning. They all stopped short of commending us on the fine job that we were doing because, according to them, if we return to the beach that same afternoon, we would be appalled at the amount of filth By Joanna Paris Seventy young and ambitious men and women recently graduated from the Business Management and Yacht maintenance courses hosted by the Gilbert Agricultural Rural Development Centre (GARD). The special ceremony was held at the Ebenezer Methodist Church and was widely attended by family, friends and other well-wishers, who that would accumulate within that short time span. It appears that this area is an unofficial dump, not only due to the debris that washes ashore from sea vessels but from reports, certain establishments that are located in close proximity to this once beautiful beach and persons who discard household trash and other larger bulk waste. The Green Team is therefore using this opportunity to appeal to residents to stop the indiscriminate dumping of garbage, not only at Pensioner’s Beach, but throughout the entire island. A final appeal from this fledgling body is to respect the earth, respect the environment, beach lovers and indeed, each other. Seventy graduate from Business Management and Yacht Maintenance courses visibly cheered on the happy graduates. According to Programme Coordinator, Kareem Francis who gave an overview of the training, the courses ran for twelve weeks with ten students graduating from the Business Management course and sixty successfully completed the Yacht Maintenance course. Francis indicated that the graduates are now equipped in a variety of areas and she is confident that they will all make meaningful contributions to the wider society. “The project is geared towards young men and women between the ages of 15 and 29. The project ran for three cohorts with its culmination in December 2016, with the expectation to train one hundred young men and women in a variety of disciplines”, she explained during the graduation ceremony. Francis said that during the second and third cohort, a total of 42 and 29 persons respectively registered for the course. In the second cohort, which had 42 participants, there were 30 males and 12 females. The third group had 21 males and eight females. Francis encouraged the graduates to use their skills as a stepping stone for a number of careers.
Tuesday 13th December 2016 c a r i b b e a n t i m e s . a g 7 Largest global HIV program for key populations in Eastern and Southern Caribbean Port of Spain - A new project, the first and largest of its kind, is working to reduce the spread of HIV and improve health care for key populations most at risk of and already living with HIV in select Caribbean countries. The LINKAGES Project (Linkages across the Continuum of HIV Services for Key Populations Affected by HIV), which is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) focuses on at-risk populations in the Bahamas, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago and Suriname. “LINKAGES is about passion, partnership and re-thinking the way we address HIV, with the end goal that all members of key populations in the Caribbean and globally will have access to comprehensive health care services and enjoy a high quality of life,” explained Hally Mahler, LINKAGES Director, Washington D.C. “LINKAGES is excited to work alongside local governments, international partners and local communities in these efforts.” LINKAGES partners with governments, communities and key populations in an effort to provide support and reduce HIV-related stigma and discrimination. “It is important to focus on key populations in the fight against HIV and we must not just do so in rhetoric. Inclusion of men who have sex with men, sex workers and transgender women must be done in ways that address their experiences and help heal their communities. This is the opportunity we have with the LINKAGES project,” said Luke Sinnette, Director of Friends for Life, a Trinidad-based LINKAGES grantee. Through funding and technical support, LINKAGES will share the best tools and strategies drawn from decades of global experience and adapted to local needs and conditions. This will help LINKAGES and its partner countries realize challenging but essential objectives: testing those who don’t know their HIV status; linking those living with HIV to quality care, treatment and support; and reducing new infections. The program will also address incidents of stigma and violence that place people at greater risk for HIV. “USAID, as part of the broader PEPFAR initiative in Trinidad and the Caribbean, is proud to work hand-inhand with Governments, Civil Society and the LINKAGES project to pilot innovative ways to expand access to life-saving HIV/AIDS services to critically underserved and stigmatized populations. We know that sustained progress towards achieving an AIDS- Free Caribbean demands this focus and we applaud national and regional leaders, such as those here in Trinidad, for their tireless dedication to this health and human rights agenda,” said Christopher Cushing, Mission Director, US- AID Eastern and Southern Caribbean. To honor this ambitious plan and to celebrate a new era in HIV programs, LINKAGES was launched in Trinidad and Tobago on December 12, 2016 in collaboration with the Office of the Prime Minister, Ministry of Health, and the Family Planning Association of Trinidad and Tobago. The U.S. Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago John L. Estrada, USAID Eastern and Southern Caribbean Mission Director Christopher Cushing, the LINKAGES Project Director Hally Mahler, and leaders of local community organizations were among those invited to participate in the half day event. LINKAGES, a five-year cooperative agreement funded by PEPFAR and USAID, is the largest global project dedicated to key populations. The project is led by FHI 360 in partnership with IntraHealth International, Pact, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Page 1 and 2: Informative, reliable, enriching! T
Page 3 and 4: Tuesday 13th December 2016 c a r i
Page 5: Tuesday 13th December 2016 c a r i

Caribbean Times 55th Issue - Tuesday 13th December 2016

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?