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Monday, May 31, 2021

Retreat and reflect

As Carmelo Dorsett prepares to move on to the next stage of his academic life, the St. Cecilia’s Primary School sixth grade student said he will carry with him fond memories of the seven years he spent at the institution – but the one thing that he said stands out the most, is the dedication of the teachers.

“They pushed me to my limits, and I thought at first that it was because they did not like me, but then I realized it was because they saw potential in me and wanted me to become a highly educated student,” said Carmelo as he participated in the school’s Grade Six Retreat and Reflection Day.

“I will forever be grateful and thankful for what they did. So, I say to the teachers, thank you very much.”

Claudette Rolle, Catholic Board of Education (CBE) director, felt it was imperative that CBE primary schools sixth grade students engage in a retreat day this year, after having dealt with the gamut of emotions due to the pandemic and virtual learning.

The past 14 months have been a challenge for our grade six students, and ending their primary school experience with an event that is meaningful is important. The day of reflection gives them an opportunity to retreat from the pressures of schooling and think about how they have developed spiritually, mentally, and physically during their seven-year journey,” said Rolle.

The CBE director wanted the retreat day to encompass a spiritual aspect as well as a high school preparation aspect to help the primary school students as they make their transition to secondary school.

“During the course of the day, the activities bring them to the realization that they are closing one chapter of their lives and preparing to begin another. In a year that was atypical, it is important to bring closure to their experiences and give them hope that there is much to look forward to.”

Fellow graduating peer, Ahmaad Higgs, who, too, had been a student at the school for seven years, said the teachers made him feel like he could do anything.

“Our teachers always make sure that we had our work done,” said Ahmaad.

While Joseph Roberts said he most enjoyed the “loving teachers” whom he said made him feel safe and welcome, he also said he liked the fact that they would come together to help others in need.

McKayla Hall also expressed love for her teachers whom she said were all amazing.

“The past six years at St. Cecilia’s School have been extraordinary,” said De’Shawn Stubbs.

“I really enjoyed how every day we would learn new facts in school that would help us in life. Also, I enjoy going on field trips. During these precious times, I’ve gone through a lot, but I didn’t let that stop me from doing what I was supposed to do. And being at St. Cecilia’s School was like being at my home away from home.”

In advice given to assist them with transitioning to secondary school, Inspector Leonardo Burrows spoke to the students about conflict resolution, cyber bullying and the responsible use of media.

Coljean Butler, St. Cecilia’s School religion coordinator, said it was important for them to hold the in-person retreat this year as she said too many of the children feel isolated.

“For the past year, these students, when school closed in March 2020, have dealt with a lot of changes and this has affected their self-esteem, and some do not feel capable. Under the theme ‘Fearfully and Wonderfully Made’, we affirmed the students, assuring them that they are all wonderfully made and that they all have something to share. And that this gift is not just for them, but for them to share with the community.”

Monsignor Simeon Roberts, who also spoke to the sixth-grade students, reminded them that their lives should always reflect that they are connected to Jesus, which is manifested through their thoughts, words and deeds.

“As the theme fearfully and wonderfully made states, we are to stand up for righteousness, even in times when we have to stand alone,” said Roberts.

The priest at St. Cecilia Catholic Church told the children that even if others demean their character or try to pull them down with condescending statements, such as – “you will never amount to anything” or “you are just like your pa”, that they are to remember their purpose in life, which he said entails using the gifts and talents given to them by God, to encourage and uplift others.

“Remaining connected to God ensures that we can and will pursue our dreams, fulfill our purpose, be successful in our endeavors, and build up the family of God,” said Roberts.

St. Cecilia’s graduating sixth-grade students will participate in their Exodus Mass on Thursday, June 10 at 10 a.m. Only students and some teachers from the school will be allowed to participate, in keeping with COVID-19 restrictions. The service will be live-streamed.

A prize-giving ceremony for the students will be held as a drive-through event on Thursday, June 17, at the school.

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source https://thenassauguardian.com/retreat-and-reflect/

Marici Thompson appointed SAC incoming principal

Marici Thompson has been appointed the incoming principal of St. Augustine’s College (SAC), effective January 1, 2022.

Thompson’s appointment was announced in a written communication to the SAC community signed by Archbishop Patrick Pinder, and Paul McWeeney, chair, SAC board of directors.

Thompson, who currently serves as guidance counsellor at SAC, is also an alumna of the institution.

The incoming principal taught at the school for 15 years before serving as guidance counsellor for the past 19 years.

According to the communication, Thompson places as a priority, the safety and well-being of staff and students, along with the goal of improving the curriculum to better prepare students to succeed at the tertiary level.

Thompson has a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and Sociology, and a certificate of secondary education from the College of Mount St. Vincent (New York); a Master of Education in School Counseling from Kent State University (Ohio), and is currently pursuing a second master’s in educational leadership, management and emerging technology through Marconi International University, Miami, Florida.

The post Marici Thompson appointed SAC incoming principal appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.



source https://thenassauguardian.com/marici-thompson-appointed-sac-incoming-principal/

Roselyn Taylor takes advantage of soft skills training opportunity

Roselyn Taylor believes in seizing great opportunities. Hence, when the possibility for further training to sharpen her soft skills presented itself, her interest was immediately piqued.

“While scrolling on Facebook, I saw an ad for Revive Academy and decided to look them up. Upon further investigation, I saw that a free soft skills training course was being offered. I immediately signed up and awaited the start date of the program,” said Taylor.

The comprehensive four-week program – developed and delivered by the Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institution (BTVI) – is being conducted in conjunction with Revive Academy and the Citizen Security and Justice Program (CSJP). It includes, but is not limited to, topics such as communication skills, résumé writing, social netiquette, problem solving, time management, critical thinking, personal branding and job search skills.

Taylor was a part of the program’s first cohort and of 135 participants who successfully completed. To date, 249 participants have completed the program.

“I had the opportunity to meet a lot of amazing people through the program and I feel very fortunate to have heard some of their stories. I think I’ve learned a few life lessons that will stick with me. Our time was short, four weeks, but very impactful. Mr. Uel Johnson was an excellent instructor, who went above and beyond to ensure that we all passed his class,” said Taylor.

“What made him such a great instructor was his desire to share his knowledge and experiences with his students. He always seemed to find a way to make the lessons relatable and enjoyable. I think he went above and beyond, sacrificing some of his Saturdays to accommodate students that missed his class through the week.”

Students participated in blended learning modalities, accessing BTVI’s virtual learning platforms along with in-person classes stationed at the Ministry of National Security’s community centers, namely the Edmund Moxey, Quakoo Street and Fox Hill centers.

The former private school administrative worker described the importance of soft skills for the workplace and in a person’s private life as an asset.

“It’s a combination of people skills and social skills. Soft skills will also help you to develop your character and give you the tools to thrive in any work environment. Now that I’ve completed the soft skills program, I see a dire need for it here in [New Providence]. I hope that more people see the importance of soft skills and sharpening them before applying for a job. I know that I am not alone in saying that customer service is not important in many establishments and that needs to change,” said Taylor.

According to BTVI officials, the goal is for there to be 1,000 beneficiaries of the free program managed by the Ministry of National Security and funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Heading the soft skills program is Racquel Bethel, BTVI dean of student services.

Taylor is one of the 75 percent of the 135 successful participants who signed up to return to BTVI.

Bethel has her sights on becoming a licensed skin care specialist. She wants to run a medical spa and is hoping to attend BTVI to study esthetics in fall 2021, on the government tuition grant.

“I have found some peace throughout all of the uncertainties that came with the pandemic. I am more motivated and hungry for success than I’ve ever been,” said the wife and mother of two.

In the interim, Taylor said she is grateful for the soft skills training she received.

“I would encourage anyone with free time on their hands to make use of this free training course because it will not only help you land a job, it will also give you the skills to keep a job.”

The post Roselyn Taylor takes advantage of soft skills training opportunity appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.



source https://thenassauguardian.com/roselyn-taylor-takes-advantage-of-soft-skills-training-opportunity/

St. Andrew’s School students focus on sharing the planet

Nine weeks of research, writing, creating, talking, cooperating and rehearsing by grade five students at St. Andrew’s International School culminated recently with students showcasing their Primary Years Programme (PYP) Exhibition.

The exhibition this year focused on the topic “Sharing the Planet: By collaborating, we can begin to solve local and global problems”, which represented a significant event in the lives of students, according to school officials, synthesizing the essential elements of the PYP, and sharing them with the school community.

This year, students inquired into local and global issues and how people and organizations collaborate to solve local and global problems. And there were many components to the projects. In their music classes, students collaborated to write a song about the need to share and protect global resources. They also explored sporting organizations that are collaborating to make a positive impact on the world during their physical education lessons. In Spanish, students explored organizations helping endangered animals.

Students also completed a research paper, a creative writing piece, artwork, technology elements, and most importantly, an action project. To fulfill this component, students took an action to raise awareness about their issue and worked toward making a difference in this area. Some of this year’s action projects included beach clean-ups, educating younger grades, making and sharing videos to raise awareness, and making posters to educate the public about a local concern.

