Black Immigrant Daily News

On a recent Monday afternoon in the Multipurpose Sports Complex, several children took off their shoes and tossed them in a pile.

Then they split into teams and turned their attention to Coach Carldon Morton. When he gave the go-ahead, they ran to the pile one at a time, found their shoes, and put them on as quickly as possible.

The race was one of many team-building exercises held in recent weeks as part of the first summer camp in Road Town hosted by the Youth Empowerment Project, which has held similar free camps at its East End location for 16 summers.

“It’s a tester to see whether or not the community is interested in it and whether or not we can actually find support to build a [new] centre” in the capital, YEP Executive Director Stacy Mather said.

The demand, he believes, is high. By adding the Road Town camp, the YEP summer programme more than doubled its size this year with the help of the Rotary Club of Tortola and other sponsors.

About 120 students attended in Road Town and about 100 attended in East End, making the YEP summer programme the largest in the territory, according to Mr. Mather.

But many other children were turned away for lack of capacity.

“In East End for the last 15 years, we’ve had to turn away in excess of 60 to 80 children per year during our summer camps, and that’s just those who actually formally apply,” he said.

In Road Town this year, he added, the unmet demand was even higher.

“We anticipated and were only targeting 100 children, but we had over 220 applications,” he said. “So undoubtedly based on the numbers and the enrollment demand, right, we know that there is a need for pro- grammes in the BVI that offer free — first of all free — but also a certain level, a certain quality, of programming for children.”

Duration is also important, he said, noting that the YEP programmes ran for about two months.

“That gives parents the ability to have their children enrolled in a programme for a lengthy duration,” he explained.

The BVI Arts Company, also known as Killi Killi, hosted another camp this summer where children put on plays and made art. (Photo: SARIAH LAKE)

Gov’t programmes

In recent years, Mr. Mather noted, free after-school and summer programmes hosted by government have been in short supply for the ages targeted by YEP. He believes the 2015-2019 Virgin Islands National Youth Policy, which targets ages 15-29, may have refocused government’s priorities on older children.

“After-school programmes and summer camp programmes have become somewhat privatised,” he added.

Related issues have been exacerbated since 2017, when hurricanes devastated the territory’s infrastructure, according to Mr. Mather.

“Our children are still reeling in my opinion where that’s concerned in terms of education and recreation, but also where youth development is concerned,” he said. “The programmes that have been established over the last couple years are there, but they’re paid programmes. … And coming out of Covid and everything, we know the economy in the BVI has had its struggles.”

Moving forward, he believes a free programme like YEP is needed on a “national level” in the VI.

“We in the territory need to start thinking about how are we really invested in young people and at what age are we invested in young people?” Mr. Mather said.
YEP, he said, works to bridge a gap, but more is needed.

“The children are my customers. What must be done must be done for them,” he said. “There needs to be a programme in the BVI that is done on a national level. … The question is whether or not the community cares enough to do so.”

YEP camps

This year, the YEP camps started July 5 and ended yesterday in time to allow time for back-to-school preparation.

Shawn Smith, whose two sons took part, said he would recommend it to other parents.

The annual M.A.L.E. summer camp included girls for the first time this year. Some of them worked with stylist Sophia Barriffe to learn about hairstyles. (Photo: SARIAH LAKE)

“They learn crafts, arts, get to interact with other kids, and it builds their self-esteem,” he said.

Participants agreed. Seven-year-old Shailene Griffit said she has enjoyed taking part in the camp with her cousin.

“My favourite part is doing all kinds of fun stuff,” she said.

Each day’s activities ran from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., timed similarly to a school day.

Both YEP summer camps offered various activities designed to get children “involved and out of the house,” the executive director said.

Arts-and-crafts projects included making tie-dyed shirts and jewellery, while sports included volleyball, dodgeball, basketball and more.

Campers also learned about cooking and culinary arts, horticulture, and computer literacy and coding.

Some even went on sailing excursions, and they were encouraged to participate in team activities. The camps, Mr. Mather said, also provided opportunities for teens and young adults to volunteer and “learn responsibility.”

Other camps

Other summer camps were also held across the territory in recent weeks, with many of them offering assistance for students whose parents can’t afford to pay.

