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BAHAMAS: National Parenting Programme Makes Appeal to Maintain the Family

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2R0A6618#Bahamas, December 8, 2017 – Nassau – All efforts should be made to strengthen and maintain the family as it is the bedrock of a country, said Vaughn Miller, Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Social Services and Urban Development in his remarks to graduates of a National Parenting Programme.

“I believe that your participation in the Parenting Education classes and the Parents Support Group, have prepared you to avoid some of the pitfalls of poor parenting challenges and becoming a ‘statistic.’    Be reminded that you are the first teachers for your children and you’re vitally important to influencing healthy and productive citizens for The Bahamas,” said Mr. Miller.

Thirty-one students graduated from the programme on Tuesday, December 5, 2017.   The Parenting Programme hosted by the Department of Rehabilitative Welfare Services National, a division of the Ministry of Social Services and Urban Development.   Its purpose is to prepare persons for parenting roles and responsibilities, and, to train them to have “stronger” families.

2R0A6542Mr. Miller told the parents that it is hoped that the information they received will result in their being better armed to raise their children in a healthy, happy and wholesome environment.

“Many persons are of the opinion that once they become parents they automatically develop the inherent capacity to perform the responsibilities of a parent.   Some aspects of parenting can be performed through instinct, and while this is good to a point, instinct alone cannot do it; you still need to learn good parenting skills.

“Then there are those persons who rely on personal experience to raise their children but not all personal experiences are positive ones and many parents will readily admit that they do not want to rear their children in the same way in which they were raised.

“While both instinct and experience play a part in child rearing, being a parent is a hard job and it is now widely accepted that like other life skills, there are some skills that must be acquired in order for one to effectively fulfill the role of parents,” he said.

2R0A6541The Parenting Programme was launched in August 1994 to prepare and train parents for their parental roles and responsibilities.

The goals and objectives of the programme are: to equip parents, guardians/caregivers with the necessary skills and training in order to rear healthy, well-adjusted children; to identify other providers of parent education programmes and develop formal linkages to improve programme delivery; to provide the necessary training, facilities and mechanisms to deliver parenting classes and other interventions to achieve the desired results; to create support network for parents by offering encouragement, information and referrals and to review legislation and policies affecting children and families.

By: Kathryn Campbell (BIS)

 

PHOTO CAPTIONS

 

BIS Photos/Raymond Bethel

 

6541 – Cheryl Carroll, Chief Probation Officer, speaking to parents as they wait for the graduation to begin.

 

6542 – Parents who completed the 12 weeks of classes and the six sessions of the Parents Support Group.

 

6547 – Chedline Louis is shown sharing her experience in the programme.

 

6552 – Vernita Mott is pictured sharing her experience in the classes.

 

6618 – Parliamentary Secretary Vaughn Miller addresses the graduation ceremony.

 

6605 – Graduates.

 

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CARPHA Progresses to Eligibility for the First Disbursement of Pandemic Funding

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Following a landmark Public Signing Ceremony for the Pandemic Fund (PF) Technical Cooperation Agreement (“Reducing the Public Health Impact of Pandemics in the Caribbean through Prevention, Preparedness, and Response” [RG-T4387] Project) on December 14, 2023, in Trinidad, the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) continues to progress towards the start of implementation.

 CARPHA fulfilled the IDB’s nine conditions prior to first disbursement, achieving full eligibility on March 15, 2024, and is now eligible for the first disbursement. This milestone achievement in just 3 months after the signing speaks to the commitment of both CARPHA, the Executing Agency, and IDB, the Implementing Entity, toward the regional PF project with the objective of supporting the reduction of the public health impact of pandemics in the Caribbean by building pandemic prevention, preparedness and response (PPR) surveillance & early-warning systems (EWS), laboratory systems and workforce capacity, regionally at CARPHA and in countries.

