Caribbean News
Sandals Foundation, Beaches Resorts, and Sesame Workshop Present “Sesame Street: Let’s Learn!”
FREE Resources & Webinars for Early Childhood Parents and Educators
#TurksandCaicos, June 19, 2021 – Supporting the educational development of the island’s young, the Sandals Foundation and Beaches Resorts have teamed up with Sesame Workshop’s Sesame Street in Communities to host three free webinars and share over 300 FREE online resources with educators and families of children ages Birth-8 years old.
The Sesame Street: Let’s Learn! initiative, which has been fully endorsed by the Ministry of Education, Labour, Employment and Customer Services, forms part of Beaches Resorts’ longstanding partnership with Sesame Workshop. As a proud sponsor of Sesame Street, Beaches Resorts is the only resort company to offer Caribbean Adventures with Sesame Street, which includes immersive, playful learning at the Sesame Street Kids Camp, walkaround characters, live shows, parades, and more. Through social impact initiatives with Sesame Street in Communities and the Sandals Foundation, the organizations are able to bring the laughter and learning of Sesame Street to local communities in Jamaica and Turks & Caicos.
Heidi Clarke, Executive Director at Sandals Foundation says, “In light of the challenging time that it has been for families, educators and children, it was important for us to see how we engage our partners at Sesame Workshop who are experts in child development, creating age-appropriate content, and helping children cope with complex social issues and big feelings.”
“The resources,” Clarke said, “supplement children’s learning as well as provide social and emotional support so every child can succeed in school.”
Jeanette Betancourt, Senior Vice President, U.S. Social Impact, at Sesame Workshop says, “We know this past year has been a challenge for families, caregivers, and educators. The free resources, including webinars and Sesame Street videos, storybooks, and more will keep children engaged and learning. We look forward to working with our longstanding partner Beaches Resorts, along with the Sandals Foundation, Ministry of Education, and the local community to help kids across the island grow smarter, stronger, and kinder.” Antonio Freitas, Senior Content Manager, Sesame Workshop is leading this effort in training.
The webinars address the most essential needs of children today—tackling school readiness, coping with the challenges that impact their learning, including health emergencies such as the Covid-19 pandemic, and building resilience in facing tough issues.
On Wednesday, June 9, just over 60 educators, parents, and caregivers joined Sesame Workshop early childhood experts online using the Zoom platform to explore school readiness resources geared to support children learning.
In his opening address, Edgar Howell, Director of Education, expressed delight in the collaboration noting, “We are excited about the webcasts, about the opportunities that are being provided to teachers, parents, and children especially given the impact that Covid-19 has had on Turks and Caicos. We are anxious to see what our teachers and parents will learn from being involved.”
During the interactive session, which explored the importance of learning through play, having parents/guardians present, and developing meaningful moments with children, attendees viewed videos and participated in activities, as well as shared their own experiences in ensuring children are school ready.
One parent participating in the session shared, “The workshop was very insightful with numerous topics for working with families, as well as professional development topics to explore. The videos and other resources will also prove to be very beneficial. An excellent session!”
On Wednesday, June 16, the second scheduled webcast will explore health emergencies, while on June 23, the early childhood experts will share how to help children build confidence and overcome challenges with resources that help develop resilience. Persons who were unable to attend the first session can access the recording through the Sandals Foundation or the Sesame Street in Communities Facebook pages. Parents and educators may also access the more than 300 learning resources through Sesame Workshop’s digital platform, Sesame Street in Communities and sign up for the upcoming webcasts at m.sesame.org/ssicbeaches.
Since the opening of Beaches Turks and Caicos in 1997, the company has invested in numerous educational projects, providing school supplies and facilitating development programs within schools.
James McAnally, General Manager at Beaches Resorts, says, “In addition to and independent of our work with Sesame Workshop. through the Sandals Foundation, we’ve been able to scale up the reach of our involvement within the sector by helping to distribute digital learning devices, coordinating the building of hand wash stations, facilitating upgrades to school facilities and hosting first aid, CPR and special needs training for teachers. These webinars are well timed and will certainly offer much needed support in these unique and ever-evolving times.”
