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‘Health remains the richest asset of mankind’
- MOH and Rastafari Council host Health Conference
“Knowledge is the health of the flesh, but ignorance is the sickness thereof,” is the theme under which the Ministry of Health and the Guyana Rastafari Council (GRC) yesterday hosted a Health Conference to discuss a range of health issues, primarily HIV, at the Splashmin’s Eco Resort, Soesdyke-Linden Highway.

Delivering remarks at the opening ceremony, President of the GRC, Ras Simeon said “For the first time members of our community will sit to discuss as one voice, recommend and maintain roles and issues relevant to safeguarding our health and also to join in the national efforts to combat our common enemy, sickness and disease.”

Ras Simeon expressed appreciation for the inclusion of the Council in addressing health issues, as “health remains the richest asset of mankind.”

Minister of Health, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, in his feature address at the beginning of the conference, noted that this represents the recognition that every group has a role to play in developing and maintaining a healthy Guyana.

“Today’s conference is our way of saying to you that we recognise that by ourselves (the Ministry of Health) cannot promote and accomplish good health for Guyana. It will have to be all of us…We will learn from each other,” he said.

Minister Ramsammy told the conference that was attended by Rastafaris from across the country that many of the diseases that plaque people today are because of unhealthy lifestyle choices. “The thing about health is that it is within our control. Whether it is HIV, malaria, tuberculosis, or the chronic diseases of diabetes, hypertension and even cervical cancer depends on our knowledge and therefore we must acquire knowledge…Once we know and use knowledge to inform our behaviour we will be healthy or healthier,” he said.

On this note the Minister commended the Rastafari Council for the theme, noting that knowledge is the key to preventing many illnesses. He also urged those in attendance to continue to share the need for knowledge with other Rastafaris and citizens so that they too can be empowered.

Facilitator of the Conference, Sister Bonita Harris, urged that the way of Rastafari is to have a balanced life of both spirituality/worship and material things. In this context she described the conference as something of worth, since reasoning is a gift of God which will be used throughout the proceedings.

Programme Manager of the National AIDS Programme, noted that Ms. Harris has been a pioneer in the field of Health and has been collaborating with the Ministry in other areas. She added that Guyana has come a long way since the first HIV case was discovered locally; and today, the ministry is seeking the views of yet another critical group in how to continue battling the disease.

2008 national budget estimates discussion ongoing
As discussions on the estimates of the $119.3B National Budget for 2008 continue, much focus was placed Friday on the Ministries of Local Government and Regional Development, Housing and Water and Health.

The Local Government Ministry’s budgetary allocations to the Regions were questioned by the Opposition and Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Kellawan Lall responded to the queries.

On the issue of delayed payments to security guards employed by the Ministry, Minister Lall indicated that payments to the security guards are not the responsibility of the Ministry but that of the relevant Security Services.

The Opposition asked about the amount of funds allocated to Region Seven and queried the projects that the money would be used for. Responding, Minister Lall said $96.8M would be expended on several projects that are slated for that Region this year, including the construction, extension and rehabilitation of school buildings, teachers’ quarters, dormitory and kitchen facilities for educational buildings, along with the construction of health centres and health posts at Imbaimadai and 4 Miles as well as the rehabilitation of a number of roads and bridges.

Region Seven is also to benefit from the rehabilitation and extension of electrical systems and improvement of its water supply systems along with the purchase of furniture and equipment for health, education and administration facilities among others. Region Ten will also see a number of significant projects being implemented. Turning their attention to the Mandela Dumpsite in Georgetown, the Opposition queried about its use. To this, Minister Lall explained that the site would still be in use this year as preparations for the use of the Haags Bosch landfill at Eccles are ongoing.

Meanwhile, part of the budgetary allocation of $323M to enhance sanitation in the Capital City and communities in all regions will go toward institutional strengthening and capacity building of Neighbourhood Democratic Councils and managing solid waste. This will include designing and constructing the new landfill at Haags Bosch and extending the Mandela landfill site to accommodate waste in the city up to 2009.

As it relates to questions on the estimates for the Ministries of Housing and Water and Health, these received favourable responses.