School officials say the experience is also an opportunity for students to exhibit the attributes of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Learner Profile that they have been developing throughout their engagement with the PYP.

On the final night of the exhibition, students shared their presentations with the St. Andrew’s school community.

The post St. Andrew’s School students focus on sharing the planet appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.



source https://thenassauguardian.com/st-andrews-school-students-focus-on-sharing-the-planet/

Bethel leads 10 Bahamians to Eugene

University of Houston Cougars senior athlete Brianne Bethel is having a great comeback in her collegiate career, securing her ticket to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships, qualifying in both the 100 and 200 meters (m) events. The championships are set for June 9-12 at historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.

In addition to qualifying in those individual events, Bethel helped her 4×100 and 4x400m relay teams to qualify. She was in action at the four-day NCAA West Preliminaries where several other Bahamian collegiate athletes also qualified.

Rhema Otabor was the first Bahamian to qualify on Thursday, doing so in the women’s javelin at the NCAA East Preliminaries. She had a qualifying throw of 50.25m (164’ 10”), which came on her first throw. Otabor, a freshman for the Florida International University (FIU) Panthers, qualified 12th overall out of the east.

The NCAA West Preliminaries was held at Texas A&M’s EB Cushing Stadium in College Station, Texas, and the east preliminaries was held at the University of North Florida’s Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida. Both meets began on Wednesday and wrapped up on Saturday.

The other Bahamian qualifiers out of the west preliminaries were Terrence Jones, LaQuan Nairn, Serena Brown and Charisma Taylor. Qualifying from Jacksonville were Samson Colebrooke, Megan Moss, Tamar Greene and Doneisha Anderson. Anderson did not qualify in the individual events but rather in the relay events.

Bethel, who qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics two weeks ago in the 200m, powered through on Saturday in that same event, clocking 22.78 seconds. She was second in her heat and finished with the third-best time overall out of the heats. Bethel lowered her time from the prelims in which she posted 22.91 seconds.

Grand Bahama native Bethel ran the fourth-fastest time of 11.27 seconds in the 100m. She ran in the third heat and placed third in that heat. In the preliminaries on Thursday, Bethel ran a wind-aided 11.12 seconds. Before this meet, she only ran the 100m twice this season – both in April.

In the 4x100m relay race, Bethel and her teammates Camille Rutherford, Cecilia Tamayo-Garza and Tristan Evelyn clocked 43.21 seconds to win the third heat and punch their ticket to Eugene. They finished fourth overall. Rutherford, who is of Bahamian descent, started the race and passed the baton to Bethel on the second leg.

In the 4x400m relay, Bethel ran the third leg to help the team of herself, Zarie Dumas, Aliyah Taylor and Tamayo-Garza clock a season’s best of 3:33.62 to qualify for Eugene. The quartet was third in their heat and placed ninth overall. Bethel ran a blistering split of 52.16 seconds on the third leg.

Barring injury, there is no doubt that Jones will be a premier sprinter for The Bahamas. At 18, the Texas Tech Red Raiders freshman ran a junior national record and a personal best of 20.36 seconds in the 200m to qualify for the NCAA Championships. He broke his own junior national record of 20.43 seconds that was set back in 2019, when he broke Steven Gardiner’s record of 20.66 seconds. Jones is a phenom who will look to go even lower two weeks from now in Eugene. Overall, he had the fifth-best time and placed third in his heat.

In the global rankings, Jones is ranked at number three in that event in the under-20 category.

Jones anchored the Red Raiders men’s 4x100m team to a season’s best of 39.07 seconds to win the third heat and finish with the fourth-fastest time to qualify for Eugene. His teammates were Courtney Lindsey, Jacolby Shelton and Ashton O’Conner.

Nairn saved the best for last as his third and final jump of 16.05m (52’ 8”) in the triple jump launched him into ninth position. It was a personal best for the University of Arkansas Razorbacks redshirt senior. His first two jumps were measured at 15.32m (50’ 3-1/4”) and 15.60m (51’ 2-1/4”), respectively. He was in 17th place after his second jump.

Nairn was unable to qualify in the long jump event on Wednesday.

Brown, the national record holder in the women’s discus, used her second throw of 59.81m (196’ 2”) to clinch a spot in the NCAA Championships. That season’s best by the University of Iowa Hawkeyes junior placed her third overall. Her national record throw, done three years ago, is 60.39m (198’ 1-1/2”).

Taylor only needed one big jump in the triple jump to get her to Eugene. The Washington State University (WSU) Cougars sophomore had a huge leap on her first jump, posting a personal best of 13.63m (44’ 8-3/4”) on Saturday. She had the third-best jump overall after her first attempt and passed on her second and third attempts. Taylor finished third overall.

Colebrooke punched his ticket to the NCAAs in the 200m, when he ran a wind-aided time of 20.50 seconds. The Purdue University Boilermakers senior was in action in the first heat of the 200m quarterfinals where the top three from each heat and the next three best times qualified for Eugene. Colebrooke placed fourth in one of the fastest heats, and had the second-best time out of the three non-automatic qualifiers.

Colebrooke was able to help the Boilermakers’ 4x100m relay team post a season’s best of 39.06 seconds to qualify for Eugene. His teammates were Malcolm Dotson, Justin Becker and Marcellus Moore. Colebrooke ran the first leg and they finished third in the second heat. They finished with the fifth-fastest time.

Colebrooke did not qualify in the 100m.

Colebrooke’s teammate, Greene, was able to qualify in the triple jump event. The junior used his final jump of 15.90m (52’ 2”) to get into the top 12. He finished 12th overall. He fouled on his first attempt and jumped 15.06m (49’ 5”) on his second attempt to put him in 27th at the time. He qualified for Eugene on his third and final jump.

Moss qualified in the 400m, 4×100 and 4x400m relays in a busy Saturday for her, continuing what has been a stellar first outdoor season for her. In the 400m, the University of Kentucky Wildcats freshman powered through in heat three, clocking a personal best of 52.13 seconds to finish third in that heat after running 52.39 seconds in the first round on Thursday. She had the 12th fastest time in that event.

The freshman joins Otabor and Jones as three Bahamians to qualify as freshmen this season.

In the 4x400m relay, Moss and her teammates Celera Barnes, Faith Ross and Dajour Miles finished second in their heat with a time of 3:31.81. Moss ran the first leg. Overall, they placed seventh.

Also running in the 4x400m relay was University of Florida Gators sophomore Anderson. She and her teammates Taylor Manson, Sterling Lester and Talitha Diggs came away with the fastest time of 3:27.51 to set a facility record and qualify for Eugene. Anderson was brilliant on the third leg, running a split of 51.09 seconds – the fastest split on her leg. She failed to qualify in the individual 400m.

Moss anchored the Wildcats’ 4x100m relay team that finished second in heat three. They had a season’s best of 43.70 seconds. The Wildcats finished sixth overall to qualify for Eugene. Her teammates were Shadajah Ballard, Barnes and Miles.

There were other Bahamians in action at the four-day meet but they failed to make the cut for the NCAA Division I Championships.

Kansas State University (KSU) Wildcats athlete Kyle Alcine was 19th overall in the high jump event on Friday. The junior cleared 2.11m (6’ 11”) in the second flight. It was not enough to get him in the top 12.

Tahjnee Thurston was in action in the hammer throw event on Thursday. The Fresno State University Bulldogs junior threw the hammer 54.47m (178’ 8”) to place 45th overall – unable to make the top 12 cut.

It was a season’s best for the Indiana University Hoosiers junior Jyles Etienne. However, the 2.16m (7’ 1”) height was not enough to earn him a spot in the top 12 to qualify for the NCAA Championships as he placed 17th overall.

On Friday, Xavier Coakley attempted to qualify for the NCAA Championships. The University of Miami senior ran in the 110m hurdles in which he clocked 14.06 seconds. Coakley finished 21st overall after he was unable to lower his preliminary time of 13.83 seconds.

The Oral Roberts University (ORU) Golden Eagles duo of Sasha Wells and Gabrielle Gibson ran in the quarterfinals of the 100m hurdles. Wells clocked 13.45 seconds to finish 18th and Gibson recorded a time of 13.56 seconds to finish 19th overall. Both were unable to qualify for Eugene.

With a little over a week left before the NCAA Championships, the 10 qualified Bahamian athletes are expected to continue to work hard as they look to end the season on a high note.

The post Bethel leads 10 Bahamians to Eugene appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.



source https://thenassauguardian.com/bethel-leads-10-bahamians-to-eugene/

BFA ratifies squad for world cup qualifiers

The Bahamas Football Association (BFA) has ratified a 19-member team for two upcoming FIFA (International Federation of Association Football) 2022 World Cup Qualifiers (WCQ) matches for the CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football) region. The two matches are set for this week Wednesday and Saturday. On Wednesday, Team Bahamas will travel to play Puerto Rico at Mayagüez Athletics Stadium in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. That match gets underway at 6 p.m. They will return home to host Trinidad and Tobago on Saturday afternoon at the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium. That match is scheduled for 5 p.m.

