Black Immigrant Daily News

To mark the start of Breast Cancer Awareness Month on Saturday, The Valley Sound Lions Club in Virgin Gorda hosted the three-kilometre Walk/Run for a Cure in collaboration with the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College’s 27th Mourant HLSCC College Classic Race Series.

At 7 a.m. sharp, more than 40 participants gathered at the college’s VG campus to help raise awareness and promote a healthy lifestyle. Several of them wore pink as a symbol of breast cancer awareness and the fight to find a cure for the disease.

“Breast cancer awareness has been one of our causes from Lions Club inception,” said Teron Creque, vice president and membership chairperson of the organisation. “As a club, we’ve lost a few members to breast cancer, so it’s a cause that’s very near and dear to our hearts.”

The event was among several scheduled this month across the territory under the theme “Strong Alone, Unstoppable Together.”

Later on Saturday, bingo was held at Captain Mulligan’s at Nanny Cay, and the next day a church service followed at Tower of Faith Church on Tortola.

Tomorrow, a fundraising drive will be held in front of First Caribbean International Bank, which will also host its annual Walk for a Cure on Saturday.

Throughout the month’s observance, the BVI Cancer Society is emphasising the importance of early detection and diagnosis.

“The BVI Cancer Society feels strongly about early detection, be- cause too many persons in our community are discovering cancer too late,” BVICS Vice President Mervin Hastings said in a Monday press release.

The organisation believes that this message is valid in the case of all cancers and that it should be advocated continuously.

BVICS President Gloria Fahie said she is pleased this year to see community organisations pledging support and helping with the cause.The Valley Sound Lions Club is among them. It will be “going all out” as it aims to provide 75 to 100 mammograms to women in the community, Mr. Creque said.

The club is also planning a month of activities on Virgin Gorda that are designed to be both fun and informative, he added.

Every Sunday of the month, for instance, the public is encouraged to wear pink to church and post a picture to the club’s Facebook page. The picture with the most “likes” will win a special prize at the end of the month.

Community forums

Additionally, a “Pink Power Cancer Awareness” forum will start at 3 p.m. Saturday at HLSCC’s Virgin Gorda campus.

Other organisations will be hosting events throughout the month as well.

The BVI Health Services Authority, for instance, is planning a community forum to share medical information on different aspects of cancer, from symptoms to treatments to its impact on mental health.

WANT TO GO?

Activities will be held across the territory this month to raise awareness about breast cancer.

Today
• Cancer awareness fundraising drive in front of First Caribbean International Bank in Road Town

Saturday
• CIBC Walk for a Cure
• Valley Lions Club Pink Power Cancer Awareness Forum: 3 p.m., HLSCC Virgin Gorda Campus

Oct. 14
• Cancer awareness drive in front of Republic Bank

Oct. 15
• Cancer awareness drive in front of Rite Way Food Market in Pasea and One Mart Supermarket in Purcell

Oct. 21
• Cancer awareness drive in front of the National Bank of the Virgin Islands

Oct. 22
• Community breast cancer conversation, at the Dr. D. Orlando Smith Hospital Lobby hosted by the Primary Health Department of the BVI Health Services Authority

Oct. 28
• Paint the Town Pink (tee-shirts are available at the BVI Cancer Society Office)
• Tropical Soiree

NewsAmericasNow.com

Black Immigrant Daily News

A French native, passionate about the environment and sustainable development, is committed to helping Dominica – the island she calls home – reduce its carbon footprint.

Nathalie Roland, born and raised in France, first moved to Saint Martin for ten years, then headed to Dominica.

“I moved to Dominica for love,” she said. “My boyfriend works here and it was easier for me to come here.”

Roland initially stayed two months to experience Dominica and adjust to the lifestyle.

“I came on 06th August 2010, stayed for two months, went back to Saint Martin for a month to organize my move then returned here,” Roland said.

Despite her two-month trial period, Nathalie admits there were two major aspects she had to adjust to.

“First it was the language. Although I spoke English, Dominican English is different from American English. I had to adjust to that and some specific words,” she said.

The other lifestyle change Nathalie had to adapt to was the number of recreational activities in Dominica.

“Coming from Saint Martin where you party all the time and there are many restaurants. Here there is no nightclub, no real bar, etc. So that was a shock for me because I worked in the entertainment industry and was partying often. I came here and there was basically nothing,” Roland said.

Before moving to Dominica Nathalie did her online research and was surprised to find out the reality did not match the virtual.

“I went on websites and saw it was the Nature Isle, and it was very eco oriented,” she said. “Then I came here and realized it was not that at all, I saw all the garbage in town and everywhere, even in the rainforest. I was like ‘no, that is not what is being sold outside’.”

Notwithstanding the juxtaposition between real and online, Nathalie stayed for love and a desire to see the country do better. During her time in Dominica her perspective naturally began to grow.

“It has evolved in that I adjust to the little things. I appreciate the people even more. And my business helped me see there is potential, there is hope for me to help grow the eco-friendly Dominica like what is being sold online,” she said.

In 2012 Roland opened her company 100% Green, which distributes and promotes alternative solutions to plastics on the island, and is the top supplier for compostable disposable items.During her 12 years in Dominica, Nathalie says the biggest, most impactful change, to her, has been the ban on Styrofoam and single-use plastics, in which she played a key role.

“Seeing Styrofoam everywhere, seeing people microwave Styrofoam then eat from it, that is not healthy,” she said. “I don’t want anybody to be sick and spend so much money on therapy. So that ban was a big step.”

While applauding the ban, she feels the ball has been dropped on the move to biodegradable products.