The group M.A.L.E. held its usual camp but included girls for the first time since the organisation’s inception in 2014.

“The main theme behind camps like these is camaraderie. The theme is unity,” said Shammah Tittle, a longstanding volunteer.

This year’s programme — which was held from Aug. 8-19 — hosted about 90 students between the ages of 6 and 16. Twenty-seven were girls.

The idea to include girls was spearheaded by Carthy Ann Tittle, director of the female students.

A prince and princess were crowned during an award ceremony at the end of the camp. (Photo: SARIAH LAKE)

In partnership with a committee of “big sisters,” organisers hope to continue integrating females going forward, said M.A.L.E President Henderson Tittle. K’moya Boyea, 13, said she enjoyed the camp and would “definitely” return next year.

“My favourite part of the programme is when we travel,” she said. Under the theme “above and under the water,” the students took part in activities including sailing, learning about the environment with Green VI, practising culinary skills, and more, said Mr. Tittle.

Some of the girls also got to practise hairstyling with local stylist Sophia Barriffe.

“It’s a programme that I think the community should get behind,” Mr. Tittle said, encouraging more parents to enroll their students and more people to volunteer. “Let’s help to shape the next generation.”

The camp ended with an awards ceremony, where Kassidy Titley and Jeremiah Hermanstyne were crowned the prince and princess.

Killi Killi camp

Another summer programme was hosted by the BVI Arts Company, which is commonly known as Killi Killi.

In July and August, the camp organised two-week slots, each offering a range of activities designed to accommodate students who attended from the beginning as well as those who joined midstream. Company Director Claudia Knight said she tried to offer “something for everyone.” In the first two weeks, students presented a drama production of “The Lorax,” learning lines, painting the set, and designing the costumes themselves.

In the following two weeks, they presented a new production of different Roald Dahl stories. In August, they focused more on art projects.

Ms. Knight intends to continue this style of camp during other school holidays.
“Whenever school’s out, we are in,” she said.

She added that she pushes her students to express themselves artistically.
“I really like people to get messy, because where else are you allowed to do that?” she said.

‘On my feet’

Aria John, a recent H. Lavity Stoutt Community College graduate who volunteers with the programme, said this year’s camp was her first time working with this age group and she enjoyed the experience.

“They keep me on my feet,” she said of the campers, who ranged in age from 4 and 14.

The camp was held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., with an optional “after-camp care” session for children of working parents.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

Money launderers have been targeting the Virgin Islands hospitality industry, the Financial Investigation Agency warned recently.

The agency’s Financial Investigation Unit issued a press release last month advising hotels, resorts and guesthouses to be on the lookout for scammers making false reservations under the names of reputable individuals and businesses.

“They often pay for the reservation using a cashier’s cheque to the bank account of the hotel or guesthouse and then cancel and make a request for a refund via email,” the release stated.

Once the cheque is cut, the money launderer then takes it to a bank.

The goal of the scam, the agency ex- plained, is to conceal funds gained from illegal activity — for example, drug or human trafficking — and introduce it into the banking system, which otherwise wouldn’t accept the deposit.

“The hotel or guesthouse would facilitate the refund by cheque, so the ill-gotten gains would then be introduced into a financial institution from an apparently legitimate source,” the agency stated.

It added that any amount the hotel keeps as a cancellation fee is written off by the money launderer as the cost of doing business.

‘Money muling’

The scheme is a variation of the common “money muling” scheme that the FIA has previously warned about, in which the launderer gives money to an individual to deposit in a bank account or in exchange for purchasing gift cards and other items in return for a small “commission” for making the transaction.

Typically, the perpetrator asks for full bank details and then asks the victim to transfer a percentage of the money to another account and to keep the rest.

“Alternatively, there have also been instances of persons being asked to buy gift cards, such as iTunes vouchers, in return for keeping a percentage of the monies they were sent,” the FIA wrote in a warning issued in May. “These are all instances the general public should be wary of.”

Sometimes these scams come under the guise of legitimate employment ads and opportunities, the agency noted. However, in most cases, the money transferred into the victim’s account was obtained illegally.

