News
Sharla Walkin’s initiative to see TCI ‘Wear Orange’ is growing
By Deandrea Hamilton
Editor
#TurksandCaicos, June 6, 2023 – The momentum and support is growing for the international commemoration of Gun Violence Awareness Day in the Turks and Caicos Islands; for a third year Sharla Walkin and those who have partnered with her has ensured there was a time of reflection and open grievance for the scores of people killed as a result of gun violence.
Walkin, whose brother Ervin Walkin was shot several times in the back as he walked on Albacore Close in
Providenciales in 2018, was just 27 years old and left behind a devastated family including two sons. His sister was shattered when she got the call, struggled to sleep after the savage way her “humble” brother was killed but found a way to cope. Walkin tells the story that she found out about a day to remember as a community and as a nation and put plans in motion to commemorate Gun Violence Awareness Day in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
That was in 2021.
In picking up the pieces of her life, Ms. Walkin stood initially with just a few people to mark the moment on the first Friday in June. Three years later and the Turks and Caicos event has attracted more victims’ relatives, prominent members of society and senior leaders of the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police.
“To the families, friends, and loved ones gathered here, we are here for you; we will continue to be with you. I wish to say to you that I am sorry for your loss, I am sorry for the years of pain that you have endured. I am sorry for the fact that there are too many young people turning to a life of crime. Even though sorry will not bring your loved ones back, I empathize with you. The tears you shed also wet our faces too often,” said Rodney Adams, Deputy Commissioner of Police.
The Turks and Caicos Islands has seen a dramatic escalation in gun crimes with losses far beyond what anyone could have imagined for the cluster of close-knit islands, which enjoyed almost surreal levels of peace. Now, with consecutive years of record breaking murder figures and a per capita homicide rate that puts the TCI at the top of the heap, it stands with CARICOM in sounding the alarm about the devastating loss in human lives due largely to the overwhelming surge in gun trafficking flowing from the United States into the islands; which ‘do not manufacture weapons.’
The US has become a stronger ally in recent years, stopping several gun shipments from its shores including one such interception to the TCI, thwarted in November 2022.
Gun Violence, Wear Orange Day is a relevant reminder and was again this year held in the Memorial Garden of the Turks and Caicos National Trust managed, Cheshire Hall Plantation.
The Royal TCI Police provided photographs of the support drawn to the tranquil spot to reflect as a community on the heavy price being paid due to the infiltration and savage use of illegal firearms.
Deputy Commissioner Adams, in addressing the gathering which included the wife of the late, Rev Percy Williams, who was gunned down inside his Blue Hills home in another shocking, unprovoked attack in 2020, said about the investigations “ into the murders of your loved ones are ongoing and we continue in our sustained efforts to bring the perpetrators to justice.”
Orange was worn by thousands this past weekend. 
In the United States is where the day was born, following a random shooting that took the life of a little Chicago girl in 2013. Hadiya Pendleton, a 15 year old honour student had just been part of a parade with the ushering in of second term president, Barack Obama a week prior, when she was shot at a playground in her hometown.
Orange is the colour selected because it is also the colour worn by hunters to protect themselves from becoming a target and shot, when out on hunting expeditions.
For Sharla, who also uses her business, Healing Haven to remember her brother, a series of beautiful bracelets have been designed, featuring orange jade and a message of love for her lost brother.
“If love could have saved you, you would have lived forever.”
She explained, “I think a lot of people thought I was doing it only for my brother, he was the reason I started but I also wanted to acknowledge because we have quite a few young men that we lost to Gun violence and even young women.”
Captions
Header: Relatives of the deceased victims join hands and sing “Bind Us Together”.
1st insert: The widow of Percy Williams chats with DCP Rodney Adams. Williams was shot dead on May 03rd, 2020, at his Blue Hills, Providenciales home.
2nd insert: Nadidja Parker reads the names of murdered victims.
TCIG knew from April that fuel factor could surge almost 80%; Minister says $500 cost-of-living payment was part of Government’s response
PROVIDENCIALES — The Turks and Caicos Government knew months before July’s shocking electricity bills that consumers faced a potentially massive increase in the fuel factor.
Minister of Information Technology and Energy E. Jay Saunders revealed Friday that Pelican Energy warned his Ministry in April that generation fuel costs were projected to rise from $3.09 per gallon in May to $4.79 in June and July.
That translated into a projected fuel factor jump from about 17.5 cents to 31 cents per kilowatt-hour — an increase of almost 80%.
Saunders said he personally advised Cabinet of the projected increase and presented options for cushioning the impact.
He characterised Government’s $500 cost-of-living payment as its “initial response” to rising fuel costs, before a separate fuel-factor subsidy was approved.
Cabinet records show Government agreed on June 24 to provide funding to mitigate the fuel-factor impact, with the relief programme approved July 8.
Eligible residential customers — those averaging less than $1,500 monthly over the previous three bills — are capped at 22 cents per kWh from July through October.
Pelican confirmed Friday that Government’s contribution was already applied to July bills, meaning the bills now triggering widespread public outrage would have been even higher without the subsidy.
Saunders did not disclose the programme’s total cost.
His admission that Government knew since April, however, raises another question amid the backlash: why were consumers not directly warned by Government about the scale of the approaching increase?
NASSAU, Bahamas — More Bahamians are accessing HIV and sexually transmitted infection-related healthcare through National Health Insurance, a trend the NHI Authority says should be viewed positively.
NHIA stressed in an August 6 statement that its 2025 figures measure healthcare utilisation, not newly diagnosed infections. They include beneficiaries screened, treated, monitored or receiving follow-up care, including people diagnosed previously.
“Increased utilisation of these services should be viewed as a positive development,” NHIA said.
The Authority pointed to “greater enrolment and use of NHI, improved access to screening and testing, continued treatment and monitoring of existing conditions, and increased willingness to seek medical care.”
The development comes amid a mixed three-year HIV picture. New diagnoses rose from 130 in 2023 to 156 in 2024, before declining to 142 in 2025.
NHIA said increased utilisation demonstrates that more beneficiaries are accessing needed healthcare and actively managing their health, reinforcing the importance of screening, early diagnosis and continued treatment.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Americas has recorded 47,459 confirmed measles cases and 44 deaths in 2026, the region’s highest case count in 22 years, prompting the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to urge stronger vaccination, surveillance and rapid outbreak response.
As of July 18, cases were already more than triple the 15,011 recorded during all of 2025. Guatemala, Mexico, the United States and Peru
account for 95% of confirmed cases. Guatemala leads with 30,371 cases and 26 deaths, followed by Mexico with 12,255 cases and 17 deaths.
PAHO classifies the regional public health risk as very high, citing active outbreaks, immunity gaps, international travel and populations with inadequate vaccination coverage.
The organization says prevention starts with vaccination. Countries are being urged to achieve and maintain at least 95% coverage with two doses of measles-containing vaccine, particularly protecting children and under-vaccinated communities.
Measles spreads through the air when an infected person breathes, coughs or sneezes. Symptoms can include fever, cough, runny nose, red eyes and a rash.
PAHO is urging health authorities to detect suspected cases early and respond rapidly to stop transmission. Unvaccinated and under-vaccinated people, young children and communities with limited healthcare access face increased risk of severe illness and death.
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