The squad includes Logan Russell, Valentino Hanna, Dylan Pritchard, Nicolas Lopez, Troy Pinder, Nathan Wells, Cameron Kemp, Ian Lowe, Marcel Joesph, Kenaz Swain, Jaelin Williams, Ethan Willie, Alexander Thompson, Michael Butler, Quinton Carey, Roen Davis, Christopher Godet, Marc Ville and Terry Delancy. The head coach will be Nesley Jean and he will be assisted on the bench by Kevin Davies and Avery Kemp. Kemp will serve in the capacity of goalkeeper coach. Larry Minns is the team manager and Eugena Patton is the physiotherapist.

The Bahamas is in Group F with St. Kitts and Nevis, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Puerto Rico. The Bahamas is the only nation in that group to have not yet scored a point, after coming up empty in their first two matches.

Back on March 27, Team Bahamas fell 4-0 to St. Kitts and Nevis at the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium in New Providence. Three days later, they traveled to the Dominican Republic and lost with a similar scoreline to Guyana.

Returning from these two games are Russell, Joseph, Lowe, Thompson, Butler, Delancy, Hanna, Pritchard, Pinder and Lopez. Notable veterans Lesly St. Fleur, Cameron Hepple and Happy Hall are not among the members on the roster for the upcoming games.

St. Kitts and Nevis leads the group with a 2-0 win/loss record, scoring six points. Trinidad and Tobago is second with four points after recording a win and a loss. Guyana is in third place, scoring three points. Puerto Rico is fourth with one point after a draw and a loss.

Only the winner of the group will advance to the second round of the WCQ.

The Trinidad and Tobago game that will be played at home will be a closed match to spectators but will be streamed live by 10th Year Seniors.

The post BFA ratifies squad for world cup qualifiers appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.



source https://thenassauguardian.com/bfa-ratifies-squad-for-world-cup-qualifiers/

Wilson, Thomas compete in Doha

A pair of Bahamian high jumpers was able to experience some action in the year’s second Diamond League Meet – the 2021 Wanda Diamond League Doha at the Qatar Sports Club in Doha, Qatar, on Friday.

In the men’s high jump, one of 32 Diamond disciplines in a series of meets this year, Jamal Wilson, finished tied for fifth with former World and Olympic Champion Derek Drouin, of Canada, who has battled injuries over the past four seasons. Both were able to clear 2.24 meters (m) – 7’ 4”, on Friday, and both did so on their second attempts. Both failed on all three of their attempts at 2.27m (7’ 5-1/4”).

The other Bahamian in the competition, former World Champion Donald Thomas, now 14 years removed from that world title in Osaka, Japan, was eighth on Friday with a clearance of 2.20m (7’ 2-1/2”). Thomas is yet to qualify for the Tokyo Olympic Games, and if he is unsuccessful, it will be the first global meet that he misses in his 15-year athletic career.

Thomas, now 36 years old, struggled in the competition on Friday, knocking the bar down twice at the opening height of 2.15m (7’ 0-1/2”), and once more at 2.20m. He failed on all three of his attempts at 2.24m. The qualifying height for the Olympics is 2.33m (7’ 7-3/4”), and the cutoff date for athletics, with the exception of the marathon and the 50-kilometer race walk, is June 29, 2021.

The rapidly approaching Olympics is set for July 23 to August 8, in Tokyo, Japan.

Ilya Ivanuk, of Russia, but representing the Authorised Neutral Athletes (ANA) due to the global ban for Russia for systemic doping, won the competition on Friday with a clearance of 2.33m. Hometown favorite Mutaz Essa Barshim, the Doha World Champion from two years ago, finished second on Friday, matching a season’s best clearance of 2.30m (7’ 6-1/2”). Andriy 

Protsenko, of the Ukraine, finished third with a season’s best clearance of 2.27m. Australian Brandon Starc also cleared 2.27m, but settled for fourth, losing out in the number of knockdowns to Protsenko.

Wilson and Drouin were tied for fifth, Maksim Nedasekau, of Belarus, also cleared 2.24m but settled for seventh based on number of knockdowns, and Thomas wrapped up the Diamond League with an eighth place finish.

Wilson, 32, has already qualified for the Olympic Games, matching the qualifying height of 2.33m at the Banskobystrická latka Indoor Meet in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia, in February of last year. He is yet to match that height outdoors, but has cleared 2.30m outdoors during the qualifying period.

Wilson has cleared 2.30m or higher four times in his career indoors and three more times outdoors.

Wilson and Thomas were the only two Bahamians in action at the 2021 Wanda Diamond League Doha.

The Diamond League season continues with the Golden Gala Athletics Meet at the Stadio Luigi Ridolfi in Florence, Italy, on Thursday June 10.

The two-day Diamond League Final is set for September 8-9 in Zurich, Switzerland.

The post Wilson, Thomas compete in Doha appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.



source https://thenassauguardian.com/wilson-thomas-compete-in-doha/

COVID vaccines and our children

Vaccination is a medical decision, and the practice of medicine involves evaluating risk versus benefit, with the overarching ethos that physicians must first do no harm.

In the context of marketed COVID-19 vaccines still under clinical trials, the question of risk versus benefit is ramping up as countries evaluate whether to approve COVID vaccination in children.

The initial narrative regarding COVID-19 vaccines was that priority ought to be placed on those most vulnerable to death or serious illness from the virus.

None of the vaccines still in the experimental phase have been proven to stop the transmission of COVID-19, while manufacturers report high effectiveness in reducing the risk of severe illness and death.

When evaluating whether children ought to be vaccinated for COVID-19, physicians have pointed to four key factors to consider.

Those factors are whether the marketed vaccine has been proven safe; whether the risk of severe illness or death in children warrants exposure to potential risks of vaccination; whether children pose a significant risk in transmitting COVID-19; and whether it has been demonstrated that herd immunity can be achieved without vaccinating children.

RISK OF DEATH OR SEVERE ILLNESS IN CHILDREN 

There have been no reported cases of pediatric death from COVID-19 in The Bahamas thus far.

Pediatricians Perspective previously interviewed advise that throughout the entire pandemic, there have been four children presenting with symptoms of multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C), all of whom have since fully recovered.

MIS-C is associated with COVID-19, and is a rare condition where different body parts can become inflamed, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs.

Consultant General Pediatrician at Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) Accident and Emergency Dr. Charelle Lockhart recently told us that 16 COVID-positive children had been admitted to PMH throughout the course of the pandemic for symptoms including “unrelenting fever”, diarrhea and vomiting.

In a March 2021 correspondence published in The Lancet Child and Adolescent Health, authors indicated based on data that children and young people remain at low risk for COVID-19 mortality.

The report stated, “In the USA, UK, Italy, Germany, Spain, France, and South Korea, deaths from COVID-19 in children remained rare up to February 2021, at 0.17 per 100,000 population, comprising 0.48 percent of the estimated total mortality from all causes in a normal year.

“Overall, there was no clear evidence of a trend of increasing mortality throughout the period up to February, 2021.”

The American Academy of Pediatrics in its most recent State Level Data Report on children and COVID said, “At this time, it still appears that severe illness due to COVID-19 is rare among children. However, there is an urgent need to collect more data on longer-term impacts of the pandemic on children.”

As of May 20, with 24 states reporting, the Academy advised that “between 0.1 percent and 1.9 percent of all child COVID-19 cases resulted in hospitalization”, and with 43 states reporting, the Academy advised, “In states reporting, 0.00 percent to 0.03 percent of all child COVID-19 cases resulted in death.”

The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) puts its best scenario estimate of the COVID infection fatality rate for children ages 0 to 17 at 20 in one million, or 0.002 percent.

Health Minister Renward Wells recently advised Parliament that more young people were testing positive in the third wave, including 106 children ages zero to nine, representing three percent of third-wave cases.

He said, “Recognizing the phenomena of increasing cases among young and adolescents, the government has moved with urgency to secure doses of the Pfizer vaccine, which is the only emergency use listing-approved vaccine for administration to the under 18 years age group.”

It has not been disclosed whether more children are being tested in the third wave than in previous waves, but do the numbers of children who are not dying and who mostly have mild to no symptoms, warrant administering to them a medical device whose long-term effects are still unknown?

“PROVEN SAFE”

The Ministry of Health has previously stated, “We assure the Bahamian people that COVID-19 vaccination among children will not be offered within this sub-population until evidence suggests it is safe to do so, and with the consent of parents and guardians.”

For a drug to receive approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), manufacturers must provide proof of safety and “substantial evidence” of effectiveness.

But for emergency use authorization — which is how COVID vaccines are currently being administered — the threshold is that the totality of scientific evidence “makes it reasonable to believe that the product may be effective”, and a determination of safety is weighted in judging the risks versus the benefits, given the threat posed by the existing emergency.

The FDA’s archives points to how legislation governing the safety of drugs came into effect back in 1938 – ironically coming on the heels of outrage over the effect of a drug administered to children.

The Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act mandates premarket approval of all new drugs, such that a manufacturer would have to prove to FDA that a drug was safe before it could be sold, according to FDA archives.