Minister of Housing and Water Harry Narine Nawbatt said that $5.2B has been allocated to the Ministry this year to develop the housing and water sectors. Of this amount, $4.7B will be expended to facilitate the installation of infrastructural works in several new housing areas, while $1.27B will go towards developing the housing schemes. It is also the intention of the Ministry to issue in excess of 3000 land titles this year.

The Ministry of Health has been allocated $12.1B for 2008. Capital expenditure is projected at $3.3 B, while current expenditure is budgeted at $8.8B.

A new in-patient facility at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) will be a main feature of the projects to be implemented under the Ministry’s purview.

$1.2 B has been allocated for the completion of the new modern Linden Hospital and the commencement of the GPHC in-patient facility. The Ministry also plans to offer Health services in modern new hospitals in Lethem and Mabaruma, as well as the Suddie, Leonora and Mahaicony Hospitals which have been reconstructed to accommodate comprehensive diagnostic centres.

Amounts totalling $140M will be spent to operationalising the centres at Suddie, Leonora, and Mahaicony, the ophthalmology centre in Port Mourant, and to rehabilitate the Fort Canje psychiatric hospital.

New services such as hip replacement, heart surgery, cancer treatment, and expanded eye care services, including glaucoma treatment, are already being offered at the GPHC and will be expanded in 2008.

An allocation of $2.8 B has been provided for operation and maintenance of the hospital, which includes $91 M to upgrade its electrical and water supply system.
Discussions on the estimates will continue today.

The Environment---- our future
Commonwealth Day Message from Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon
Today is Commonwealth Day. For two billion Commonwealth citizens, it is a day to share and a day to celebrate.

Yet to share is not always to celebrate. Our theme this year, The Environment – Our Future, reminds us that we have a responsibility to share all that is good about the environment today with the generations of tomorrow. If we forget about future generations today, they will never be able to forget - or to forgive - what we did to them, tomorrow. To bequeath a barren and polluted landscape is to disinherit.

The science is clear: our current exploitation of this planet’s environment is unsustainable. We can’t move away from the problems we have created, or wish them away. To carry on unchanged is not an option. More than 50 years ago, Mahatma Gandhi said, “There is a sufficiency in the world for man’s need, but not for man’s greed”. Today, we cannot be certain that there will after all be a sufficiency for humankind’s basic development needs, unless there is fundamental change by all.

Long before it was fashionable last century, the Commonwealth had already entered the debate about a world that was changing before our eyes. A far-reaching Commonwealth report in the 1980s led to the 1989 Langkawi Declaration on the environment, in which our Heads of Government said that ‘any delay in taking action to halt this progressive deterioration will result in permanent and irreversible damage’. It was also in the 1980s that The Maldives used the Commonwealth to raise the alarm that it was disappearing underwater.

Since then, while the world has struggled to agree international action plans, Commonwealth environmental challenges have got greater. We see them in shrinking rainforests, made worse by unsustainable logging practices in Asia and the Pacific; in dwindling fish stocks in the Atlantic and other oceans; in a thawing of the tundra in northern Canada; in encroaching desert in northern Nigeria; in flooded lowlands in Bangladesh; and in rising sea levels around Tuvalu.

We also see the environmental challenges of the future, caused by rapid urbanisation and the growth of the slums which are now home to 300 million Commonwealth citizens.

The bill for industrialization in the developed countries is only now arriving, and it’s bigger than we could ever have expected. An even bigger bill will come if other countries follow, and so we must find alternative paths to prosperity. Real development lies in the best use of our natural as well as our human resources: it is Development without Damage.

How is the Commonwealth to react? We must respond in word and deed. We must do so through using our coalitions of governments; of civil society organisations; of businesses; of professional associations like the Commonwealth geographers, foresters, statisticians and meteorologists; of families and individuals.

Our Environment Ministers have agreed a new Commonwealth - wide strategy to fight climate change. Our Finance Ministers have agreed on the need to bring climate considerations into every aspect of government policy and financing, including putting a greater focus on the economics and the financial implications of climate change, and on richer countries’ obligations to help poorer ones, both financially and technologically.

On the shores of Lake Victoria last November, our Heads of Government agreed the Commonwealth Action Plan on Climate Change: a serious political commitment supported by practical actions to tackle the impact of climate change. We are already active – helping to manage fish stocks in the Pacific Ocean, for instance, and supporting sustainable tourism in West Africa and the Caribbean. Our advisers are developing marine and coastal resources in Guyana, Mozambique and Papua New Guinea; meteorological data services in Botswana; and flood and coastal management plans in Seychelles. The work will go on.

