Bahamas News
Mosseff House – Bahamas Feeding Network’s Little Kitchen That Could Delivers Over 2,000 Meals a Week Trying to Eradicate Hunger
Bahamas Photographer
#Bahamas, August 24, 2017 – Nassau – In a world of fast-paced, high tech talk and expectations, a ritual plays out every week in a modest house in an even more modest neighbourhood that reminds us of what humanity is all about.
The building where it takes place is called Mosseff House. Donated by the Davis family who never forgot their humble beginnings in the Fox Hill community, the little yellow structure next to the Fox Hill Police Station comes alive every Thursday and Sunday preparing food for the hungry.
Volunteers clean, chop, marinate and cook over 500 pounds of chicken a week. They grate cabbage for coleslaw, stir massive pots of peas ‘n rice, wash and tear enough lettuce to lay out a regulation football field.
And every movement, every stirring with a supersized spoon or plating and packaging in individual containers is accompanied by a smile and inspired by compassion.
“Hunger is a horrible thing to endure, but together we can wipe it out,” says Philip Smith, who has been feeding the hungry for more than a decade, these days as executive director of the Bahamas Feeding Network. “What we see out there breaks your heart. Some of the people in the community who come to collect their meal may not eat another hot meal until the next time they come to the door which could be three or four days away. We are a rich nation and yet there are people hunting for scraps in dumpsters.”
Founded in 2013, the Bahamas Feeding Network is the brainchild of its patron His Excellency Frank Crothers, Ambassador of the Order of Rhodes & Malta. Since its launch, the Network has provided hundreds of thousands of dollars in food coupons and supplies to help ease the pain of hunger. It has donated food or cooked meals for over 120 soup kitchens, churches with feeding programs, children’s homes and senior centres throughout The Bahamas. Its vans crisscross the island meeting up with church or feeding centre representatives or feeding centres, its packages are routinely shipped to Family Islands.
Bahamas Photographer
The Feeding Network’s board of directors reads like a Who’s Who of The Bahamas – Felix Stubbs, Chairman, Bamboo Shack and Sapodilla entrepreneur Elaine Pinder, financial services executives Shayne Davis and Patricia Hermanns, Osprey Development and Gunite Pools chairman Peter Whitehead, tireless community service worker Robin Symonette, McKinney, Bancroft & Hughes Partner Sean Moree, Pastor Timothy Stewart.
Nearly every major food retailer or wholesaler has gifted food or sold it at reduced prices for the cause.
Their donations are essential, says Smith. “We could not do it without our sponsors.”
But all the supplies, the 40-lb bags of chickens, the 50-lb sacks of rice, the hundredfold high stacks of Styrofoam containers would be inanimate promises of hope without the hands and hearts of volunteers like Skully and Solomon.
“Their dedication is unbelievable,” says Crothers. “I don’t know how they do what they do and do it with such love.”
Bahamas Photographer
Skully, short for Recina Ferguson, hauls hundreds of pounds of chicken. It may be 1 am Saturday morning when she unlocks the door at Mosseff House to begin prepping for Sunday. While others are sound asleep, she is cleaning, chopping, seasoning. A retired teacher and tutor, she’s been known to work 18 hours straight. And never a penny’s pay. “This is my heart,” she says. On Sunday, her male counterpart, Solomon, a tall, wiry and fit man, hoists a huge steaming tub of peas ‘n rice, running with the burning hot pan to replace the one that volunteers like Wendy Deveaux have just finished dishing out.
With as many as 30 volunteers, often buoyed by organisations like Rotary, Kiwanis and Rotaract that swell the numbers even higher, the cooking and preparation of containers can take as little as five hours or as much as nine. Last Sunday, people from the Fox Hill community collected 300 meals before the distribution with vans even began or church and feeding centre representatives showed up to collect the distribution trays.
“These meals are going to help people who largely fall below the poverty level which the government pegs at $11.74 a day. And the government’s own statistics show that one in every 7-8 people falls into that category. When we cook, plate, package and donate meals to the hungry, everything is carefully accounted for but what we can never measure is the love that goes into each one,” says Smith. “You have to be there, to hear the singing, watch the camaraderie and feel the spirit. Then you will understand.”
A small house with a very large mission.
Press Release: DPA News
Photo Credit: DPA
Rashaed Esson
Staff Writer
#TheBahamas#RoyalCaribbean, April 23, 2024- After being delayed following its announcement in 2020, Royal Caribbean’s new 17 acre Royal Beach Club on Paradise Island in Nassau, Bahamas, is now in the works and is scheduled to be ready for 2025, according to reports. A groundbreaking ceremony was held on Monday April 22, signifying the start of construction in the next few months. This project is huge for The Bahamas as it’s a first of kind for the nation, with a unique public private partnership allowing Bahamians to hold up to 49 percent in equity.