Regarding the act, the archives noted, “A Tennessee drug company marketed a form of the new sulfa wonder drug that would appeal to pediatric patients, Elixir Sulfanilamide. However, the solvent in this untested product was a highly toxic chemical analogue of antifreeze; over 100 people died, many of whom were children.

“The public outcry not only reshaped the drug provisions of the new law to prevent such an event from happening again, it propelled the bill itself through Congress.”

Pfizer has been given an estimated study completion date of January 31, 2023.

While still under clinical trials, the safety of COVID-19 vaccines is still being determined, and what must be carefully examined for The Bahamas is the risk/benefit profile of administering the same to children.

CHILDREN AND COVID TRANSMISSION

In the earlier weeks and months of the pandemic, with widespread uncertainty about COVID-19, governments instituted lockdowns that included the closure of schools.

But that action was born out of fear of the unknown rather than science, which at the time was in its infancy regarding COVID-19.

Now that more studies have been conducted, the question is whether emerging data supports an argument that administering vaccines under clinical trials to children is necessary to prevent a disruption of in-person learning.

One of the world’s largest studies on COVID-19 in schools was conducted on 100 schools in the United Kingdom last year.

Professor Russell Viner, president of the Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health and a member of the UK government advisory group Sage, was quoted in the August 9, 2020 Sunday Times as saying of the study, “A new study that has been done in UK schools confirms there is very little evidence that the virus is transmitted in schools.

“This is some of the largest data you will find on schools anywhere. Britain has done very well in terms of thinking of collecting data in schools.”

A study published August 2020 in the Lancet Child and Adolescent Health on the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in educational settings in Australia concluded, “SARS-CoV-2 transmission rates were low in New South Wales educational settings during the first COVID-19 epidemic wave, consistent with mild infrequent disease in the 1.8 million child population.

“With effective case-contact testing and epidemic management strategies, and associated small numbers of attendances while infected, children and teachers did not contribute significantly to COVID-19 transmission via attendance in educational settings.”

A study in Norway published January in Eurosurveillance examining schools between August and November 2020, concluded, “With preventive measures implemented in schools, we found minimal child-to-child (0.9 percent, 2/234) and child-to-adult (1.7 percent, 1/58) transmission, supporting that under 14-year-olds are not the drivers of SARS-CoV-2 transmission.”

And a study published in April in the New England Journal of Medicine on the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in Iceland, tested high risk persons and concluded, “children under 10 years of age and females had a lower incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection than adolescents or adults and males”.

As it relates to discussions on needing children to be vaccinated to reach herd immunity, Israel is touted as having one of the best vaccination campaigns in the world, and is thought to have already reached herd immunity.

Israel has accomplished this without children under the age of 16 being eligible for vaccination.

Though New Providence continues to experience a surge in COVID cases, deaths and hospitalizations, government has not deemed the situation serious enough to warrant a return to virtual learning.

It is an indication that government does not view the invariably close and sustained contact between students and teachers during a surge with growing risks from variants, as risky enough to close schools.

Given its risk assessment herein, government should explain the rationale for its plans to accept risks that could be posed by COVID vaccination with vaccines still undergoing clinical trials.

CARDIAC EVENTS AND mRNA VACCINES 

AstraZeneca has paused its vaccine trial on children, pending investigations by UK’s medicines regulator about incidences of blood clots in vaccinated adults.

Pfizer received emergency use authorization from the FDA following its trial on 2,260 adolescents 12 to 15 years of age in the US.

Health care providers and vaccine recipients have recently reported cases of myocarditis and pericarditis following vaccination with the mRNA vaccines manufactured by Pfizer and Moderna.

Myocarditis is an inflammation of the heart muscle (myocardium), and pericarditis is swelling and irritation of the thin, sac-like tissue surrounding the heart (pericardium).

The CDC and the World Health Organization are currently investigating reports of myocarditis following administrations of both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

The CDC’s COVID-19 Vaccine Safety Technical (VaST) Work Group in a May 17 technical report said most of the reported cases “appeared to be mild” and seem to occur, “predominantly in adolescents and young adults, more often in males than females, more often following dose two than dose one, and typically within four days after vaccination.”

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) announced that its Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC) was assessing such reports, linked mainly to Comirnaty – the brand name for the Pfizer vaccine.

Advising that PRAC was assessing reports of myocarditis with both Comirnaty and Moderna, the EMA said it, “is aware of cases of myocarditis and pericarditis mainly reported following vaccination with Comirnaty.

“There is no indication at the moment that these cases are due to the vaccine. However, PRAC has requested the marketing authorization holder to provide further detailed data, including an analysis of the events according to age and gender, in the context of the next pandemic summary safety report and will consider if any other regulatory action is needed.”

Mayo Clinic states that myocarditis can affect your heart muscle and your heart’s electrical system, reducing your heart’s ability to pump, and causing rapid or abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias).

It points out that viral infection usually causes myocarditis, but it can result from a reaction to a drug, or be part of a more general inflammatory condition, adding that severe myocarditis can permanently damage the heart muscle, possibly causing heart failure, heart attack, abnormal heart rhythms or sudden cardiac death.

Last month, The Jerusalem Post revealed, from a report compiled by Israel’s team of experts monitoring the Pfizer vaccine’s side effects, “A total of 62 cases of myocarditis have occurred so far in Israel around the time of the vaccination, 56 of them after the second dose. Some 55 cases occurred among men.

“In most cases, the patients were discharged from the hospital in good conditions. However, two people – a 22-year-old woman and a 35-year-old man – died. According to the report, they did not have any pre-existing condition, but further investigation was needed to confirm the diagnosis.”

In a special update issued May 22, Seattle Children’s Hospital advised health care providers to “consider a diagnosis of myocarditis or pericarditis in any evaluation of chest pain following COVID-19 vaccination” and to, “Inquire about recent COVID-19 vaccination in any patient presenting with symptoms consistent with myocarditis or pericarditis.”

Seattle and King County Public Health in a May 21 health advisory said, “Public Health is investigating 12 reported cases of myocarditis and pericarditis since early May among King County residents, following the first or second dose of COVID-19 vaccine with either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.

“Cases range in age from 16-66 years (11 cases under 40 years), and the majority of cases are among males.”

The Oregon Health Authority asked health care professionals in the state to report cases of myocarditis, and six cases were documented in the city of Portland.

At least 18 adolescents and young adults in the state of Connecticut showed symptoms of heart problems after vaccination, according to Connecticut’s Acting Health Commissioner. 

Meantime, the CDC is investigating the death of a 15-year-old Colorado boy who died from cardiac failure on April 20, two days after receiving the Pfizer vaccine.

Earlier this month, Utah media outlets reported the hospitalization of athlete Everest Romney, 17, who was diagnosed with blood clots in his head days after receiving the Pfizer vaccine.

His mother, who said her son was “100 percent healthy, playing and practicing basketball”, told media outlets that he started to feel swelling and pain in his neck hours after receiving the vaccine, followed by extreme migraines.

In its guidance to recipients and caregivers on its emergency use authorization for the Pfizer vaccine in those 12 years old and older, the FDA said regarding expected side effects including fever, fatigue and injection site pain, “These may not be all the possible side effects of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.

“Serious and unexpected side effects may occur. Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is still being studied in clinical trials.”

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Monitoring vaccine adverse reaction reports

Continuing in our discussion on COVID vaccination and our children, the World Health Organization (WHO) defines an adverse drug reaction as “any response to a drug which is noxious and unintended, and which occurs at doses normally used in man for prophylaxis, diagnosis, or therapy of disease, or for the modification of physiological function.”

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) categorizes an adverse event as “any undesirable experience associated with the use of a medical product in a patient.”

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS), Europe’s EudraVigilance system and the UK’s Yellow Card Reporting System, are among the world’s major tracking systems for suspected adverse events associated with medicines and medical devices.

All platforms point out that a reported adverse event does not necessarily mean the event was caused by the medicine or substance used, but the systems are key mechanisms that enable regulators and officials to track trends, and be quickly alerted to potential problems.

EudraVigilance advises, “Before a medicine is marketed, information on its safety and efficacy is based on use of the medicine in clinical trials. However, clinical trials may not be able to detect all side effects, as they involve limited numbers of patients.

“Also, some side effects may take a long time to develop, and only occur after the clinical trial is finished. Often (but not always), people taking part in clinical trials are healthy or do not have other diseases or do not normally take other medicines. This is not the situation when the medicine is used in real life.

“Continuous monitoring after the clinical trial is therefore essential, to maintain a comprehensive safety and effectiveness profile of the medicine.”

As of May 29, 198,678 cases of adverse reactions to the Pfizer vaccine were reported to EudraVigilance, the majority of which were reported by healthcare professionals.

The adverse reactions run the gamut of categories including disorders of the cardiac, vascular, respiratory, thoracic, reproductive, immune and nervous systems, as well as disorders of the blood and lymphatic systems.

Reactions categorized as serious include 7,129 cardiac disorders, 7,808 vascular disorders, 32,644 nervous system disorders, and 4,612 blood and lymphatic disorders.

For those aged 12 to 17, there were 28 serious cardiac disorders reported, and 18 serious vascular disorders.