Commonwealth citizens can play their own part: reducing, repairing, re-using and recycling. Businesses can help us to improve energy conservation and efficiency in manufacturing, transport systems, buildings and homes. We can act collectively, and across borders, to protect forests, have clean water, and manage pollutants and other wastes.

As 53 countries, we can build the national and international institutions involved in our environmental protection, and strengthen the laws and the education programmes which help us to take action.

It is perfectly possible to change the way we behave, in order to share our resources and live within our means. We have already learned a great deal on how to transform our economies to a low - carbon future, and there is more to be done. We must be consistent across the globe, involving everyone in the process while being sensitive to local needs and capacity, just as the environment itself adapts to local conditions.

On Commonwealth Day, let’s sow the seeds of good environmental stewardship. The environment is our inheritance to cherish - it is our past and our present. And it is, more than anything else, our future. Let us ensure through our actions that future generations have an even better environmental inheritance - to share, and to celebrate.

Peace critical to women’s advancement
By Tajeram Mohabir
PRESIDENTIAL Advisor on Governance Gail Teixeira is of the opinion that peace is a necessary element if women are to advance in the varying facets of their lives.

She made this observation last Friday while she was guest speaker at a symposium convened by the Women’s Progressive Organization (WPO), women’s arm of the ruling People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPPC), to mark International Women’s Day, which was commemorated yesterday.

A former government minister with portfolio responsibility for Health and Culture among other ministerial posts, Ms Teixeira’s presentation primarily focused on the impact of crime on women and how it affected them as victims, citizens and even as perpetrators.

On the subject of ‘Women As Victims Of Crime’, she said that from January to August 2005, some 84 women were murdered, while another 170 were raped in 2004. And of the 46 known cases of carnal knowledge reported that same year, the majority of the victims were girls.

Noting that the observance of International Women’s Day was of relevance to both sexes and not just women and girls alone, she said that young boys are also silent victims of rape and other forms of abuses, but that these incidents were rarely brought to light as mothers usually tend to cover up such atrocities so as to protect their sons from being stigmatised by society.

She said too that in most instances, the wanton acts committed on women and children are perpetrated by persons with whom they are very close. Such abuses, she lamented, can have a negative impact on victims lives both physically and psychologically especially when having to relate to other people on a daily basis. The good news, however, is that these problems can be surmounted with proper counselling.

Perhaps mindful of the age-old adage about prevention being better than cure, Ms Teixeira feels women ought to learn how to defend themselves and to see their shoes or other personal effects such as their makeup kit as a potential weapon in the event of a crisis as such items are known to have the potential of inflicting some serious damage on their aggressors.

Turning her attention to other factors that can place an economic burden on women where raising their children was concerned, such as the loss of a husband, fiancée, or breadwinner to accidents or robbery, Ms Teixeira called on those in authority at the regional administrative level to play a greater role in getting such women’s lives back on track, as while handouts and school feeding programmes are important, psychological support is what they really need.

And on the subject of women and crime, she said that while some are victims there are quite a few out there who are perpetrators but that this had mainly to do with their involvement in the illicit drug trade as evidenced by their overwhelming presence in the local female prisons.

She made the point, however, that the reason some women turn to crime was because they may have found themselves in dire economic straits and peddling drugs was their only way out. For such women she said, imprisonment is not the answer as it only serves to compound their problem since it is their children who are made to suffer and bear the brunt of their mistake.

Women’s struggle for recognition in society goes back to 1857 when a group of courageous garment workers in the United States staged a walk-out to press for better wages and working conditions.

This unprecedented development was quickly suppressed by the police. In the process, some were injured while the others arrested but their action paved the way for many such struggles to follow around the world.

Today, women the world over on International Women’s Day remember Clara Zetkin and Rosa Luxemburg as being among the greatest world leaders to have ever championed the rights of working women.

In 1907, the first International Women’s Secretariat was established and in 1910 at the 2nd conference of the International Women’s Secretariat, Clara Zetkin proposed

March 8th to be International Proletariat Women’s Day. In 1911, this day was celebrated by more than one million women and men who attended rallies.

