Bahamas News

BAHAMAS: Ministry of Social Services Gears Up for Women’s Week, Men’s Day, and Rehabilitation Week

Published

5 years ago

November 15, 2018

#Nassau, November 15, 2018 – Bahamas – National Women’s Week will begin on Sunday, 25^th November at the 11:00 a.m. Service of Bahamas Harvest Church located on JFK Drive. Under the theme “Strengthening Partnerships for the Empowerment of Women” two key events will be held including a ‘Women In Politics’ Conclave on 28^th November and a Women Empowerment NGO Expo on 30^th November 2018.

On 21^st November 2018 members of Zonta Bahamas along with other NGOs will visit the House of Assembly and other government and private agencies to share gifts of orange ribbons as a reminder to end violence against women.

Men to be Highlighted During International Men’s Day

On 19^th November 2018, The Bahamas will join over 70 countries around the world in observing International Men’s Day. This commemoration will be the first celebration. On that same day, a special forum for men will be held at Ministry of Social Services on JFK Drive from 10am to 1pm under the theme: “Promoting Positive Male Role Models”.

According to the 2018 World Population Census, the estimated population of men in the world is almost four billion — 3,861,543,320 — fifty percent of the population.

Men make up 52 percent of all workplaces. Men also head 34 percent of homes worldwide.

Rehabilitation Week

Over the years, the Department of Rehabilitative Welfare Services holds an annual week of activities to sensitize the public on the services offered. This year’s theme is “Rehabilitation begins and ends with me”.

The Department of Rehabilitative Welfare/Services, which is known to many as the Probation Department, has remained true to its Vision and Mission, which is to provide quality rehabilitative services for offenders through various programs. The participants of the two focus groups of the Department of Rehab, are our At-Risk Youth who receive preventive treatment for the issues they face. The other focuses on the rehabilitation of adults.

Various activities have been planned to highlight the services of the Department. They include:

Radio and television appearances to sensitize the community on the services offered and the role the Department plays in rehabilitation;
A church service at St. Matthews Anglican Church which was held Monday, 12^thNovember, 2018;
A Juvenile Forum on Bullying, Cyber Bullying, and Understanding your Emotions on Tuesday, 13^thNovember, 2018 from 10:00 am – 1:00 pm at the Department of Physical Planning’s Hearing Room, Aventura Plaza, JFK Drive and Bethel Avenue;
A Parenting Forum on “How to Co-Parent Effectively” on Tuesday, November 13^th, 2018 from 5:30 – 7:00 pm at the Physical Planning Hearing Room, Aventura Plaza, JFK Drive and Bethel Ave.;
Juvenile Court Panelists Training on Friday, 23^rdNovember 2018 at 10:00 am.
An in-house Staff Motivational Seminar that will be held at the end of the week of activities.

Activities planned for Grand Bahama include:

A seminar under the sub-theme “Born to Win”, which will target at-risk male students from junior and senior public schools, to teach them positive coping skills.Topics will include, “Winning at Emotional Stability” and “Winning at Self-Control”.
On 16^thNovember 2018 there will be a Mental Health Forum that will bring mental health professionals from various disciplines together to discuss concerns that the youth face. There is a growing population within youth groups who are emotionally and mentally fragile. Therefore, causing the department and its partners from the Ministry of Health to focus on those issues.
A Staff Retreat has been scheduled to take place at the end of all the activities.

By Betty Vedrine

Release: BIS

Photo Caption: Minister of Social Services and Urban Development, the Hon. Frankie Campbell, speaking during a press conference held at the Hearing Room of the Department of Physical Planning on Monday, 12th November 2018. The Minister was in attendance to announce the observance of three upcoming events sponsored by the Ministry of Social Services and Urban Development. The events are: Rehabilitation week, scheduled for week of November 12; International Men’s day, scheduled for November 19; and National Women’s Week scheduled for the week of November 25.

(BIS Photos/Derek Smith)

Bahamas News

Sister Province/Island Relationship Agreement Signed between Grand Bahama Island and Hunan Province

Published

15 mins ago

April 25, 2024

Deandrea Hamilton

By LLONELLA GILBERT
Bahamas Information Services

NASSAU, The Bahamas — A significant milestone was made in the development of bilateral relations between the Governments of The Bahamas and the People’s Republic of China by the signing of the Sister Province/Island Relationship Agreement between Grand Bahama Island and Hunan Province.

The signing took place at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday, April 23, 2024. The Hon. Ginger Moxey, Minister for Grand Bahama; the Hon. Dr. Michael Darville, Minister of Health and Wellness; Kingsley Smith, Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry for Grand Bahama and Joel Lewis, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry for Grand Bahama represented The Bahamas at the signing.

His Excellency Mao Weiming, Governor of Hunan Provincial People’s Government; Qu Hai, Secretary General of Hunan Provincial People’s Government; Cui Wei, Charge d’Affaires, Embassy of the People’s Republic of China; and Yang Peiran, Interpreter represented the People’s Republic of China.

Minister Moxey explained that in February 2022, she and the former Chinese Ambassador to The Bahamas, Her Excellency Dai Qingli began discussion on the establishment of a province-island relationship between Hunan Province and Grand Bahama Island because of their “immense synergy”.

“Hunan has a vibrant creative industry and its capital city, Changsha is known as the entertainment capital of China, whilst Grand Bahama is poised to become the home of entertainment in ‘Our Bluepoint for Change’.”

She said Hunan Province boasts 11 industrial sectors and Grand Bahama is the industrial capital of The Bahamas. Further, innovation driven development has been a new driving force for Hunan, while Grand Bahama is poised to become the home of innovation for The Bahamas.

Minister Moxey said she is confident that an exchange of knowledge, ideas and culture will happen between the residents of Hunan Province and Grand Bahama.