For all age groups, 280 cases of myocarditis were reported – eight of which were fatal – and 16 of which occurred in males ages 12 to 17.

For all groups, 233 cases of pericarditis were reported, with five occurring in those ages 12 to 17 – four males and one female.

As of May 21, 103,813 adverse reaction reports for the Pfizer vaccine in the US were reported to VAERS – 10,198 of which are listed as serious, including 1,826 deaths.

For those ages 17 and under, 3,142 adverse reactions to the Pfizer vaccine have been reported, 115 categorized as serious.

Over four million children ages 17 and under have received the Pfizer vaccine in the US thus far, according to the CDC.

There were 96 cases of myocarditis reported in those age six to 29, and 29 of those were in children age six to 17.

As of May 20, the UK’s Yellow Card Reporting System received 61,553 adverse reaction reports for the Pfizer vaccine, 382 with a fatal outcome.

There were 21 cases of myocarditis and 21 of pericarditis reported, the latter with one fatal outcome.

There were 221 strokes (cerebrovascular accident) reported – 12 of which were fatal – and 27 cases of ischemic stroke (strokes typically caused by blood clots in the brain) – one of which was fatal.

As for the AstraZeneca vaccine, 249,236 people reported adverse events to EudraVigilance for all age groups, and the UK Yellow Card system received 176,750 adverse events, 806 with a fatal outcome.

Across platforms, there have also been several reports by COVID-vaccinated mothers of adverse reactions in their breastfed babies.

Pfizer advises that, “Available data on Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine administered to pregnant women are insufficient to inform vaccine-associated risks in pregnancy”, and “Data are not available to assess the effects of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on the breastfed infant or on milk production/excretion.”

ADVERSE REACTIONS HERE AT HOME

The WHO defines pharmacovigilance as the science and activities relating to the detection, assessment, understanding and prevention of adverse effects or any other drug-related problem.

Reporting adverse events to a vaccine as part of an established system is new for Bahamians, but is necessary to enable the country to quickly detect problems in those who are vaccinated.

Culturally, Bahamians are hesitant about revealing or admitting to illness or the severity thereof, particularly if they fear the information might be made public, or garner unwanted scrutiny.

Given the push by government to increase COVID vaccination numbers, and a prevailing atmosphere of condemning both concerns about marketed vaccines and discussions about potential adverse events, both vaccine hesitancy and hesitancy on the part of healthcare workers and vaccine recipients in reporting adverse events, should be evaluated by officials.

The country’s system for reporting adverse events must be efficient and responsive.

AstraZeneca vaccine recipients are given a Public Hospitals Authority (PHA) flyer advising them to seek prompt medical assistance and mention recent vaccination if they experience symptoms including breathlessness, chest or stomach pain, swelling or coldness in an arm or leg, blurred vision or bleeding under the skin.

Given the wide range of suspected multisystem adverse events being reported worldwide, government should advise on whether a broadening of the reporting protocol ought to occur, to widen the scope of monitoring adverse effects not listed in the PHA flyer.

This can aid both healthcare workers and vaccine recipients in heightening awareness of potential unexpected adverse reactions, and formulating appropriate responses thereto.

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The piper must be paid

In last month’s article “A snap in a surge”, we spoke to the potential recklessness of government tabling an election budget that aims to buy support at the polls, while kicking the national-debt can down the road.

A country’s debt to gross domestic product (GDP) compares what the country owes to what it produces, and this indicator matters because the higher a country’s debt to GDP, the higher the risk of default on its debt payments.

The Bahamas’ debt to GDP ratio stood at a record 97.4 percent at the end of 2020.

Low debt to GDP can be difficult to maintain during periods of economic crisis, such as has been wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic, which plunged the Minnis administration into unprecedented borrowing.

As a result of the country’s increased debt burden, interest payments in the 2021/2022 budget are estimated to come in at $512.5 million.

To put that amount into perspective, the country’s allocation for interest payments on loans will be the single largest recurrent expenditure line item behind public sector salaries and wages, which are estimated at $670.9 million.

The country’s allocation for interest payments is only approximately $34 million less than the total allocations for the Ministry of Health, Department of Public Health and Department of Education combined.

The country’s high level and rate of borrowing comes as record recurrent deficits – which is the difference between what government collects and what it spends – have left government cash strapped, unable to pay vendors and some workers on a timely basis.

As the country’s financial experts have rightly warned, The Bahamas’ debt position is unsustainable.

During the current fiscal year, spending cuts were ordered for government departments and ministries, and hiring freezes were implemented save for essential positions, in order to hold the line on the government’s public sector wage bill.

But not unexpectedly, the Minnis administration tabled a budget that increased allocations for wages, salary and allowances in the public service by approximately $29.6 million.

The increases are spread out across multiple departments and ministries, which means that in addition to provisions for new hires, provisions for raises and reclassifications have also been made.

Months after coming to office, Public Service Minister Brensil Rolle blasted the previous Christie administration for its pre-election hires, indicating that the public purse grew by $16,532,738 due to the hiring of public sector workers in the run up to the 2017 general election.

Do governments in The Bahamas engage in varying degrees of pre-election hiring and public sector gift-giving? Yes.

Have previous administrations faced a 97.4 percent debt to GDP and a $9.66 billion national debt, choosing nevertheless to increase the public sector wage bill in the midst of a pandemic that leaves the prospect for tourism and tax inflows uncertain?

No.

Budget allocations are just that – allocations – and whether government will be able to make good on what the budget allocates remains to be seen, given variables including what we hope will be an uneventful hurricane season for the country.

According to the World Tourism Organization (WTO), international tourism arrivals to the Americas were down 77 percent in January, and global tourism is expected to come in anywhere between 55 to 67 percent below 2019 levels at the end of 2021.

The WTO said its projections are based on a number of factors, “most notably a major lifting of travel restrictions, the success of vaccination programs, or the introduction of harmonized protocols such as the digital green certificate planned by the European Commission.”

Borrowing hundreds of millions of dollars only to find new ways to spend it – thereby mortgaging tomorrow’s future for today’s desire to hold on to political power – is in part what has gotten The Bahamas to the financial state it is in today.

There is no guarantee that giving public officers extra money in the upcoming fiscal year will significantly improve the administration’s chances of victory at the polls, but what is certain is that The Bahamas cannot afford for successive governments to continue to behave as though borrowed money is “free money”.

A CLOSER LOOK

Under the Ministry of Public Service and National Insurance, $2 million has been added for salary adjustments, and allocations for new appointments have increased by $2 million.

A $12 million allocation for “special employment projects” was repeated for the upcoming fiscal year.

The Cabinet Office allocation for contract worker salaries increased by $212,550.

In the Office of the Prime Minister, the allocation for contract worker salaries increased by $379,000, and the allocation for consultants increased by $106,200, to $806,200.

In the Ministry of Finance, the contract worker salary allocation increased by $240,000, and $1.5 million was added for new appointments.

For the Department of Immigration, $1.22 million was added for contract workers and new appointments, and $900,000 was added for new appointments in the Department of Customs.

The recurrent allocation for Disaster Reconstruction Authority increased from $200,000 to $1.74 million.

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Friday, May 28, 2021

Café Boulud seduces the senses

If there was any restaurant that I’ve been “chomping at the bit” to get into recently, it’s Café Boulud Baha Mar, the newest dining outpost from Chef Daniel Boulud who is known for bringing contemporary appeal to soulful dishes rooted in the French tradition. So, of course, when the opportunity presented itself, I made a beeline for a seat at a Chef Daniel table at the Rosewood, his foray into an island nation.

I agreed to allow Executive Chef David LePage to curate a tasting menu from the menu which is inspired by seasonal culinary muses – La Tradition, representing classic dishes of French cuisine; La Saison which features seasonality taking into account the newness of spring; La Voyage which, of course, takes inspiration from places far and wide and creating a dish that has an identity with the cuisine; and La Mer muse with seafood as the focal point, seeing his newest outpost is on an island by water.

Suffice it to say, I was excited and eagerly sat back and allowed Chef LePage to do his thing. He opted to take a gander across all of the seasons, starting with La Tradition (classics and country cooking) and the avocado vichyssoise – chilled avocado soup with shrimp, dill, caviar and crème fraiche. An update on traditional cold soup, the avocado version, an ode to the Bahamian climate, poured tableside was delightful to the eyes with its vibrant green color.

Lusciously thick and silky, the avocado vichyssoise with perfectly cooked sweet plump shrimp and the added textural surprise from crisp potato chips, and sweet brininess from the dollop of caviar, proved to be a stunning experience.

LePage followed the vichyssoise with the citrus cured hamachi with fennel, watermelon, Fresno pepper and shiso. Everything came together for the absolute perfect bite. I, from time-to-time, have a put the fork down moment to ruminate on an experience – this hamachi dish was one of those moments. It left me with a hankering for the full portion and not just the tasting portion. I’m still having dreams about the lovely chilled fish paired with sweet, juicy watermelon; licoricey anise; fruity, smokey Fresno pepper and just a hint of the mysterious bright taste of shiso that reminds you of a gamut of tastes from mint to basil, tarragon, cilantro, cinnamon, anise.

