TCI News
TCI father says, “I tried everything” as he talked about feeling abandoned by TCI Gov’t and NHIP in saving his little girl
#Providenciales, August 28, 2019 – Turks and Caicos – A Turks and Caicos family today, tearfully shared their traumatic experience of trying to get medical care for their young daughter, who was diagnosed with lung cancer after being moved from hospital to hospital and who tragically died on July 17; now, that family just wants Zharyia Lavonne to be flown home from England.
Even the return of six-year-old Zharyia Stubbs to the Turks and Caicos Islands has reportedly been botched by those whom the family entrusted with the process.
The funeral home in the United Kingdom and the National Health Insurance Board in the TCI had all of the requisite documents, media was told, three weeks before the funeral date. Still there was a confusion that led to a delay which resulted in the child missing her own funeral, which was to be held this past Saturday August 24, 2019 at Jericho Baptist Church.
Ira Stubbs is Zharyia’s father and he explained that both he and his wife, Zshanai have been contributors to the National Health Insurance Plan for years and yet, when the time came for urgent, life-saving medical care for their youngest child, the system failed miserably. Mr. Stubbs said he felt abandoned and that the string of letdowns caused his daughter her life.
Zharyia began visiting the hospital for respiratory problems when she was just three-years-old. Mr. Stubbs said he suspected her problem to be asthma as the family has a long history of the condition. However, according to diagnoses, her condition was not asthma and eventually Zharyia was flown to Doctors’ Hospital in Nassau, Bahamas.
Mr. Stubbs said he was satisfied with the treatment there.
Zharyia was healthier after her time at hospital in Nassau and the referral by Doctors’ Hospital for further medical attention was to a respiratory specialist.
The family explained that with no lung specialist at Doctors’ Hospital and none in the Turks and Caicos, arrangements were made by the National Health Insurance Plan for the child to see the recommended specialist in the Dominican Republic. In the DR, the service was described as terrible; there was a language barrier and there was no translator to help the family transition.
Mr. Stubbs also accused the health practitioners in the Dominican Republic of being corrupt in some instances and, he reported that they gave his child subpar medical care. Suspected errors in Zharyia’s treatment, including medication with which her father did not agree all worked to cause his daughter’s condition to worsen, believes Ira Stubbs.
In the Dominican Republic was where Zharyia received the diagnosis of Stage 4 lung cancer.
Father, mother and three siblings told the story and responded to questions in a press conference held this morning at Hemmingway’s Restaurant at the Sands at Grace Bay in Providenciales. The family was given a week’s accommodation at the Sands by the Hartlings as help in this time of desperate need.
Funds, said Mr Stubbs, are depleted and now he plans to wait for Zharyia to be transported home and then it will be back to the United Kingdom, to get his three other young children settled into school.
In the account, Mr. Stubbs said his daughter was bounced from health care institution to health care institution in a system that failed his family; The Bahamas, the Dominican Republic, Canada and the United Kingdom were cited in his report.
In Canada, care was really good, Mr. Stubbs said. Zharyia was airlifted to Toronto from the Dominican Republic due to her father’s relentlessness in getting help. That pursuit took him to the Premier and Finance Minister, Sharlene Robinson who intervened and got approval for Zharyia and both her parents to be medically evacuated to a children’s hospital in Toronto.
Again, there was a hitch when only one parent was allowed to go and when it took one week before the medical team from Canada could stabilize Zharyia in order for her to travel. There had been questions, said Mr. Stubbs, about the quality of care for Zharyia in the DR by the Canadian medics.
Help for the child was good in at the children’s hospital but it was also limited. A lung transplant was seen as the only way Zharyia would survive and go on to live a healthy, normal life.
Again, her father Ira Stubbs, began working. Dropping off sponsor letters and writing to people and telling his story to media all in the hopes that it would help to raise the profile of the case and raise the $320,000 necessary for the transplant.
Once again, it meant a move for the now, five-year-old little girl who her father said was in excruciating pain. Her trip home to Providenciales, said Ira Stubbs, was meant to be a maximum 30-days. Instead it was three months and hindered, reported the family by an unwillingness for the child’s ‘soon to expire’ TCI passport to be fast-tracked or for other arrangements to be made, so that she could travel for medical care.
According to Mr. Stubbs, his daughter picked up on the delays and the frustrations and asked, at one point, ‘why did they do this to me, please continue fighting!’
Those were the moments in the press conference when both mother and father were awash in tears, long pauses by her father to quell the crying and all of the family members at the table were donning t-shirts featuring a radiant portrait of Zharyia; bright eyes and big smile.
“I feel they abandoned us and a vulnerable child,” said Mr. Stubbs.
Eventually, Zharyia made it to further care in the United Kingdom but there too, the Stubbs family felt abandoned by the Turks and Caicos Islands government and the National Health Insurance Plan.
For 30-days the family lived out of a car. Immigration issues forced a marriage between mother and father in order to bring swift resolve and that flash wedding was said to have taken place at the hospital according to Mr. Stubbs.
By now Zharyia, who wanted to becoming a doctor was surviving with the help of a ventilator and soon it was clear that money and the transplant were not coming.
Zharyia died on Wednesday July 17, 2019 at 7pm at the Great Ormand Street Hospital for Children (GOSH) in the UK.
Medical records, request for a new consultant and the autopsy after Zharyia’s death were all met with little to no response from GOSH, said Mr. Stubbs, who also expressed his disdain for the hospital in London.
“We reported in emails, the mental and physical abuse to NHIP,” but we got no support from NHIP.