In addition to their demand for the right to work, for vocational training and an end to discrimination on the job, they also demanded the right to vote and hold political office. The latter avenue allowed them to participate and influence decisions that affect their lives.

CARICOM Inter-sessional looks at health, CSME, crime
HEADS of Government attending the just-concluded two-day meeting of the 19th Inter-sessional of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) last week in Nassau ,The Bahamas, discussed a wide array of issues.

The issues were addressed under some 14 broad headings including Functional Cooperation, Human Resource Development, Health, and AIDS, CARICOM Single Market and Economy; Agriculture; Tourism, Youth Development; International Women’s Day, Cricket, Crime and Security, Cost of Living, Conference on Caribbean and a communiqué issued.

The March 7 and 8 forum was presided over by the Prime Minister of The Bahamas, Hubert Ingraham.

Others present were Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Baldwin Spencer, Prime Minister of Barbados, David J. H. Thompson, Prime Minister of Belize, Dean Barrow; Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Dominica, Roosevelt Skerrit, Prime Minister of Grenada, Dr. Keith Mitchell, President of the Republic of Guyana, Bharrat Jagdeo, Prime Minister of Haiti, Jacques Edouard Alexis; Prime Minister of Jamaica, Bruce Golding, the Prime Minister of the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis, Dr. Denzil L. Douglas, the Prime Minister of Saint Lucia, Stephenson King, President of Suriname, Dr. Runaldo R. Venetiaan; and Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Patrick Manning.

Minister of Agriculture, Housing, Land and Environment in Montserrat, Reuben Meade represented his country, while Minister of National Mobilisation in St Vincent and the Grenadines, Michael Browne represented that country.

Associate Members in attendance were the Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands, Michael Misick and Minister of Culture and Social Rehabilitation, Dale Butler, representing Bermuda.

The opening session, Friday, was addressed by Prime Minister Ingraham, CARICOM Secretary-General, Edwin Carrington and the out-going chair, Prime Minister of Barbados, David Thompson.

Meanwhile, the Heads of Government have agreed that the 29th Regular Meeting of the Conference will be held in Antigua and Barbuda, July 3 to 5.

According to the communiqué, under the Heads of Government accepted the recommendations of the Task Force on Functional Cooperation, a mode of co-operation that incorporates specific activities to support economic, social, foreign policy and security objectives.

They agreed to further revise the Treaty of Chaguaramas that would establish human and social development as a pillar of the Community work thereby encompassing many of the areas previously deemed to be part of functional co-operation.

Heads of Government urged that action be taken at the national level, as required in the Needham Point Declaration issued at their Twenty-Eighth Regular Meeting held in Barbados in July 2007, to ensure the capacity of the designated CARICOM Ambassador or focal point in Member States to monitor the functional cooperation activities of local institutions.

Further, it was urged that the results of functional cooperation be publicised nationally and in that context agreed to the establishment of Information, Education and Communication (IEC) services in Member States and Associate Members for the purpose of informing the citizens more directly about the work of the Community and particularly, functional cooperation activities.

A Prime Ministerial Sub-Committee on Functional Cooperation comprising a core group was established by the Heads with The Bahamas as the Chair.

Barbados will have lead Responsibility for the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME); Dominica for the Free Movement of Community Nationals); Grenada, responsibility for Science and Technology); St. Kitts and Nevis, lead responsibility for Health, Human Resource Development (HRD) and HIV/AIDS); Suriname, responsibility for Culture, Youth, Sport and Gender).

The core group will also include a representative of the Associate Members.

Human Resource Development
Under, the broad headline of Human Resource Development Health and AIDS, the

Heads of Government urged Member States and CARICOM Universities to work assiduously to achieve the integration of the Caribbean Knowledge and Learning Network (CKLN) and the Caribbean Universities Project for Integrated Distance Education (CUPIDE).

This, the document added, would harmonise the Regional approach to the delivery of continuous learning and the creation of increased access to training opportunities and enhanced skills for its citizens.

It noted the progress being made by CKLN to provide access to tertiary education programmes that are aligned with the Regional Labour Market demands and which will facilitate secure connectivity between and among Regional Governments.

Member States, it was agreed, would implement the Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) system and the related Caribbean Vocational Qualifications (CVQ) in order to harmonise quality assurance and the accreditation of vocational qualifications to support the free movement of skilled persons within the CSME.