Nassau, THE BAHAMAS — Some of the most successful and accomplished professionals and business leaders in the country
recently shared their experiences and nuggets of wisdom with students at University of The Bahamas (UB) about thriving in a wide range of careers.
The University Centre for Counselling and Career Services and the Career and Job Placement Advisory Unit collaborated to host the 2024 Career Symposium which brought students face to face with leaders in the careers to which they aspire.
Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dr. Maria Oriakhi, said the symposium was key to developing potential as university students strive to leave their mark on the world.
Ms. Rickell Curry
“In the spirit of collaboration and growth, let us engage in meaningful dialogue, cultivate relationships, and harness the power of collective wisdom to shape our futures,” said Dr. Oriakhi. “Together, let us embark on this journey of exploration and discovery, united in our commitment to realizing our fullest potential and making meaningful contributions to our communities and beyond.”
Promoting careers in psychology, Ms. Curry noted that psychologists are equipped with the ability to help others, troubleshoot areas of weakness within themselves, and become better people and professionals in the process.
“The floor is yours to be able to explore. There’s no job where you don’t have to deal with people, so learning, even if you get a bachelor’s in psychology, is a great grounding,” she said.
Dr. Darville, one of few interventional radiologists in The Bahamas, offered another nugget of advice on choosing an area of study.
Dr. Elizabeth Darville
“It is important to know enough about yourself in order to make the decisions you want to make,” said Dr. Darville. “You have to work on yourself first and know what you want to do. Radiology gives you a chance to have fun. It gives you a chance to mold your career closer to your personal life than other medical specialties might.”
Another growing field is project management which Mr. Hepburn called a life skill. He also urged a commitment to lifelong learning.
“Individuals that continue to learn become unstoppable, period,” said Mr. Hepburn. “It is so true. When you learn, you become unstoppable because nothing can stop you in your process of development.
Mr. Wellington Hepburn
“The more you know, the more valuable you are. We need individuals who are cross functional—that can operate in different capacities. So please understand that your learning should never stop.”
With small and medium-sized businesses helping to drive the economy at an incredible rate, Ms. Rolle affirmed the importance of entrepreneurship in any economy.
“When we talk about entrepreneurship, we usually look at it from a myopic standpoint,” she said. Ms. Rolle. “What do I mean by that? Small, but usually about self: ‘how do I make more money?’ And in some cases, some look at entrepreneurship as a way of survival. ‘I need to make a couple extra dollars, I have this bill to pay’. Those types of things.
Ms. Samantha Rolle
“But entrepreneurship really, in its truest form, is about innovation, whether it’s a new concept or any existing concept that you innovate new ways, or help expand the economy.”
The career symposium was held at the Harry C. Moore Library and Information Centre and is held every academic year.
PHOTO CAPTIONS
- Career Symposium 1: UB Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dr. Maria Oriakhi, delivers the opening address at the 2024 Career Symposium.
- Career Symposium 2: Students and guest speakers enjoy a lighthearted moment during the 2024 Career Symposium.
- Career Symposium 3: Ms. Rickell Curry speaks to students during the 2024 Career Symposium.
- Career Symposium 4: Dr. Elizabeth Darville delivers remarks during the 2024 Career Symposium.
- Career Symposium 5: Mr. Wellington Hepburn educates students on the importance of project management during the 2024 Career Symposium.
- Career Symposium 6: Ms. Samantha Rolle talks about the role and importance of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship in any economy.
Office of University Relations
University of The Bahamas
2nd Floor, Michael H. Eldon Complex
Oakes Field Campus
P.O. Box N-4912
Nassau, The Bahamas
Tel: (242) 302-4355/4354/4365
-
News7 days agoDR man rented Jet Ski nine days ago in Providenciales; where is he now?
-
Health7 days agoDengue cases rising in Region
-
TCI News3 days agoExperience Turks and Caicos and Ministry of Tourism explore development of Cruise industry at Seatrade Global Cruise Conference
-
Caribbean News6 days agoCARICOM pushes need for Reparations Tribunal at Forum in Geneva
-
Education6 days agoCampus Brawl at Clement Howell High sends students to Hospital
-
Caribbean News1 week agoCARICOM, UN applauds published decree establishing Haiti’s Transitional Government
-
Caribbean News6 days agoCARICOM sends warning as Oil prices creep higher in the Israel v Iran conflict; 14 regional states import energy
-
Bahamas News1 week ago$36 Million Dollar Upgrade for World Athletics Relays in Nassau, Bahamas