Release: Sandals Resorts
By Deandrea Hamilton | Magnetic Media
October 14, 2025 – It’s being called political theatre — but for citizens, constitutional watchdogs, and democracy advocates across the Caribbean, it feels far more serious. Within a single week, two national parliaments — in Trinidad and Tobago and St. Kitts and Nevis — descended into turmoil as opposition members stormed out in protest, accusing their Speakers of bias, overreach, and abuse of parliamentary procedure.
For observers, the walkouts signal a deeper problem: erosion of trust in the very institutions meant to safeguard democracy. When Speakers are viewed as political enforcers instead of neutral referees, parliaments stop functioning as chambers of debate and start performing as stages for power and spectacle — with citizens left wondering who, if anyone, is still accountable.
October 6: St. Kitts Parliament Erupts
The first walkout erupted in Basseterre on October 6, 2025, when Dr. Timothy Harris, former Prime Minister and now Opposition Leader,
led his team out of the St. Kitts and Nevis National Assembly in a protest that stunned the chamber.
The flashpoint came as the Speaker moved to approve more than three years’ worth of unratified parliamentary minutes in one sitting — covering 27 meetings and three national budgets — without individual review or debate.
Dr. Harris called the move “a flagrant breach of the Constitution and parliamentary tradition,” warning that the practice undermines transparency and accountability. “No serious parliament can go years without approving a single set of minutes,” he said after exiting the chamber.
The Speaker defended the decision as administrative housekeeping, but critics were unconvinced, branding the move a “world record disgrace.” The opposition’s walkout triggered renewed calls for the Speaker’s resignation and sparked a wider public discussion about record-keeping, accountability, and respect for parliamentary norms in St. Kitts and Nevis.
October 10: Trinidad Opposition Follows Suit
Four days later, on October 10, 2025, the Opposition United National Congress (UNC) in Trinidad and Tobago staged its own walkout from the House of Representatives in Port of Spain.
The UNC accused the Speaker of partisan bias, claiming she had repeatedly blocked urgent questions, ignored points of order, and allowed government members to breach standing orders without consequence.
“The Speaker has failed in her duty to act impartially,” the Opposition declared in a statement. “Parliament is not the property of any political party or Presiding Officer.”
The dramatic exit was seen as a culmination of months of rising tension and frustration, with opposition MPs arguing that parliamentary rules were being selectively applied to silence dissenting voices.
Political analyst Dr. Marcia Ferdinand described the twin walkouts as “a warning sign that parliamentary democracy in the Caribbean is teetering on the edge of performative politics.”
“When chairs become political shields rather than constitutional referees,” she said, “democracy becomes theatre, not governance.”
A Pattern Emerging
While St. Kitts and Trinidad are very different political environments, both incidents point to the same regional fault line: the perception that Speakers — the guardians of parliamentary order — are no longer impartial.
In Westminster-style systems like those across the Caribbean, the Speaker’s authority depends not on power but on public confidence in fairness. Once that credibility erodes, parliamentary control collapses into confrontation.
Governance experts say the implications are serious: eroded trust between government and opposition, declining public confidence in state institutions, and growing voter cynicism that “rules” are flexible tools of political advantage.
Why It Matters
Parliamentary walkouts are not new in the Caribbean, but what makes these recent events different is their frequency and intensity — and
the regional echo they’ve created. Social media has amplified images of lawmakers storming out, with citizens from Barbados to Belize questioning whether the same erosion of decorum could be happening in their own legislatures.
Analysts warn that if this perception takes hold, it risks diminishing the moral authority of parliamentary democracy itself.
“Once opposition MPs believe the rules are rigged, and once citizens believe Parliament is just performance,” said one Caribbean governance researcher, “you’ve lost the most valuable currency in democracy — trust.”
Restoring Balance
Political reformers across the region are calling for tighter Standing Order enforcement, independent parliamentary service commissions, and training to strengthen Speaker neutrality. Civil society leaders say the public must also play its part by demanding transparency and refusing to normalize partisan manipulation of parliamentary procedure.
Whether these twin walkouts become catalysts for reform — or simply another episode of Caribbean political theatre — will depend on what happens next inside those chambers.
For now, democracy watchers agree on one thing: when opposition leaders feel the only way to be heard is to walk out, the entire democratic house — not just its Speaker — is in danger of collapse.
Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.
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