Citrus cured hamachi with fennel, watermelon, Fresno pepper and shiso.

Café Boulud’s agnolotti is served with ricotta and spinach ravioli, tomato sauce and pine nuts. When done right, agnolotti to me means happiness as they are extremely delicate and almost ethereal. At Café Boulud, they were pure perfection.

On his tasting menu for the evening, LePage opted to serve Berkshire porkchop from La Saison (spring flavors). The Berskshire porkchop is served with bacon crust, roasted cabbage, sweet potato and mustard, and while I admit the Berkshire pork is renowned for its richness, texture, marbling, juiciness, tenderness and overall depth of flavor, I opted to peruse La Mer (inspired by the sea) – and ended up with the red snapper with pepper fricassee, chorizo, mojo verde sauce. This was absolutely fantastic, and again, I wanted more.

The tasting menu was simply whetting my appetite for a return visit.

Continuing with the tasting surprises, I was seduced by both sweet endings that found their way to the table – a stunning mango vacherin (coconut Chantilly, with mango sorbet, meringue and passion fruit); and seriously decadent chocolate coulant – salted caramel and vanilla ice cream.

The crisp-creamy French dessert that is the mango vacherin at Café Boulud features a mound of mango sorbet surrounded by broken meringue pieces, and passion fruit with sweet Chantilly cream. This dessert hits all the right notes of sweet and tangy.

Berkshire porkchop with bacon crust, roasted cabbage, sweet potato and mustard.

The chocolate coulant is served simply, but elegantly. You really don’t need to mess with perfection in this instance. It is a hot cake with molten chocolate heart. The taste and texture, make this a popular, elegant and distinguished dessert. It is taken up a notch in decadence with the addition of salted caramel and vanilla ice cream.

After an amazing tasting journey, that left me wanting a quick return visit, I was taken aback when my server delivered an extra treat to the table, chef Daniel’s madeleine cookies which I had hoped would be on the menu, but aren’t. These sugar-coated pastries leave a lasting impression once you’ve had them. Served warm, the mini delights are served cozied up in a warm napkin and with every meal, at the end, for a super sweet touch.

And make no mistake about it, the wine is just as important as the food at Café Boulud. Chef Daniel says they are on equal footing. Wine lovers can expect to be impressed by the depth of the wine list and the sommelier’s knowledge.

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TERN Gallery participates in Atlantis World Art Fair on Artsy: A Black Pony Gallery Production

Amanda Coulson, Lauren Holowesko, and Jodi Minnis from TERN Gallery will be among over 50 contemporary female visual artists from the mid-Atlantic region participating in the Atlantic World Art Fair’s inaugural iteration.

TERN Gallery will participate in the Atlantic World Art Fair, June 1-21.

The Atlantic World Art Fair presents an under-represented, dynamic region of innovation, featuring nine galleries and curatorial agencies with decades of investment in artistic talents and practice. Exclusively on Artsy, discover the talents of contemporary artists from the mid-Atlantic whose creative expressions reflect intertwined histories, relations and cultures informed by peoples of Africa, the Americas and Europe. The Atlantic World Art Fair is initiated by Lisa Howie/Black Pony Gallery.

“We’re thrilled to spotlight works from some of the most talented contemporary art makers in the Caribbean, the Atlantic islands and the region’s wider diaspora,” said Dustyn Kim, chief revenue officer at Artsy. “Through this partnership, we’re able to elevate the conversation around these artists and the art market in that region, as well as offer them the opportunity to engage with our global audience of over two million collectors and art lovers.”

Lisa Howie, fair founder, says the Atlantic World Art Fair intends to generate awareness of the contemporary artists in the mid-Atlantic region, stimulate capital, and galvanize the collective efforts of the exhibitors.

Averia Wright and Jodi Minnis. Your Country Name 11 1, 2021 Photography, Ed.

“The Atlantic Art World Art Fair comes out of a shared vision: the collective work of art professionals dedicated to the cultural capital of mid-Atlantic Islands and the wider Atlantic world region. As a small, but potent collection of galleries, each has contributed so much in various ways. Together, on the Artsy platform, we collectivize, the artistic talents that propel us forward: to elevate the visual arts within our community and to the wider world. The online art fair experience flags the Atlantic World as an exciting new art market to discover,” said Howie, an independent curator, cultural entrepreneur, educator and writer.

In 2019, Howie launched Black Pony Gallery on the Artsy platform, featuring contemporary artists from the Atlantic World. Currently, she is the director of learning and engagement at the National Museum of Bermuda and board director with the Centennial Bermuda Foundation.

“Importantly, this online fair transcends barriers of travel and cultural access that are today exacerbated by the global pandemic. Our island artistic ecosystems are fragile, and so this engagement with the global art market will generate critically necessary cultural capital.”

Other participating galleries and artists include Black Pony Gallery (Lisa Howie, Bermuda); Sour Grass (Holly Bynoe, Annalee Davis, Barbados); Suzie Wong Presents (Susanne Fredricks, Jamaica); ReadyTex Art Gallery (Monique NouhChaia SookdewSing, Suriname); Olympia Gallery (Rosemary Thwaites, Jessica Jones, Jamaica); Gallery Alma Blou (Lusette Verboom, Curacao); Frame Center (Charmaine McIntosh, Dominique McIntosh, Jamaica) and Gallery Monnin (Gael Monnin, Haiti).

Melissa Alcena. Zack, 2019 Photography, Ed.

Coulson, Holowesko and Minnis with be joined by other Bahamian artists as well as other artists who are nationals of, or reside in Aruba, Azores, Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Curacao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Maarten, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, the US Virgin Islands, and their diasporas.

Collectors will be presented with over 200 top-tier selections of paintings, prints, photographs, textiles and sculpture, with prices across a range of access points. Collectors will be provided artist biographies, editorial commentary, and a parallel online program (such as art talks, panel discussions and studio visits) to develop cultural understanding of and appreciation for the region. The collector will make payment directly to each exhibitor, and assume the shipping and handling costs of the artwork.

With the global context making travel to the mid-Atlantic region more challenging than ever, the Atlantic World Art Fair gives collectors a chance to experience the presented contemporary artwork from the comfort of their home.

Artsy is the largest global online marketplace for discovering, buying, and selling fine art by leading artists. Artsy connects 4,000-plus galleries, auction houses, art fairs, and institutions. From 100-plus countries with more than two million global art collectors and art lovers across 190-plus countries.

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Exploring the world of composting

Think back to when you were a child taking in your plate filled with some food item you despise. If you close your eyes, you may even be able to hear your grandmother’s voice, firm and strong, commanding you to eat your food. Like clockwork, she further chastises you with the words, “there are starving children around the world who wish they had this food to eat”. Still, you push the food aside on your plate, readying it for its fate in the trash.

Now, think of your current food habits. When was the last time you tossed an unattractive, but perfectly edible end slice of bread in the garbage? Or glanced at the expiration date on a carton of milk and threw it down the sink without a second thought? More than 240 million slices of bread are thrown away each year, and around 5.9 million glasses of milk are poured down the sink.

When people throw away food that is safe and healthy, it is called food waste. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), about one-third of all food is wasted.

In the rush of daily life, people rarely consider what happens to the food they throw away or how it affects the environment. But they should. Uneaten food is the number one material sent to landfills, ahead of plastics and paper, and it’s a big problem. When food waste ends up in a landfill, it gradually breaks down to form methane, a greenhouse gas that is 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide.

“Food waste is something we can control, and in New Providence, we don’t have much land available for landfills, so we need to make our current landfill last as long as possible,” says Ginny McKinny, director at the New Providence Ecology Park (NPEP). “When food waste ends up at the landfill, it takes up space and damages the environment by producing methane, which fuels global warming and feeds landfill fires. Food waste in the landfill also produces leachate, which can pollute the water table.”

The best way to reduce the harmful effects of food waste is to prevent it from happening altogether. One tip is to keep track of what is in your refrigerator and cupboards to avoid buying food items you already have. Meal planning before shopping is another way to avoid buying items you may not eat.

Still, even with our best efforts, there will always be food scraps that cannot be consumed, such as eggshells or banana peels. That’s where composting comes in.

May 29 is recognized as International Composting Day. Composting is a great way to recycle household food scraps instead of tossing them in the trash. However, only a small percentage of food is composted worldwide. Still, a growing number of Bahamians are exploring composting as a way to reduce food waste.

Shameka Fernander, a 38-year-old mother of two and home gardener, has been composting in her backyard for the last six months. Like many people, Fernander was inspired to start a home garden during the early months of the pandemic. Utilizing the container gardening method, she grows an array of fruits and vegetables, including tomatoes, bananas, plantain, carrots, various varieties of lettuce and cabbage, herbs and spices, peppers (sweet, jalapeno, banana, and goat), limes, soursop, mangoes, avocado, apples, peaches, and pineapples. Fernander describes her home garden as a “huge motivator” in inspiring her to explore composting. “I had just gotten the basics of growing my own food, and it felt like a natural evolution to try my hand at the soil.”

