Bahamas News
Bahamas: Salina Point Primary Project aims to preserve environment, while assisting student who ‘loves to help others’
#SALINA POINT, Acklins – Februray 13, 2020 — School officials and students at the Salina Point Primary School in Salina Point, Acklins, have become great examples of how schools can effect positive change within their communities while also helping to preserve the environment with the launch of a Tyre Recycling/Refurbishment Project.
Taking note of the number of old tyres strewn about the community and within the vicinity of the school’s campus, they decided to do something about it and launched an Art Project aimed at recycling/refurbishing the tyres into decorative pieces of art, while also taking special measures to ensure the tyres would not become homes for mosquitoes.
Students began collecting the old tyres in the community at the beginning of the 2019 school year and have been using paint and varnish, among other measures, to refurbish them into decorative art. So far, the tyres have been used as flowerpots and vegetable gardens among other uses.
The Art Project was also the result of students, administrators, and the staff’s eagerness to assist 11-year old Jada Tatiana Forbes-Lockhart, a sixth-grader and a “budding artist” who was chosen as the school’s Student of the Year nominee in obtaining a scholarship. It has since mushroomed into something much larger – an “all out effort” to help preserve the environment while also combating the environmental and public health issues associated with old tyres becoming habitats for mosquitoes.
“Jada has worked hard to help with beach clean-up and our school beautification,” School Principal Ms. Nicola Williams said. “She is a very hardworking, disciplined student who works independently and is intrinsically motivated. Jada is also a great athlete and loves to explore her artistic talent and read. She has done well academically and has maintained a grade point average of three point and above for her primary years. She has won numerous trophies and certificates at the school and island level. She is an excellent reader and is always willing to help others. She serves as class monitor, lunchroom assistant, and reading buddy.”
It is mainly because of the last three qualities and Jada’s constant willingness to help others that school officials and students decided to pitch in and help with the project.
“The idea of doing a tyre project came as a result of seeing the number of old tyres in the community,” said Jada, a key participant in the project along with her mother, Ms. Mannessa Forbes. “Mrs. (Dawn) Singh, our lower primary school teacher and an artist, showed me a series of beautiful tyre decorations on Facebook and we decided to undertake the Project.”
Principal Williams said the Project has further strengthened the bond between the school and the community. The Project has become so successful that school officials hope to expand the work.
“It is our hope to continue the project to beautify our compound while protecting our environment,” Principal Williams said. “We could even use this as a method to raise funds as community members are interested in purchasing the remodeled tyres and decorate their gates.”
Minister of Social Services and Urban Development, the Hon. Frankie A. Campbell, along with Minister for the Public Service and National Insurance, the Hon. Brensil A. Rolle, applauded young Jada, school officials and students, and the community of Salina Point for their support of the project.
The two Ministers visited Salina Point Primary – one of six schools in the Acklins and Crooked Island District they visited during a recent Official Trip to the District. Minister Campbell used the opportunity to address school students about his ministry’s initiatives with regards to its child protection efforts, while Minister Rolle challenged the students to be steadfast and focused on education.
“I was fascinated by the quality of the work and pleased to know that it involves an item that would otherwise become not only an eyesore within the community and the school campus, but also an environmental and possible public health threat because of the water the tyres can collect,” Minister Campbell said.
“But because of some inspiration, some sense of innovation coming from a child, that very same item can now positively impact the environment, the aesthetics of the environment, and possibly impact the pocketbook because I am advised that persons in the community have submitted requests to purchase them.”
Minister Campbell also applauded Forbes-Lockhart for her commitment to being the best student possible. Forbes-Lockhart boasts a 3.75 GPA.
“It is not often that you find children of that age knowing exactly what it is they want to do, or working towards what they ultimately want to be,” he said. “Jada is fortunate to have made such a decision and to be receiving the kind of support to make it a worthwhile one and one that offers great hope and potential.
“The entire school is excited about her and she is also fortunate to be benefiting from the support of the administration all the way up to the Principal who is personally involved. I believe that can become contagious and infectious if the story is shared throughout other communities,” Minister Campbell added.
Lead photo caption: Minister of Social Services and Urban Development, the Hon. Frankie A. Campbell (far right standing) and Minister for the Public Service and National Insurance, the Hon. Brensil A. Rolle (far left standing) with students of the Salina Point Primary School who represented their school at the MICAL District Spelling Bee Competition. Pictured (from left) are: Jada Tatiana Forbes- Lockhart; Edlesea Gabrielle Rose and Anna Rebekah Kerr. Also pictured (at back) is Mrs. Miriam Emmanuel, Representative for the MICAL District. (BIS Photo/Matt Maura)
BIS story by Matt Maura
May 29, 2026 – Two years after The Bahamas made history as the first Caribbean nation to host the African Export-Import Bank’s Annual
Meetings, thousands of delegates are expected to gather in Egypt next month for AAM2026.
The 33rd Afreximbank Annual Meetings will be held from June 21-24 in El Alamein, Egypt, under the theme: “Intra-African Trade and Industrialisation: Pathway to Economic Sovereignty.”
