Bahamas News
NEMA’s ‘Operation Relief’ Makes its way to Sweeting’s Cay and East End, Grand Bahama
East End, GB, October 8, 2019 – Bahamas – The National Emergency Management Agency’s (NEMA) Operation Relief made its way to the quaint and peaceful settlements in East End and was received by residents with grateful hearts and opened arms.
Recently, the team, led by Senator Kay Forbes-Smith NEMA’s Grand Bahama Coordinator, loaded up a box truck of hurricane relief supplies and with a convoy of volunteers, headed to the communities of Grand Bahama that were the hardest hit by Hurricane Dorian when it blew through the island on September 1, 2019.
The trip to the East was more of a reconnaissance mission as much as it was a mission of supplying needed relief items.
Sweeting’s Cay was the destination, but obvious needs in communities along the way diverted the route, as Senator Forbes-Smith; Grand Bahama Christian Council President, Robert Lockhart; Island Administrators and NEMA volunteers stopped to deliver cases of water, canned goods, hygiene products, dry goods and words of encouragement to residents in other communities.
“The purpose of the trip was to really get a view of where we are as it relates to our efforts in East Grand Bahama,” said Senator Forbes-Smith. “East Grand Bahama was severely impacted by Hurricane Dorian and we need to really check on a daily basis on how we are progressing in East Grand Bahama, because it is an area that has been devastated so much.”
The trip to East Grand Bahama was carried out by all of NEMA support services working on post Dorian efforts. Bertha McPhee led the team from the Department of Environmental Health, along with the Commander of the Defence Force, Special Forces from the Trinidad police force and local NEMA volunteers.
At each stop, where care packages were delivered to residents, Senator Smith, Pastor Robert Lockhart, East End Administrators and NEMA volunteers listened as home owners and even children expounded the horrors they faced in riding out Hurricane Dorian in East Grand Bahama.
“We wanted to talk to residents in McLean’s Town, in High Rock, in Pelican Point and on Sweeting’s Cay about what their needs are and where they are following Hurricane Dorian,” said Senator Forbes-Smith.
Words of comfort and encouragement were offered, as Pastor Lockhart told home owners to continue to stay strong and to believe in the fact that things will get better.
As the team moved further and further east, the devastation got more severe. In High Rock, only the frames of homes remained. The government complex (which housed a police station, National Insurance Board and a small post office) was obliterated. The High Rock clinic across the street was flattened, with the four walls of the small building lying in four different directions, as if someone had intentional pulled the building apart to see what was inside.
By the time the convoy reached McLean’s Town devastation and the idea of losing everything took on new meaning. The once thriving, robust, active community, where Grand Bahamians would gather by the dock awaiting a boat to get to Abaco or Sweeting’s Cay lie deserted.
Homes that had been abandoned by its occupants during the height of the storm, sat shattered, some had roofs caved in, some had walls blown out and some were only concrete foundations, the only indication that a house at one point stood there.
The remnants of toys, clothing, yard equipment, house appliances and other personal items were strewn over yards where houses had been destroyed.
However, the destruction caused by Hurricane Dorian would also show up in the nearby sea, during the boat ride from McLean’s Town to Sweeting’s Cay, where cars littered the water near the dock. It was unclear how so many cars ended up in the sea surrounding McLean’s Town, but speculations suggested that the high tide that had moved on land, receded, pulling cars with it into the sea.
Sweeting’s Cay would suffer the same fate as McLean’s Town. Not one home or building on the small cay escaped Hurricane Dorian’s wrath. Some were more damaged than others, but all were basically uninhabitable. Yet the people on Sweeting’s Cay insisted on staying, not wanting to leave what they had worked so hard to accumulate, in spite of the fact that it was all lying in rubble.
On the surface, one looking from the outside in, would have found it difficult to believe that Sweeting’s Cay residents had gone through a major hurricane and that they had lost all that they had to that storm, because they greeted the convoy of NEMA volunteers with welcoming smiles, hugs and genuine appreciation.
Supplies were unloaded and taken to a central location on the Cay, where residents gathered and the supplies distributed based on individual need. A tour of the Cay would reveal destruction that seem unimaginable, yet miraculously, no one on Sweeting’s Cay lost their life to Hurricane Dorian.