It was a complicated story, laced with strong charges and the overwhelming distress of the loss of a child. The family has also received no counselling and feels out of options.
Mr. Stubbs said he wants his daughter home as promised. Mr. Stubbs said he also needs financial help to get back on his feet and believes $5,000 is sufficient to pay the penalty on airline tickets and get the family re-settled in the UK.
There was another request to the public for that financial assistance.
Magnetic Media has contacted the National Health Insurance Board; Public Relations executive Joddy Harvey has been responsive and promised there would be some communication on this complex and distressing matter.
#magneticmedianews
#ZharyiaLavonne
#fatherfeltabandonedbynhip
PROVIDENCIALES, Turks & Caicos Islands: — Beaches Turks & Caicos continues to lead the way in sustainability by cultivating a
culture of environmental stewardship across the Turks and Caicos Islands. Through the introduction of biodegradable alternatives, agricultural education and community partnerships, the resort is setting a new standard for eco-conscious hospitality. As part of its ongoing sustainability mission, the resort has replaced single-use plastics and certain chemicals with compostable, biodegradable products derived from natural sources, to reduce pollution and minimize the resort’s carbon footprint.
“At Beaches Turks & Caicos, sustainability is woven into every part of the guest experience,” said Managing Director, James McAnally. “From the products we use to the relationships we nurture, our goal is to make responsible environmental choices that benefit our guests, team members and the wider Turks and Caicos community.”
The resort also practices on-site composting, recycling fruit and vegetable waste from its kitchens to enrich soil and sustain its lush
landscaping. This closed-loop system reduces waste and promotes biodiversity across the property.
Beyond the resort, Beaches collaborates with local partners including schools, government agencies and NGOs to extend green education into the wider community. Through the Sandals Foundation, the resort supports projects such as the installation of water filtration systems, tree-planting activities and biodegradable workshops. Schools like Enid Capron Primary have expanded their farming projects and integrated agricultural science into their curriculum thanks to this partnership. Beaches also leads regular coastal cleanups and reforestation drives which inspires residents and students to play an active role in protecting their environment. “The Earth Guardian volunteers take pride in giving back to our schools and the communities we serve,” noted Public Relations Manager, Orville Morgan. “These initiatives create a sense of shared responsibility that strengthens both our communities and our natural resources.”
With its commitment to biodegradable innovation, sustainable education and environmental action, Beaches Turks & Caicos continues to set the benchmark for biodiversity and sustainability in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Photo Captions
1st insert: Beaches Turks and Caicos and the Sandals Foundation celebrate with students at the Enid Capron Primary School in a Reading Road Trip experience where guests and students get to experience a cultural melting pot of activity.
2nd insert: Beaches Turks and Caicos resort Simone Woodfine from the Bar Department prepares to plant a tree at one of our schools to celebrate the mission of providing a healthier environment for the Turks and Caicos Islands
TCI News
Turks and Caicos Corporate Community Join Beaches Resort to Raise Funds for Jamaica’s Hurricane Melissa Relief
Turks and Caicos Islands, December 17, 2025 – Corporate partners in and around Providenciales recently joined Beaches Turks and
Caicos Resort raising over US $54,000 to support Jamaica’s Hurricane Melissa Relief effort. The fundraising dinner, aptly titled, ‘One Caribbean, One Family, One Love’ saw over eighteen companies gather on Friday, December 12 to support the recovery of families and the rebuilding of communities affected by the category 5 storm.
“When our Caribbean family calls, we will respond with love,” said Deryk Meany, General Manager of the Beaches Turks and Caicos resort. “Today it is Jamaica that is affected, but tomorrow, it could be the Turks and Caicos or another neighbouring island. We are committed to serving our brothers and sisters and are deeply grateful to everyone who have donated to the cause.”
Since the passage of Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica on October 28, the Sandals Foundation has been working around the clock with local
agencies and international partners to provide shelter essentials, food, and clean water, restore schools, and provide medical support to hospitals. Funds raised at the recent benefit dinner will help bolster the next phase of the philanthropic organisation’s support to rebuild schools and livelihoods in affected communities.
“As we continue to provide essential first-relief support, we have already begun our long-term recovery response,” says Patrice Gilpin, Public Relations Manager at Sandals Foundation. “Many schools, which are the cornerstone of stability, learning, and emotional support for our young ones, require urgent attention. This donation will go a far way in restoring a sense of normalcy in the lives of our youngest and most vulnerable.”
The One Caribbean, One Family, One Love fundraising dinner featured, amongst other things a silent auction of Sandals and Beaches
Resort stays, airline tickets, spa services, catamaran cruise, and private chef dinner. The night’s four course meal was also spearheaded by the TCI’s 2025 Taste of the Caribbean silver medalist culinary team- all of whom volunteered for the event.
Managing Director of the Northern Caribbean and Curaçao, James McAnally expressed delight at the outcome noting, “The success of this event is indicative of the power of partnerships to effect real change. We are grateful to the TCI business community, resort guests and our resort team for coming together and making this moment count.”
Photo Captions
1st insert: Sandals Foundation Public Relations Manager Patrice Gilpin (centre) accepts the cheque from Beaches Turks and Caicos resort General Manager Deryk Meany (left) and Managing Director of the Northern Caribbean and Curacao James McAnally
2nd insert: Members of the Beaches Turks and Caicos resort’s entertainment team were on hand to provide scintillating performances at the event
3rd insert: Beaches Turks and Caicos resort General Manager Deryk Meany (5th left) poses for the cameras with representatives of the Graceway Communities as he personally thanked those who were in attendance