“There is potential for robust trade in various sectors, opportunities for tourism promotion and intercultural appreciation, exchanges to support performing arts programs on our island, foster growth within the Orange Economy, and tap into China’s innovation, technology and vast expertise.”

She said that the formal signing aligns with the mission of Sister Cities International, which is to promote peace through mutual respect, understanding and cooperation, one community at a time.

The Minister said, “Through collaborative programs and initiatives, this connection will support the government’s vision to diversity Grand Bahama’s economy to become the Home of Maritime and Logistics, Home of Events and Entertainment and Home of Innovation.”

She noted that in addition to signing the agreement, she looks forward to Grand Bahama residents benefitting from the signing of the Cooperation Memorandum of Understanding between Central South University and University of The Bahamas (UB), which will expand educational and technical cooperation between the two universities. The northern campus of UB is located in Grand Bahama.

His Excellency Mao Weiming said although geographically far apart, China and The Bahamas are friends with mutual respect and understanding as well as sincerity.

He explained that 27 years ago, both countries established diplomatic relations and China and The Bahamas have deepened their cooperation, strengthened their friendship and carried out many activities in the field of economy, trade and people-to-people exchange.

His Excellency recalled that in August 2022, he and Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance the Hon. Philip Davis had a video conference where they both reached a consensus to cooperate in order to usher a new chapter in the relationship between Hunan and The Bahamas.

“Today, we are here to sign a sister-to-sister relationship between Hunan and Grand Bahama. It is [a] concrete move to implement our consensus reached before and also to embark on a new journey of friendly exchanges.”

He added, “By establishing the relationship of sister cities, I believe the two sides will develop further in terms of economic and trade cooperation, people to people exchange, as well as friendship, and we will embrace new opportunities and deliver concrete benefits for the two peoples.”

He explained that Hunan, which is the home town of Chairman Mao, the founder of the People’s Republic of China, has developed very advanced industries of manufacturing, agriculture, education, culture as well as tourism.

His Excellency said he believes that Hunan and Grand Bahama enjoy very broad room for cooperation.

He said, “More efforts should be made to conduct cooperation in the fields of agriculture, tourism, culture, education and the film industry so as to realize a connectivity between our two sides in terms of logistics and the platform cooperation; so as to deliver concrete benefits for the people and to make our due contribution to the bilateral relationship between China and The Bahamas.”

PHOTO CAPTION

A significant milestone was made in the development of bilateral relations between the Governments of The Bahamas and the People’s Republic of China by the signing of the Sister Province/Island Relationship Agreement between Grand Bahama Island and Hunan Province. The signing took place at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday, April 23, 2024. Shown from left: Qu Hai, Secretary General of Hunan Provincial People’s Government; Cui Wei, Charge d’Affaires, Embassy of the People’s Republic of China; Yang Peiran, Interpreter H.E. Mao Weiming, Governor of Hunan Provincial People’s Government; the Hon. Ginger Moxey, Minister for Grand Bahama; the Hon. Dr. Michael Darville, Minister of Health and Wellness; Kingsley Smith, Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry for Grand Bahama and Joel Lewis, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry for Grand Bahama.

(BIS Photos/Anthon Thompson)

Bahamas News

Nassau Cruise Port Donates Nearly $2 Million Towards Food Security

Published

23 mins ago

April 25, 2024

Deandrea Hamilton

Nassau, Bahamas: The Nassau Cruise Port has donated $1.95 million towards projects that will assist the Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources in its aim to increase food security for The Bahamas.

The donation officially occurred at the Ministry’s offices recently, where Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources Hon. Jomo Campbell, Minister of Labour Hon. Pia Glover-Rolle, Permanent Secretary Neil Campbell and Nassau Cruise Port CEO Mike Maura listened to a number of presentations including one for a poultry programme for schools, a chicken broiler production programme, the redevelopment of the Blue Hill Road Farmers Market and an Authentic Bahamian Cultural Concept Store,

Mr. Maura said he was impressed by the presentations.

“I had the privilege to listen to the presentations and review presentations that touched on food security and the need for us to be self-sufficient, which as a Bahamian I support completely. At the Nassau Cruise Port, we get excited about the prospects of offering more authentic food to the millions of visitors that we have each year,” he said.

“And then, in addition to that, we had presentations around the further development of our artisans, which is so important to us as well. The guests visiting our shores are looking for something that really touches The Bahamas and can’t be found somewhere else. The Nassau Cruise Port has made a pledge to BAIC and its affiliates. We will be supporting the projects that were presented and we can’t wait to get started.”

Minister Glover-Rolle, who is also the Member of Parliament for Golden Gates, hailed Nassau Cruise Port as a “great community partner.”

“Thank you for the opportunity to not only present but agreeing to participate. Our Minister of Agriculture has a goal of reducing food imports by 25 percent by the year 2025 and our project in the Golden Gates Community speaks to that,” she said.

“We have a number of backyard farmers, farmers and fishers in our community in Golden Gates. Being able to use the Blue Hill Road Farmers Market, which is going to be dubbed the ‘Fish Fry of the South,’ as a hub for food security but also a hub where artisans and handicraft persons can come and sell their wares is wonderful. So, we are happy that you have agreed to partner with us and we look forward to a partnership and we hope to welcome some of your visitors when this amazing renovation is done.”

Minister Campbell also lauded the Nassau Cruise Port for its efforts.

“I would like to say thank you to the presenters for the presentations that are several steps in the right direction for our country, to Mr. Maura and his board at the Nassau Cruise Port and I would like to say thanks to God for this partnership and bringing us all together as we move forward, upward, together in building a better, brighter, future for The Bahamas,” he said.

Bahamas News

Royal Caribbean Club in The Bahamas started after delays

Published

18 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Shanieka

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.