According to Senator Smith, the trip gave NEMA some insight as to where residents on Sweeting’s Cay and in East End stood in terms of their needs.
“From this trip, what we found is that we have to come up with a different strategy for debris removal in east Grand Bahama and we also have to talk about the education that we need to provide to the community as it relates to mold remediation.
“There’s a thousand things that we need to do in East Grand Bahama, as we have to do for the entire island of Grand Bahama that was flooded and hit hard. There is still a lot of work left to be done in restoring the island of Grand Bahama. But if we take it one step at a time, then we will eventually get there.”
By: Andrew Coakley
Release: BIS
Photo Captions:
Header: Pastor Robert Lockhart (left) and NEMA Coordinator (GB), Kay Forbes-Smith (right) offers words of encouragement and comfort to a resident in High Rock who suffered great loss as a result of Hurricane Dorian that devastated the Eastern part of Grand Bahama when if passed through the island on September 1, 2019.
1st Insert: A resident of Freetown, East Grand Bahama shares his experience of Hurricane Dorian with NEMA Coordinator (GB), Kay Forbes-Smith and Grand Bahama Christian Council President, Pastor Robert Lockhart, during a recent NEMA distribution of hurricane relief supplies to the residents of East Grand Bahama.
2nd Insert: Senator Kay Forbes-Smith, NEMA Coordinator (GB) chats with a resident of Sweeting’s Cay, while the hurricane relief supplies for the community was off loaded from a boat and placed at a central location on the island, during NEMA’s distribution of supplies to residents in East Grand Bahama.
3rd Insert: A well-known resident and business owner from High Rock, affectionately known as “Bishop” points out the severe damage that was done to his restaurant and villas in High Rock as a result of Category 5 Hurricane Dorian. At right is NEMA Coordinator (GB), Senator Kay Forbes-Smith.
(BIS photos by Lisa Davis)
NASSAU, Bahamas — Caribbean Bottling Company (CBC), local producers and distributors of Coca-Cola and Dasani products concluded their 10 weeklong Twist To Win campaign with four $5,000 Mall at Marathon shopping sprees.
The campaign which was available throughout the entire Bahamas allowed consumers to enter by purchasing a 20oz bottle with a yellow cap
from the following brands: Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola No Sugar, Sprite, Fanta Orange, or Fanta Grape. Each yellow-cap had a unique alpha numeric code underneath which they submitted to the Twist To Win WhatsApp number.
With each qualifying purchase, participants residing in The Bahamas were entered to win instant prizes and into a grand prize draw to win one of four $5,000 shopping sprees at the Mall at Marathon.
Participants also enjoyed exciting instant prizes such as: Airpods, JBL Speakers, premium Coca-Cola merchandise, $500 Visa gift cards and Amazon, Spotify and Apple Music digital gift cards.
Out of 76,000 plus submissions, Brian Bethel, Ashia Demeritte, Merlin Adams, and Taraceta Neely won the coveted Mall at Marathon shopping sprees at the following select stores, Kelly’s House & Home, The Sports Center, John Bull, Brass & Leather, and BTC.
Leading up to the grand finale shopping spree, Coca-Cola hosted a Trivia Showdown with the eight finalists to determine the four winners. Finalists were tested on their knowledge of World History, Pop Culture, Caribbean Bottling Company and Coca-Cola Facts!
After a few rousing rounds of trivia, the four winners were declared after each winning their spot in the shopping spree by answering their questions correctly and choosing the “Grand Prize” Coca-Cola labeled bottles at random.
The morning of the shopping spree Coca-Cola gave the winners exclusive access to the Mall at Marathon and its participating stores before
their usual operating hours. Grand prize winners were greeted with wide smiles from Coca-Cola brand representatives and morning bites before the big event.
At the start of the thirty-minute clock the grand prize winners along with each of their Coca-Cola shopping assistants ran to the various stores collecting items in their arms and carts.
Merlin Adams, a husband and father of four was proud to have executed his game-plan at the end of the shopping spree. With toys, a new phone and materials for his home from Kelly’s, Adams felt accomplished in what he gathered.
Taraceta Neely, a winner from Eleuthera collected beautiful bags for herself and relatives from Brass and Leather and Brian Bethel bought matching athletic and outdoor wear from The Sports Center for his family.