Member States were also urged to participate fully in the Special Meeting of the Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD) on Children to be held here in Guyana from March 17 to 19, and to be prepared to outline firm criteria for establishing a Region fit for children.

Health
Discussions in the area of health took the form of a review of the historic Summit on Non Communicable Diseases (NCD) held in Port-of-Spain on September 15, last year and Member States to cooperate in the implementation of the actionable recommendations. They also urged that steps be taken to involve stakeholders at the national level to become engaged in the process toward achieving a wellness revolution.

Additionally, the Heads of Government endorsed the Plan of Action outlined by the CARICOM/Pan American Health Organisation Implementation Committee for the coordinating role of the National NCD Commissions, advocacy, tobacco control, healthy eating in schools and work places, active living and the preparations for the Caribbean Wellness Day to be celebrated on the second Saturday of September each year.

The Heads further recommended that a media strategy for Information, Education and Communication be implemented to mobilise the Community to take action that would reduce the incidence and effects of NCDs.

AIDS
Member States meanwhile, were urged to play an active part in helping to sustain the important role being played by PANCAP in the fight against HIV and AIDS through the establishment of a coordinated Caribbean Regional Strategic Framework; harmonisation of resource mobilisation; and the implementation of the overall goal toward universal access to prevention, care and treatment by 2010.

Support was expressed for the new PANCAP initiatives aimed at the establishment of a Technical Support Facility in collaboration with UNAIDS to enhance implementation rates and in-country capacity to manage HIV and AIDS programmes.

International Development Partners (IDP) was commended for their continued support for PANCAP programmes.

The decision of the United States Congress to allocate US $16 million from the President’s Emergency Fund for HIV/AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) for 14 Caribbean countries and the signing of an Agreement for 8 million Euros with the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany for HIV/AIDS prevention, was lauded by the Heads of Government.

Youth Development
The work of the Caribbean Commission for Youth Development was noted and the Heads urged Member States who not yet made their contributions to the approved budget to fulfill their obligations.

Member States were also urged to facilitate the work of the Commission by providing access to relevant information and making the necessary expertise available to give advice to the Commissioners.

Special Regional Security Summit for next month
THE convening next month of a Special Summit on Regional Security, is among several decisions which the Heads of Government meeting for two days last week in the Bahamas for the 19th Inter-sessional of the Caribbean Community, have taken.

The special caucus will fully explore the crime and security issues facing the Region and agree on a Strategy and Action Plan to stem the rising tide of violent criminality, according to a communiqué issued following the just-concluded meeting.

In that context, Heads of Government also agreed that an extraordinary joint meeting of the Standing Committee of Police and Standing Committee of Military Chiefs be held prior to the Meeting of the Council of Ministers responsible for National Security and Law (CONSLE) Enforcement and which would take place before the Special Summit.

Heads of Government reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining and strengthening the security systems which had been put in place during the Cricket World Cup (CWC) 2007.

They Heads requested, too, that a draft amendment to the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas to give effect to their decision to make Security the Fourth Pillar of the integration movement, be presented to the meeting of CONSLE for review prior to submission to the Inter-Governmental Task Force, the communiqué added.

Guyana lauded for CARIFESTA X initiatives
THE Guyana Government has been commended by the Heads of Government attending the just–concluded 19th Inter-Sessional meeting of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), for the plans laid out for hosting CARIFESTA X scheduled for 22-30 August, 2008.

This is according to a communiqué issued at the conclusion of the March 1 to 8 meeting, in which the Heads noted the variety of events included super concerts, theatre, symposia and a film festival, and that the event has so far attracted participation from CARICOM countries as well as from the wider Caribbean, Brazil, Spain and Japan.

And, according to the document, the Heads of Government have urged Member States to participate in CARIFESTA X and to provide the necessary early responses to assist the National Festival Committee of Guyana, the CARICOM Secretariat and the Interim Festival Committee to execute their functions effectively.

It was recommended that the CARIFESTA Interim Festival Committee, in collaboration with the CARICOM Secretariat, should work towards the phasing in of the New Festival Design which places emphasis on internationalising CARIFESTA as a World Event, while ensuring that the indigenous components are also given prominence and the regional artistic communities remain engaged in the policies and programmes.