“I don’t want to talk politics but if the government could continue in a greener way. They said six months after the ban they would stop plastic bags, that hasn’t been done,” she said. “There are more and more green items created every day that I am trying to import but when I ask for a duty waiver, I am told ‘no’, the government doesn’t want to waive more taxes. That is understandable because they have done a lot.”

Nathalie cautions that waste management is an integral part of building resilience in any country.

“If you want to follow the CRRP 2020 – 2030, we need to do more than what we’re doing now. It is not only building resilient infrastructure; we have to work on waste management too,” Roland said.

As a result, Roland has teamed up with the Dominica Solid Waste Management Corporation to improve waste management which will in turn help Dominica – the country she calls home – maintain its Nature Island status.
“I have some projects right now concerning waste collection. I created an NGO and am working with Solid Waste, to incorporate new ways to get more recyclable waste collected and shipped out,” Roland said.

-By Andrea Louis

NewsAmericasNow.com

Black Immigrant Daily News

Residents of Laudat say they are concerned that their land is being taken away to build the “world longest” cable car to the Boiling Lake, a major attraction in the UNESCO World Heritage Site

Residents of SpringHill Estate, Laudat tells the Sun that earlier this year, they found out that their property may soon be taken from them when a foreigner came on their land uninvited and started conducting surveys.

Though they had heard rumours before, this was the first confirmation that they received that their land was going to be used for the 6.6 kilometres (4.1miles) long Detachable Monocable Cable Car project, which reports indicate is set to begin in November.

About seven residents of the area received their first official confirmation from the government of Dominica by way of a letter -which the Sun obtained a copy of- from the Lands and Surveys Division which stated that the government was interested in acquiring their land for the Cable Car project.

Since that time, the Sun has learned from sources that at least three meetings have been held with land owners who remain adamant that they’re not willing to give up their land.

“After consulting our lawyer, we know that there is a Land Acquisition Act, but it states that it can only be used when there’s a public purpose on that specific project, so the questions we’ve been asking them is what is the public purpose on that specific project,” a resident said.

“If you have a private investor, the interest of the private investor is to get his money back, so that has nothing to do with public purpose. The public purpose would be stuff like the airport, schools, hospitals, maybe a cable car that could be used as a public transport, but not one that’s used to destroy the country’s national site and benefit private investors,” the Sun was told

At present, the Laudat homeowner said that measurement of the road continues and based on unconfirmed reports the contractor is already on island.

The residents, who are all in contact with their attorneys, say that they are presently seeking advice on their way forward.

To date, they say that they have not had any meeting with their Parliamentary Representative or any other top government official, which they are requesting to voice some of their concerns.

“At this point, we would like to live our lives up there. This is our land, we are not interested in selling our land,” the Sun was told.

According to information obtained online, upon completion, the project will be the longest of its kind, but it will also allow “safe and fast passage” in about 20 mins to Boiling Lake, a route that would otherwise take six hours by hiking.

The situation has also attracted the attention of Dominican conservationist and political activist, Artherton “Athie” Martin, as the lake which is located in Morne Trois Pitons National Park, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

He told the Sun that his environmental concerns about the world heritage site are driven as much by illegal considerations as well as the ecological.

According to Martin, based on international convection which Dominica is a signatory, it establishes that when an area of a country is declared a World Heritage Site, authority and management control over that site no longer resides exclusively with the country and is instead shared with the world heritage centre in Paris.

As such, he noted that any activity taking place in that area or around that area that is likely to affect the integrity of that area must first be discussed and received approval from UNESCO.

The Sun was unsuccessful in its attempts to speak with a representative at the international organisation to confirm whether such action had been taken.

If it wasn’t, Martin said that this could have serious implications for Dominica as any incursion by the government without consulting UNESCO is in contravention of the world heritage site arrangement and could lead to a disciplinary response from the world heritage centre.

“If what we are seeing is a decision by the government to facilitate the incursion on the park, especially if in fact, the government has some interest in that corporate incursion then it is entirely illegal on the international law and is in contravention of the UNESCO Heritage Convention and places the island at risk of having the park downgraded and eventually could be delisted which could be a tragedy for Dominica,” Martin said.

Earlier this year, Dominica’s Tourism Minister Denise Charles dubbed the US$54 million project as critical, noting that it will feature Dominica as a “major tourist destination as many people will be excited to come and visit the second-largest boiling lake in the world.”

She said the project is being undertaken by ABL Holdings- whose website state is among the world’s most successful companies in terms of residence and citizenship by investment- with the government having a 15 per cent stake.

Back in May, Charles also announced that the government was currently in the first phase and had done consultations with the people of the Roseau Valley.

“We are finalising negotiations with land owners,” she said, which based on the letter sent, during that month expressing interest portrays a different picture.

The Associate Times reported that Outdoor Engineers – (a European company based in Switzerland) conducted a feasibility survey in Dominica, which revealed that the completion of the cable car project would boost tourism in Dominica three-fold.

Further attempts were made by The Sun to obtain a copy of such a study but proved unsuccessful.

Though the government has not said anything publicly another international site ‘Zenger’ reported on August 29 that Austrian ropeways and cable cars manufacturer Doppelmayr Group have been contracted to build the 6.6-kilometre-long (4.1-mile) gondola by 2024.

Doppelmayr Group told Zenger News that the 10-passenger detachable gondola will give visitors a “fast, reliable and comfortable means of accessing the national park in less than 20 minutes.”

Hospitality and shopping facilities focusing on the Caribbean island’s distinctive local features will be incorporated at the bottom station, according to Doppelmayr. In addition, the area surrounding the top station will consist of a restaurant with a panoramic terrace, a viewing platform, and a six-metre (19-foot) statue of Dominica’s national symbol-the Sisserou parrot will be placed at the highest point, the site reports.

-By Ronda Luke

NewsAmericasNow.com