The final winner Ashia Demeritte bought linens and household items in addition to a new phone from BTC right in time for Christmas.
Caribbean Bottling Company is proud to share the real magic of Coca-Cola with the grand prize winners and the may instant prize winners across the Twist To Win campaign. For more updates on new products, promotions, and events follow www.cbcbahamas.com.
Bahamas News
The Coca-Cola Art Project Astonishes Art Lovers at The Bahamas Culinary & Arts Festival
NASSAU, Bahamas — Caribbean Bottling Company (CBC), local producers and distributors of Coca-Cola and Dasani products displayed
their astonishing Coca-Cola Art Project (CCAP), during Baha Mar’s five-day Culinary & Arts Festival. Earlier this year, Coca-Cola partnered with The University of The Bahamas’ Visual Art and Design Department for a culturally rich art competition. UB’s art students were challenged to create pieces surrounding the theme, Bahamian music.
As a result, 20 student works of art were made, with four students declared as winners at the CCAP exhibit opening in Baha Mar’s ECCHO: Art Gallery in August. To recreate the culturally stimulating magic felt at the exhibit’s premiere, the CCAP was featured at the FUZE Art Tent during The Bahamas Culinary & Arts Festival.
Nine incredible pieces of art lined the walls of the Coca-Cola Art Project, four of which included the winning pieces from Jhanaisia Cole,
with ‘Gaulin Bride’; Alyssa Pinder, with ‘Shotgun Wedding’; Nelson Gray, with ‘Untitled’; and Jaela Bowe, with the piece ‘Whims of Obeah, a Folktail’. Additionally, an intimate listening room was built. It displayed students’ artistic processes, UB Visual Art and Design representatives, and a recap of the exhibit opening for audiences.
Art enthusiasts also enjoyed premium limited-edition CCAP keepsakes at the booth. Journals which featured a collage of all 20 student submissions on the front and back cover, postcards with an art piece on the cover along with the student’s name, title, dimension and materials on the back and pens designed with the CCAP’s dynamic logo.
Throughout the art festival diverse groups of people visited the art tent taking in the displays while enjoying the artistic insights from the
listening booth.
Community and culture are always at the forefront of Caribbean Bottling Community, and it was boldly showcased during The Bahamas Culinary & Arts Festival for the third consecutive year.
For more details on the Coca-Cola Art Project, events and new products visit www.cbcbahamas.com today!
NASSAU, Bahamas — Caribbean Wines & Spirits (CWS), The Bahamas’ premier wines and spirits distributor delighted Jollification
attendees with bubbles from their Bottega and Bouvet Ladubay sparkling wines and Besserat de Bellefon champagne lines.
Located in the Monument Circle on The Retreat grounds, CWS transformed The Retreat Garden into a lush lounge with Besserat, Bouvet and their latest product addition, Bottega, during the two-day affair.
The festivities kicked off Friday during BNT Member’s Night. Guests enjoyed exclusive offerings from CWS’s catalogue, offered exclusively to members. Complimentary mixes or glasses on the rocks included El Tequileno tequila, Hard Truth whiskey, House of Angostura rum, Cross Keys gin, Nemiroff vodka and a slew of wines such as Fonesca Bin, Bottega and Besserat.
Guests also savored the ‘Jolly Paloma’ cocktail, an instant favorite made with El Tequileno tequila, Schweppes Grapefruit and Domaine de Paris rose wine. To end the night, guests were treated to branded limited-edition wine tumblers as keepsakes.
On Saturday and Sunday, Jollification attendees delighted in glasses or bottles of champagne and sparkling brut or rosé wines while taking
in the comfort of the chic lounge. In addition to purchasing bottles for onsite consumption, consumers were also able to purchase bottles as gifts whether for themselves or someone special.
The sophisticated “bubble lounge” lounge was decked with velvet couches, gold rimmed cocktail tables, blue and pink pillows, and a white floral branded backdrop created for capturing the perfect picture.
Caribbean Wines & Spirits, a historic partner of the Bahamas National Trust was pleased to support Jollification 2025 to kick off the festive season and share their expansive range of spirits.
To keep up to date with all CWS products and events, visit their website at www.cwsbahamas.com today.