The Heads of Government agreed that CARIFESTA XI would be held in The Bahamas in 2010, the communiqué added.

Computers for the YWCA
The Georgetown Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA), established in July 26, 1926, to promote the development of young girls between the ages of 14 and 16 , was recently given a boost with the donation of five computers with printers, compliments of Chevron West Indies Limited.

The much needed equipment will aid in teaching the girls Information Technology at the May Rodrigues Vocational Training Centre, and is all part of the ongoing commitment by Chevron to give support to communities where it operates, a release stated.

Ms. Glynis Alonzo-Beaton, YWCA General Secretary who received the gift-donation from Ms. Mabiola Howard of Chevron, expressed heart-felt gratitude on behalf of the non-governmental organisation.

“In this age of technology, this gift is very timely and will allow the YWCA to continue to work with the less fortunate young girls who are unable to afford such education.”.

Chevron West Indies Ltd., which operates under its Texaco brand name, has been involved in many projects, paying particular attention to those regarding the development of educational programmes.

Along with its corporate vision, these contributions provide sustainable economic progress and human development throughout the world.

Chevron W.I. assures odour was harmless
Chevron West Indies Ltd., has assured that the odour that caused some concern to the neighbours of the Ramsburg Terminal is totally harmless and poses no risk to human health, the community or the environment, and that the situation has been contained.

According to a release dated February 26 and issued by company, it confirmed that the disturbance was caused by a leakage in one of the containers of LPG Odorant (Ehtyl Mercaptan), a chemical added to odourize LPG, which is naturally odorless.

The release added that an emergency response team immediately reacted to contain the situation as soon as the odor was detected.

Reiteriating that the concentration of Ethyl Mercaptan that caused the odour is harmless and that the problem has been totally contained, Lionel “Andy” Inniss Regional LPG Manager, Latin America, further assured that trace amounts of Ethyl Mercaptan which were still noticeable then would have been gone totally within 48 hours

Poultry in prison…
-Food for the Poor brainstorms another project
THEY all speak of a better life once on the outside, four young men, all incarcerated for different reasons, yet in prison they are united under a similar cause: they all tend to the new poultry project which was founded by Food for the Poor (Guy) Inc at the New Amsterdam Prison.

Food for the Poor, in collaboration with the Guyana Prison Service, established the project in October last year, when a 100ft X 30ft coop was built. The non-governmental organisation is funding the project at a total cost of M$3.5 with the hope of not only enhancing the diet of the prisoners, but of giving them a sense of purpose both in jail and on the outside.

Nirmal 30, Fraser 22, Kedarnath 23 and Dinkhan 34, who were given the task of manning the project, which initially started with the rearing of 3000 broilers chicks, will receive a stipend for their work once out of jail so that they can re-start their lives.

On Thursday last, the four prisoners celebrated their first plucking and were duly rewarded by Food for the Poor with hampers. But the reward, according to the men, is secondary compared to their new sense of belonging and of being useful.

Fraser who is serving three years, said that the work has brought “a little piece of home in prison”. Fraser has some experience with poultry and, like the others, hopes that he can put into practice what he has learnt in prison. The four and two project officers were tasked with tending to the birds about three to four times per day.

“The project keeps us busy and happy,” Nirmal said.

When the cameras were placed on the four prisoners, their colleagues who were either playing football or just peeping through their cells, all cheered, “That our boys.”

Even the officers were elated; their gratitude for Food for the Poor was voiced by Deputy Director of Prisons Poshanand Tahal.

Tahal called the non-governmental organisation an ally, one which has over the years assisted the prison in every way possible.

“Over the years, they (Food for the Poor) have donated supplies that we can share with inmates.”

In relation to the poultry project, Tahal said that at the end of the project, some 4000 lbs of chicken will be distributed among the prisons in the country.

“The chicken will enhance the diet of the prisoners,” he proudly announced.

Food for the Poor hopes to continue the project. The NGO’s Executive Director Leon Davis was very pleased and pledged more. He said his company wants to make the lives of Guyanese better and that he and his workers aim to unearth all funds possible to continue their drive to help with the national feed, clothe and shelter Guyana programme.