Since the signing of the Technical Cooperation Agreement and as part of the conditions prior to first disbursement, CARPHA has achieved the following key outputs (i) the development of the PF Project Operations Manual, Multi-annual Execution Plan, Procurement Plan, Financial Plan, Procedure for CARPHA’s Financial Reporting System; (ii) vacancy announcements for two tranches of consultants with the subsequent hiring of five (Technical Coordinator, Financial Specialist, Procurement Specialist, Operations Officer and Project Operations Coordinator) and (iii) the establishment of the Project Execution Unit (PEU) and Project Execution Steering Committee (PESC). The dedicated PEU will be responsible for execution according to its planned timelines, which will be led by the Dr. Lisa Indar, the Project Director (CARPHA’s Director of Surveillance, Disease Prevention and Control Division).

 CARPHA, as the lead regional public health agency and an expression of Caribbean Cooperation in Health is mandated by its Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) to support its 26 CARPHA Member States (CMS) in bolstering national systems and coordinating regional response to public health threats. The Agency works closely with regional and international agencies and uses regional mechanisms, surveillance systems, and networks for coordinating its public health response work.

In July 2023, the PF Governing Board announced that CARPHA’s regional entity proposal, entitled ‘Reducing the Public Health Impact of Pandemics in the Caribbean through Strengthened Integrated Early Warning Surveillance, Laboratory Systems and Workforce Development’ was successfully selected for the first round of financing. It was one of only 19 proposals selected from over 300 submissions and the only regional project. The three priority areas in the proposal are: (i) Comprehensive disease surveillance and EWS, (ii) Laboratory systems and (iii) Human resources and public health and community workforce capacity.

This project is expected to begin implementation in March 2024, starting off with a blended onboarding session. A Stakeholder Meeting with countries is tentatively planned for July 2024.

CARPHA remains dedicated to working together with the IDB, CARPHA Member States and the Pandemic Fund to successfully implement the regional proposal geared toward reducing the public health impact of pandemics in the Caribbean.

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Men who had Murdered Man, Marley Higgs’ cell phone face Court

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Wilkie Arthur

Freelance Court Correspondent

The prosecution intends to try two young North Caicos men, both age 21 for the offense of possession of property of a murdered man, property that was stolen and landed in their possession.

The phone belonged to Peureton ‘Marley’ Higgs, who is believed to have been an innocent gunned down at his apartment complex in the Glass Shack area in a spray of bullets on February 2 that killed another man and wounded two others, including a ten-year-old little girl.

The cell phone was described as white in colour, an iPhone, in a hard black case. 

On Monday, March 18th, JEFFVANO HANDFIELD of North Caicos pleaded not guilty to the offense, and the matter was adjourned to April 2024. He was granted bail in the matter.

A second North Caicos man was charged similarly.  

SARENO CAPELLAN aka, Kino Williams is the second individual brought before the court pertaining to the said cellphone. He appeared in court a week after JEFFVANO HANDFIELD, the date being Monday March 25th 2024.

The case for the Crown is that both men sometime in February of this year possessed the cellphone knowing or suspecting it to be stolen property.

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Supreme Court Closed for Easter

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NOTICE is hereby given that the Easter Recess shall commence on Friday 29th April, 2024 and end on Friday 5th April, 2024. During the Easter Recess Judge Selochan will be available to deal only with matters that are urgent or require prompt attention.

Court Business During the Easter Recess

A person who wishes to have a matter heard during the recess must file a certificate of urgency along with an affidavit, which must set out the reasons why the matter is urgent or requires prompt attention. The matter will not be listed during the recess unless the Judge deems it fit for urgent hearing.

Opening Hours During the Easter Holiday

The Supreme Court’s last sitting day for the first term is Thursday 28th March, 2024. The Court will officially resume sittings on Monday 8th April, 2024. The Supreme Court Offices in both Grand Turk and Providenciales will continue to operate while the Court is not sitting during the recess.

The Court Office will be closed on the following public holidays:

  • Friday 29th March, 2024 (Good Friday) CLOSED
  • Monday 1st April, 2024 (Easter Monday) CLOSED

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