The event is regarded as one of Africa’s most important gatherings on trade, investment, finance and economic development, bringing together heads of state, policymakers, business leaders, development finance institutions and international partners.
For Caribbean nations, the meetings hold special significance.
In 2024, The Bahamas welcomed thousands of delegates to Nassau for the landmark event, marking the first time the annual meetings were staged outside the African continent and placing the Caribbean at the center of growing discussions on Africa-Caribbean trade and investment.
Since then, Afreximbank has continued to expand its engagement in the region, promoting stronger commercial ties between Africa and
Caribbean countries and exploring opportunities in trade finance, infrastructure development, logistics, investment and private sector growth.
Organizers say this year’s discussions will focus on strengthening intra-African trade, advancing industrialization, building regional value chains and increasing economic resilience amid global uncertainty.
The meetings are also expected to provide a platform for new partnerships, investment opportunities and development initiatives that could have implications beyond Africa, including for Caribbean nations seeking to deepen economic cooperation with the continent.
As leaders prepare to convene in Egypt, the Caribbean’s growing relationship with Afreximbank remains a key part of the institution’s broader vision of expanding trade and investment connections across the Global South.
Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.
The Bahamas, May 29, 2026 – The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues to expand, with United
Nations officials now warning that the disease has spread across multiple eastern provinces and become the third-largest Ebola outbreak on record.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), as of May 26 the outbreak had reached 13 health zones in Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu provinces. More than 1,000 suspected cases have been reported, including 121 confirmed infections and 17 deaths. Six healthcare workers are among those who have died.
The United Nations says humanitarian teams remain actively engaged in treatment, surveillance, community outreach and disease containment efforts. However, the response is being complicated by insecurity, population movement and restrictions affecting the delivery of supplies and personnel.
While the outbreak remains confined to Africa, authorities in The Bahamas recently activated emergency health protocols after two men who had spent time in the Democratic Republic of the Congo arrived at Lynden Pindling International Airport aboard a British Airways flight.
The Ministry of Health confirmed the travelers were isolated after presenting low-grade fevers upon arrival on May 22. Officials later
reported that the fevers subsided and neither individual displayed symptoms consistent with Ebola Virus Disease.
The two men, identified as a British national residing in Australia and a French national, were transferred to the Modular Unit at Princess Margaret Hospital for continued monitoring.
Health officials emphasized that there are currently no confirmed Ebola cases in The Bahamas and assessed the risk to the public as low.
Still, the growing outbreak overseas has prompted increased vigilance. Health Minister Dr. Michael Darville said the government is reviewing whether additional travel measures may be necessary for countries affected by the outbreak.
The United Nations this week announced up to US$60 million in emergency funding to support the Ebola response in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and neighboring countries, warning that rapid action remains critical to preventing further spread.
Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.
The Bahamas, May 29, 2026 – One of the biggest questions surrounding the Jonathan Gardiner case appears to have been answered.
Weeks after reports surfaced that the Bahamian businessman failed to appear for an expected court hearing in Orlando, newly disclosed court records show the hearing never took place because Gardiner elected to have the matter heard in New York, where federal prosecutors are pursuing the case against him.
According to reporting by the Nassau Guardian, U.S. Magistrate Judge Nathan Hill ruled on May 19 that Gardiner was the person named in the federal arrest warrant and ordered that he be transferred to the Southern District of New York.
“…I find that Jonathan Eric Gardiner is the person named in the warrant for arrest…,” Hill wrote.
The judge noted that no preliminary hearing was conducted in Florida because Gardiner chose to have that hearing held in the district where the prosecution is pending.
That district is New York.
Hill ordered that Gardiner “be held to answer in the district court in which the prosecution is pending” and directed the U.S. Marshal’s Office to transport him to the Southern District of New York.
No date for a New York court appearance was disclosed in the order.
The development helps explain confusion that followed reports of a missed Orlando court date and marks the latest chapter in a case that has captured public attention in both The Bahamas and the United States.
Gardiner first came to the attention of U.S. authorities after surviving an Election Day plane crash off the Florida coast. Federal prosecutors
have accused him of participating in a cocaine trafficking conspiracy, allegations he is expected to contest in court.
The matter has attracted even greater scrutiny because federal court documents reference an unnamed “Politician 1”, fueling widespread public speculation about the identity of the individual and whether additional disclosures could emerge as the case progresses.
Meanwhile, a separate investigation has uncovered troubling findings about the aircraft involved in the crash.
According to reporting by The Tribune, investigators say the Panamanian-registered aircraft that ditched into waters off Florida on May 12 did not possess a valid certificate of airworthiness and should not have been operating at the time of the flight.
That revelation has added another layer of intrigue to an already extraordinary case involving a dramatic ocean rescue, a federal drug conspiracy prosecution, political speculation and now questions about how an allegedly unairworthy aircraft was carrying passengers between Bahamian islands.
For now, attention shifts to New York, where Gardiner’s next court appearance is expected to provide the first substantive hearing in a case many continue to watch closely.
Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.
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