For women like her, today do have some relevance
By Shirley Thomas
WHILE some may dismiss dedicating a special day to prayer and women as rhetorical and an arrant waste of time, for 34-year-old Bonita Leitch such observances do have some merit in her eyes and are of profound significance.

For this Tain Corentyne housewife truly knows the meaning of pain and suffering, as she’d been left by the roadside to bleed to death by the man she thought she knew and loved after he’d taken a cutlass to just about every inch of her body.

To make matters worse, he’d stood guard over her as she lay there lost to the world, his blood-drenched cutlass at the ready, daring anyone, even her children, to come to her assistance.

Then when the enormity of what he’d done really sank in and he realized that the police were hot on his trail, he decided to end it all by taking his own life. They found his lifeless body hanging from a tree on the Corentyne foreshore.

Ironically, even after enduring such agony and humiliation at the hands of this fiend, yet still she had feelings for him, and from her hospital bed sent him a message saying that she still loved him and was willing to forgive him. But by then he was already dead.

When finally the news of his passing was broken to her, Bonita was so devastated she found herself in a state of deep inner conflict, ultimately blaming herself. Hence, even as she struggled to recover from her own illness, his death took a great toll on her.

The hapless incident occurred on April 21, 2007. Bonita would spend Mother’s Day in hospital, and for more than four months remained there, confined to bed and unable to do anything for herself. Her left arm was nearly all gone; her legs were broken in several places; and she had two ugly scars on her back to remind of that near fatal day. It was a miracle that she was still alive. She was eventually discharged from the institution in July 2007.

Then, two weeks ago, she developed complications in what was left of her arm and had to be readmitted to the hospital for surgical intervention.

One of her most memorable moments following the incident, Bonita said, was unquestionably her reunion with her four sons, to which she looked forward throughout her time in hospital. She recalled writing them a letter from her hospital bed on Mother’s Day telling them how much she loved and cared for them in spite of what had befallen her. “My sons,” she wrote, “I love you very much, and that will never change. And no matter what I may look like now, I am still your mother, and want you to accept me that way...”

Her greatest challenge since losing her arm, she said, was having to face the stark reality that she could no longer work, and by extension was unable to adequately provide for her children.

“Before this happened to me, I worked and earned a salary, so I was able to take care of the needs of my children. But now, all that has changed.”

Initially, she said, her mother helped take care of the children, but now that her condition has improved somewhat, she has again assumed her responsibilities. “With the help of the boys, I now do most things in the home,” Bonita said. Once they cut up the meat and vegetables, she said, she is able to manage the cooking. “I like the team spirit. It’s great to be able to work together as a family,” she said. Christmas was especially good, she said, as her mother and sisters did all her baking for her.

In her desire to be able to function as a mother should in a home, and to be there for her children, Bonita has embarked upon a small-scale enterprise -- rearing meat birds which she sells in the neighbourhood.

“By doing that,” she said, “I can hopefully earn an income and at the same time take care of the nutritional needs of my family.” Granted, there are other projects that can yield much greater dividends, but it will require a bigger capital which is something she cannot afford at this point in time.

For her, dignity and self sufficiency in the lives of women like her start with getting involved in activities that empower them to lead productive lives. It is for this very reason that Bonita feels that International Women’s Day can be meaningful, if only the powers that be can, in their deliberations, see the need to implement programmes which will either introduce loan schemes to benefit women disabled through domestic violence, or otherwise empower women and girls who are battered and want to assert their independence.

United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon in an address on Friday, to mark International Women’s Day, called upon both the public and private sectors to step up investment in programmes that empower women.

“Investing in women is not only the right thing to do,” he said, adding: “I am deeply convinced that in women, the world has at its disposal the most significant and yet largely untapped potential for development and peace.”

Should women be given access to finances, credit, technology and markets, he said, “they are likely to expand their businesses and contribute effectively to sustained economic growth and development.”

Surprise Granted
THE NATION ( Barbados) - A rocking good time was had by all.

Eddy Grant celebrated his 60th birthday on Wednesday and his family and friends threw a surprise party for him.

Ringbang rhythm echoed all night long in Bentley's Restaurant in the Spirit Bond Mall, Wharf Road, as the man from Plaisance, Guyana, mingled with his guests.

The locally based superstar was taken by surprise, expecting the night would consist just of a family dinner.

However, when he went upstairs he discovered about 75 friends and family members there to share his special night with him.