Composting is a natural method to recycle organic matter such as leaves and food scraps into fertilizer to enrich soil and plants. By composting at home, individuals can divert some of the food waste from landfills and turn it into organic fertilizer for the yard. Referred to by farmers as “black gold,” compost contains the essential nutrients nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium and can be used for gardening, horticulture, and agriculture.

Fernander is from a family of what she refers to as passive composters. “As a child, I remember having to take our food waste and put it at the base of our fruit trees.”

However, after researching the basics of composting online, she invested in an outdoor compost bin for her home. “I also purchased natural products that support the decomposition process and control the smell.”

Whenever she prepares food for her family, food scraps are stored in a small indoor compost bin, complete with a biodegradable liner. Once a week, she throws the scraps, liner and all, into her outdoor compost bin located in her backyard. She turns the bin daily to speed the composting process. Within weeks, she has rich organic matter to use in her garden. It’s a new habit that she is committed to continuing for the rest of her life.

“I feel like I’m doing my part in reducing landfill waste and giving something back to the earth. I’m slowly trying to convert to a more sustainable lifestyle, so I like taking small, doable steps to help get me there.”

Beyond home gardeners, composting is also an attractive market for entrepreneurs. Nicholas Fox, the proprietor of Soul and Soil, has been offering composting services since June 2020.

Soul and Soil provides services and products for those who want to reduce their carbon footprint but don’t have the time, knowledge, or patience to compost themselves. “I’m motivated by solving problems that make people’s lives a little less difficult,” said 22-year-old Fox, known on Instagram as @dacompostking.

His company offers organic waste collection, permaculture consulting as well as compost and compost tea.

Whether you choose to compost or simply become more intentional about reducing food waste in your home, The New Providence Ecology Park, the environment, and ultimately you will reap the benefits.

McKinny sums it up nicely, “Less food waste means less environmental damage to our beautiful planet – what’s not to love about that?”

NPEP is a 160-acre landfill driving the movement toward more sustainable, environmentally friendly waste management practices throughout The Bahamas. They are collectively guided by a results-driven culture, using simple, proven strategies appropriate for The Bahamas to deliver stable, consistent, and cost-effective waste management solutions.

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Women urged to take action about their health

Too many women spend their time caring for others but not themselves, says Obstetrician and Gynecologist, Dr. Shamanique Bodie-Williams. She urges women to be proactive and advocate for their own health during today’s International Day of Action for Women’s Health approaches.

“We are so busy we forget our own health which is vital for us to be able to maintain the life and the lifestyle that we want,” said the author of “Being Breast Aware and Progression: A female adolescent and parent’s guide to gynecological health.

“We need to find our voice. We need to educate ourselves about what our health needs are as women and how to go about addressing these health needs.”

While women serve as caregivers to their children, partners, and even parents, they can be in the dark when it comes to their own health. In some cases, that could be because they lack money, time or know-how to access the healthcare system.

“We have to educate ourselves about what is available in our country so that if you need to utilize the healthcare system you know where to go and who to go to. Find a good health care provider and then let them be your key to help you navigate the healthcare system,” advises Bodie-Williams who works as a consultant physician in Grand Bahama’s public health system and sees private patients at The Medical Pavilion in Grand Bahama and at The Bahamas Women’s Wellness Centre in New Providence.

She said that some women aren’t utilizing the free health maintenance screening provided in their private insurance plan.

“Usually, it covers a physical exam, a pap test, a mammogram and some blood work, so I would definitely recommend women start there,” said the doctor.

“For the uninsured, there are two options to access health care. NHI [National Health Insurance] has come on-stream providing primary care services for comprehensive exams and health tests. For those not on NHI, they still have public clinics they can access with issues and then they can get into the system if they have a particular health issue.”

Bodie-Williams said the importance of women assessing their personal risk factors for disease, adopting lifestyle changes to reduce them and not put off seeing a doctor until their symptoms are severe.

“It’s not uncommon for women to wait until it’s too late and then they are trying to play catch up. There are some things as women we have control over. We have control over what we eat. We have control over how much we exercise. We have control over being able to know what’s happening with our bodies and recognizing when there is a problem.”

Since its inaugural launch in 1987, May 28 has been recognized as the International Day of Action for Women’s Health by several governments, various international agencies and multiple civil society organizations around the world, according to the commemorative website.

With each year focusing on a particular topic related to women’s health, this year it is sexual and reproductive health and rights including family planning, sexual health screening and access to care.

“It’s not just about educating today’s woman but also the adolescents, the women of tomorrow, so they can understand what their reproductive health should look like and what it entails to stay in tip top shape to put their health first, so they can function at their optimum level.”

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Rattlers set to go off to school

A total of five student-athletes – four from C.I. Gibson Senior High School – received an opportunity to continue their education and basketball careers after they signed to play for Northeast Community College (NECC) in Norfolk, Nebraska, in the fall of 2021.

The four from the C.I. Gibson Rattlers are Charles Joseph, Saheed Sanusi, Emaniel Alexandre and Jaden Strachan. The fifth player is Colin Stuart who plays with the quartet on the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) circuit.

Head Coach of the Rattlers basketball team, Kevin “KJ” Johnson, said the players were seen by the coach at NECC while they were playing in the United States last year.

“We traveled during the pandemic under the right protocols. America was open and they were allowing tournaments and stuff like that to go on so I took advantage of that and a lot of college coaches took advantage of that also. They had four or five options to go elsewhere but they wanted to stick together and the opportunity came up where they could all go to the same school and they jumped on it. It will be good for them so that they could work with each other, push each other and help each other along the way,” Johnson said.

Joseph, a center for the Rattlers, said it was a dream come true, to get an opportunity to play college basketball.

“While signing, I couldn’t believe that I got a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play at the next level. It has always been a dream of mine to play college basketball so for this to be happening I am in awe. I am appreciative to NECC and also satisfied with myself for putting in the hard work that got me to this point,” Joseph said.

Sanusi, a nifty point guard, will be looking to get a degree in sports management. He is happy to have received an opportunity to play college basketball. Sanusi is looking to learn more about the game he loves.

“In the collegiate level, I’m looking forward to improving, take my ability to control the floor, and my leadership skills to NECC. Also, after I complete my associates degree, the main goal will be to get to a four-year division one school to finish off my bachelor’s degree in sports management, which I know won’t be easy but with relentless work and God on my side, I know I will make it through,” Sanusi said.

The NECC Hawks finished the 2020-2021 season with a 3-20 win/loss season, ending the season on an 11-game losing streak. They play in the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference and finished with a 3-19 record in conference play. Alexandre, a combo guard, said he will be looking to help the Hawks turn that season around.

“I’m looking to put this college back on the map next season because they just had a horrible season and most of the players left. Now the five of us are going there, and ball like we never did before to give the school the name they had before,” Alexandre stated. “I am very happy to receive this opportunity. I want to thank God for blessing me to get this opportunity to continue my basketball career and get an education through basketball. I also realize that hard work pays off because for the past three years at C.I. Gibson, I have worked hard on and off the basketball court being a student-athlete. I knew that this day and time was going to come and I want to thank God for blessing me with this opportunity.”

The last time the Rattlers played as a team was in February 2020 when they lost the Government Secondary Schools Sports Association (GSSSA) Championship to the Doris Johnson Mystic Marlins two games to one. The COVID-19 pandemic forced sports to be shut down in the school system after that. Strachan, a shooting guard, said that it was disappointing to not play in his senior season, but he was grateful to Johnson for the opportunity to play on the AAU circuit.

“It was disappointing and hard that I did not get to play basketball in my senior year but I was blessed that Coach Johnson took us away to Orlando, Florida and Phoenix, Arizona to play in big tournaments. It was a great experience but it was very tough that we could not play here, but God knows best,” Strachan said.

Strachan will also be studying sports management. The guard said that getting this opportunity shows that hard work on and off the basketball court as a student-athlete pays off.

The pandemic had a silver lining for Sanusi as he fractured his shin right before the pandemic, and the time off allowed him to heal.

Johnson said he had his players engaged and they were active during the pandemic.

“It has been very difficult during the pandemic for us, but we were doing a lot of training at home,” said Johnson. “We sent out personal workouts to ensure they were working hard at home. They stayed current and in shape until time for us to travel and we were able to compete and secure scholarships.”

Johnson said there are more signings to come for both Rattlers boys and girls athletes in the coming weeks.

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Otabor qualifies for NCAA Championships

It may just be her freshman season but that did not stop Bahamian junior national record holder in the girls javelin, Rhema Otabor, from punching her ticket to the 2021 NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

The Florida International University (FIU) Panthers athlete threw the qualifying throw of 50.25 meters (m) – 164’ 10” on her first throw. She placed 12th overall at the 2021 NCAA Division I East Preliminaries at the University of North Florida’s Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, yesterday.

It was not her best throw of the season but the throw got the job done. On her two other throws, Otabor fouled and posted a 45.17m (148’ 2”) throw. Her season’s and personal best is 54.19m (177’ 9”).

The former Nassau Christian Academy (NCA) athlete was one of three freshmen to qualify for the championships in the girls javelin.