They came from Suriname, India London and other places.

Throughout the night greetings and best wishes to Grant from his many celebrity friends were read out, including those from Bill Wyman, bass player of the Rolling Stones, top comedian Lenny Henry and Calypso Queen of the World Calypso Rose. There were also speeches by Gabby, Tony Grazette, Jeff Kinch and others.

Tilia Wilkinson sang two songs for the birthday boy – On My Knees and That Name, while Gabby ended off the night's proceedings with Boots and Emmerton.

Grant's sister-in-law, Pauline Mager-Miller, kept the night flowing, taking guests from laughter to tears.

Grant, who scored his first No.1 hit Baby, Come Back, as a member of the British group The Equals in 1968, has charted in that country in every decade since the 60s. He relocated to Barbados in 1981.

In 1972 Grant opened Europe's first black-owned recording studio, Coach House. His last album, Reparation, was released in 2006.

AIF meeting here in June
An Agriculture Investment Forum will be convened on June 5 and 6, next, here in Guyana, in accordance with an decision taken by CARICOM Heads of Government, at their just-concluded 19th Inter-Sessional in Nassau, The Bahamas, last weekend.

And, according to a communiqué issued following the meeting, the Heads have expressed appreciation to the private sector for its willingness to undertake the venture, as well as to the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB); Director-General, Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Mr. Jacques Diouf; the CARICOM Secretariat and other institutions, agencies and companies that had pledged financial support.

The Heads of Government, it was further stated, urged Member States, through their Ministries of Agriculture and their investment agencies, to liaise with the Task Force established during their preparation for the forum in order to identify investment proposals for presentation.

Meanwhile, the Heads have agreed to devote one day to the hosting of a special session on Tourism, during the hosting of the 29th Regular Meeting slated for July.

It was agreed too, that Tourism would be included as a permanent item on the Agenda of the Conference.

MUSLIM ORGANISATIONS TO OBSERVE PROGRAMMES FOR EID MILAD-UN-NABI 2008
- In collaboration with organisations from Trinidad & Suriname

The Muslim Youth League of Guyana, The Anna Catherina Islamic Complex and The Guyana United Sadr Islamic Anjuman will be associated with a series of programmes to mark the birth anniversary of the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad. The programmes which will commence during the Islamic month Rabi-ul-Awal (the month in which the Prophet was born), expected to begin on March 9, 2008, and will climax at the end of May.

They will be staged under the theme “THE GREATEST GIFT TO MANKIND IS THE PROPHET OF ISLAM”. Eid Milad un Nabi or Youman Nabi, has been observed by these organisations for decades. The programmes will commence on Thursday March 13th with the welcome to Rabi-ul-Awal Programme at the Anna Catherina Islamic Complex. On March 20th, Anna Catherina Islamic Complex will host its Eid Milad-un-Nabi Programme.

The main programme will be held on Sunday March 23, at 2.00 PM at the Anna Catherina Islamic Complex, West Coast Demerara. International Islamic Scholar Khateeb-ul-Islam Hazrat Maulana Allama Sayed Abulhasan al Azhari Ashrafi of India, now residing in England, will deliver the feature address at this programme. Hazrat Abdulhasan is a graduate from the Al Azhar University in Egypt. In attendance also, will be delegations from Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago and Holland, and also special overseas Qaseeda singers. Guyanese delegations will also attend Eid Milad un Nabi Programmes in Suriname and Trinidad & Tobago on March 19th / 21st (Suriname) and March 22nd (Trinidad).

In April, the “Evening of Ghazals and Qaseedas III” will be held at the Anna Catherina Islamic Complex featuring internationally acclaimed singers. This programme will follow the success of those held in 2005 and 2006 by the Muslim community of Guyana and several local singers as well as those from Suriname will also participate. Dates will be announced for several more programmes to be hosted.

The activities will end with the grand finale— the Annual National Qaseeda Singing Competition on May 24th & 25th. Successful Contestants will represent Guyana at the International Qaseeda Competition to be hosted in Guyana in August this year. This year the format of the programme is likely to be a Naat Mehfil event.

The Prophet of Islam was born on the 12th of Rabi-ul-Awal, the third month of the Islamic calendar. Muslims throughout the world observes the birth anniversary with prayers and special programmes.