Auburn University Tigers Kylee Carter posted a throw of 56.01m (183’ 9”) to win the competition yesterday.

The NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships is slated for June 9-12 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.

A trio of Bahamians were in action in the women’s 100m hurdles preliminaries at the NCAA West Preliminaries at Texas A&M’s E.B. Cushing Stadium in College Station, Texas. Running in the event were Washington State University (WSU) Cougars Charisma Taylor, and Oral Roberts University (ORU) Golden Eagles duo Sasha Wells and Gabrielle Gibson.

Qualifying for the quarterfinal with a wind-aided 13.19 seconds was Wells who had the 18th fastest time. She placed third running out of the second heat. Gibson also qualified when she ran a wind-aided 13.20 seconds in heat five to place 19th overall. Taylor was not so fortunate as her 13.37 seconds time was not enough to move on to the quarterfinals.

Baylor University Bears Ackera Nugent clocked the fastest time of 12.63 seconds.

On Wednesday, Samson Colebrooke ran a season’s best of 10.18 seconds in the preliminary round of the 100m at Hodges Stadium. He finished with the seventh-fastest time in the preliminaries to qualify for the quarterfinals. The Purdue University Boilermakers senior ran out of lane six in the second heat that produced three other qualifiers. He finished third in that heat to automatically qualify to the next round. The fastest time overall was clocked by Louisiana State University (LSU) Tigers Terrance Laird – 10 seconds flat.

Also running on Wednesday in the 100m preliminaries was Bahamian Adrian Curry. The Ohio State Buckeyes’ junior clocked 10.57 seconds to finished 44th overall.

Colebrooke also qualified for the quarterfinals in the 200m after running the 15th fastest time of 20.84 seconds. He finished fourth running out of heat two.

Clocking the fastest time in those preliminaries was the University of Florida Gators’ Joseph Fahnbulleh with a wind-aided time of 20.22 seconds.

Colebrooke will be back in action today in the quarterfinals of those two races.

In the 110m hurdles, Xavier Coakley ran 13.83 seconds. The University of Miami Hurricanes’ redshirt senior finished with the 21st fastest time in the preliminaries. He ran out of lane eight in the third heat, finishing third in that heat. Coakley’s personal best is 13.81 seconds that he ran last month.

Posting the fastest time in the preliminaries was the University of Kentucky Wildcats’ Tai Brown in 13.47 seconds.

At the west preliminaries on Wednesday, Shakeem Smith was able to qualify in both the 100 and 400m hurdles.

The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) Miners senior clocked 50.94 seconds to finish with the 16th fastest time in the 400m hurdles preliminaries. It was far off his personal best of 49.82 seconds but he still managed to qualify for the quarterfinals. He ran in the first heat in which he placed fourth.

The fastest time in the 400m hurdles was 49.68 seconds, done by Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Islanders’ Leonardo Ledgister.

In the 110m hurdles, Smith was the final qualifier for the quarterfinals with a time of 13.90 seconds. He finished fifth in his heat but was able to qualify as one of the fastest non-automatic qualifiers.

The fastest time was recorded by the University of Iowa Hawkeyes Jaylan McConico with a time of 13.34 seconds.

Terrence Jones was also in action for his team, the Texas Tech Red Raiders, in the 200m preliminaries. The freshman finished with the 10th fastest time with a wind-aided 20.58 seconds to qualify for the quarterfinals set for this evening. He finished fourth in a speedy heat three.

The fastest time in the prelims came from the University of Texas Longhorns’ Micaiah Harris in 20.40 seconds.

In the long jump event, the University of Arkansas Razorbacks’ Laquan Nairn posted a jump of 7.40m (24’ 3-1/2”) on his first attempt. He placed 27th overall and missed out on being in the top 12 that will head to the 2021 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

Nairn will try to qualify in the triple jump event today.

The NCAA east and west preliminaries continue today and will wrap up tomorrow.

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The Bahamas Bowl is back; set for December 17

The 2021 bowl season will begin in The Bahamas this year as the longest-running international bowl game in college football history, the Bahamas Bowl, will be played Friday, December 17 at noon.

After a year away due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bahamas Bowl will stage its seventh edition in the 15,000-seat Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium in New Providence, and the game will air in the United States on ESPN.

“We are thrilled to return to the bowl lineup and to be the opening game of Bowl Season this year,” said Bahamas Bowl Executive Director Richard Giannini. “The bowl has been a fixture on The Bahamas’ sporting calendar since 2014, and the game has provided tremendous competition for our partner conferences at Conference USA and the Mid-American Conference. We have a fun gameday atmosphere for our fans who attend the bowl, and it is a yearly showcase of the beauty of The Bahamas on ESPN. We know that the 2021 bowl will remind everyone why ‘Bowl Games are Better in The Bahamas’.”

Each year, American football fans travel to Nassau, The Bahamas, to see their universities play in the only bowl game currently played outside the United States. In the inaugural bowl game in 2014, Western Kentucky University (WKU) beat Central Michigan 49-48 in a memorable offensive shootout that featured the number one play of the year as recognized at the ESPYs – an award winning show recognizing individual and team athletic achievement and other sports-related performances during a calendar year.

In 2015, Western Michigan beat Middle Tennessee 45-31, Old Dominion held off Eastern Michigan 24-20 in the 2016 game, Ohio beat the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) 41-6 in 2017, Florida International University (FIU) rallied to beat Toledo 35-32 in 2018 and Buffalo defeated Charlotte 31-9 in 2019.

As with the first six editions, the 2021 Bahamas Bowl will feature teams from Conference USA and the Mid-American Conference (MAC).

For more information on the 2021 Bahamas Bowl, interested persons are asked to visit the website BahamasBowl.com. The game is one of 17 college bowl games owned and operated by ESPN Events, a division of ESPN.

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Chamber lauds budget, but raises concerns on borrowing, spending

The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers’ Confederation (BCCEC) in a statement released yesterday lauded the government’s move to further support and grow small businesses, but raised concerns that additional spending could lead to increased taxes, eventually negatively affecting businesses in the country.

The BCCEC stated it is looking forward to the results of the public expenditure review being conducted by the government and the Inter-American Development Bank, to see what recommendations are given to shore up the government’s fiscal position.

“We continue to see additional spending on supporting small businesses through the SBDC (Small Business Development Centre),” the statement noted.

“However, the increase in spending to fund the initiatives and to continue COVID-19-related support is leading to an increase in borrowing.

“The business community is concerned that it is inevitable this level of spending will lead to an increase in taxation, which will affect the private sector either directly or indirectly.”

The Chamber stated its initial impression of the government’s 2021/2022 annual budget plan is that it contains some items which could have a positive impact on the business community, however these items require further details.

“Over the course of the national budget debate, the BCCEC will review the draft estimates and listen to the ministers as they present their plans; such plans will give the private sector insight into the policies that will be used to implement the items contained in the budget.”

The BCCEC noted in the statement that the initiatives of interest include the government’s plan to provide duty-free concessions to small businesses; the launch of a public-private sector infrastructure fund; the employment incentive program for businesses that provides tax credits for the hiring of up to 10 new employees; the expansion of the digital footprint of government services; and the expansion of the two government-owned hospitals.

“The BCCEC looks forward to learning more about the proposed initiatives so that the business community can be positioned to once again contribute meaningfully to the economy of The Bahamas,” the statement added.

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Thompson: Private sector participation key to govt’s 2021/2022 plan

Minister of State for Finance Kwasi Thompson said the government’s 2021/2022 annual budget calls for much more private sector participation in the economic life of the country, contending that for “too long the government has placed itself at the center of national economic life”.

Thompson, who made the remarks during the government’s post-budget communication press conference, said the focus is to build a foundation for more private sector involvement in the economy, while improving the government’s facilitation of the things needed to make that participation a reality.

The government’s new 2021/2022 Accelerate Bahamas Recovery Plan calls for the private sector to use government resources to move the economic needle.

“We believe that our country does well when we create a dynamic environment for the private sector to grow and innovate,” said Thompson.

“The Accelerate Bahamas Recovery Plan seeks to leverage limited public resources, gathered through the productivity of hard-working Bahamians, in a more strategic way. We will deploy these resources to address the immediate needs of our ongoing recovery and our more fundamental challenges, like revenue shortfalls and anemic growth.

“Our plan recognizes that by expanding and motivating private sector participation instead of solely relying on direct government payouts, we can create more robust pathways to increase employment, stimulate economic activity and therefore increase revenue into the public purse.

“For too long, we have relied on the government to be the primary source of employment, using public funds as a band-aid for longstanding, acute structural deterioration.”

One move in the government’s playbook is to use tax incentives to stimulate private sector employment. The government announced on Wednesday that it will provide a $400 per week, per employee tax credit for businesses that hire up to ten new employees. Employers will be able to begin reaping the benefits of this program from July 1. The government hopes this initiative will generate 2,500 jobs.

Thompson said this private sector-centered approach will cause a “structural shift” in the way the Bahamian economy works in the long term.

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source https://thenassauguardian.com/thompson-private-sector-participation-key-to-govts-2021-2022-plan/