“Your actions and contribution in the scheme are enabling criminals to legitimise the monies. Simply put, you are helping criminals move their funds around,” the FIA warned. “This is a criminal of- fence under the laws of the Virgin Islands, even if you did not know where the monies came from. Apart from criminal prosecution, you also run the risk of being blacklisted by the banks.”

Hard to spot

According to the agency, the scams can be hard to spot, because the perpetrators appear at first to be legitimate customers.

“They can be highly sophisticated and perpetrated by familiar persons or businesses,” the May release stated. “The FIU is therefore reminding banks and hoteliers of their legal obligation to report any suspicious activity under penalty of law.”

The agency advised businesses that they can report money laundering schemes or any other suspicious activity by completing a suspicious activity report form at https://tinyurl.com/SAR-Form.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

News

Ancel Roget. – Photo by Lincoln Holder

JOINT Trade Union Movement (JTUM) president Ancel Roget has said legal action will be taken against the Prime Minister within the next two days.

Roget is also Oilfield Workers Trade Union (OWTU) president general.

He spoke on Monday in response to comments Dr Rowley made in a Facebook post earlier in the day.

Rowley said, “So they have made their move. Dump truckloads of sand and debris on both sides of the highway and block traffic!

“What a wonderful idea of leadership from Roget and the followers including the UNC!

“The marauding gangs of metal thieves threatened to, but did not complete the job of shutting down the country, so the leaders are helping them to get that done.”

At an emergency virtual news conference at the OWTU’s Paramount Building heaquarters in San Fernando, Roget slammed Rowley’s comments as slanderous (sic), libellous and defamatory against both the union and himself and injurious to his character.

“I want to categorically, unequivocally, emphatically deny any prior knowledge of or any knowledge of or involvement in this activity.”

Roget declared that neither he nor the union had anything to do with the blocking of the Solomon Hochoy Highway “by whosoever.”

This statement made on Dr Rowley’s Facebook page, he said, “is currently in the hands of our attorneys.”

Roget said within the “next 24-48 hours action is going to be taken, legal action is going to commence as a result of this very defamatory statement.”

He reiterated that Rowley’s statement placed him “at the centre of an activity that I have absolutely no knowledge of, prior or otherwise.”

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Black Immigrant Daily News

Dear Editor,

I think of the reality that “Globally, 1.6 billion people worldwide struggle with inadequate housing conditions, with about 15 million being forcefully evicted every year,” That is according to the UN-Habitat, which has noted an alarming rise in homelessness in the last 10 years. Young people, it is shown, are the age group with the highest risk of becoming homeless, so what a relief it is to learn that in beloved Guyana, “some 3000 more house lots will be distributed to residents on the East Coast of Demerara by the end of this year.”

The news, then, from Housing and Water Minister Collin Croal is not something that is merely ad hoc. In fact, the announcement came during a recent outreach in which 250 house lots were distributed to residents from Nooten Zuil to Unity, on the East Coast of Demerara.

Explaining the national goal and vision of the Government, the Minister noted, “We have not had any recent outreach in terms of Ministry of Housing on this part of region on the East Coast of Demerara, so the cluster that we are addressing is between Unity and Nooten Zuil.”

And in terms of ‘sticking to promises,’ Croal detailed that “…since taking office in August 2020, (Government) have been able to allocate 7900 house lots to Region 4. (And) Of that, just under 4000 house lots were distributed to people living on the East Coast.” So, “By the end of this year, we want to allocate about another 3000-plus for the East Coast of Demerara.”

In fact, when the PPP/C assumed office in August two years ago, the reminder was, “We promised 50,000 house lots, which we have been ensuring that we make available to the citizens, but we have been adamant that our primary focus is homeownership; ensuring that Guyanese move from being renters to becoming homeowners.”

I think it is a ‘given’ that the Government would achieve its manifesto promise of distributing 50,000 house lots by the end of 2025.

Let me add that the right to adequate housing is a human right, recognised in international human rights law as part of the right to an adequate standard of living. Also, we must understand that “Adequate housing”, as defined under international law, is “the right of every woman, man, youth and child to gain and sustain a safe and secure home and community in which to live in peace and dignity.”

This right is so much more than simply four walls and a roof over a head. In this vein, Guyanese are now enjoying a level of security and dignity yet again, as this was missing between 2015-2020. Today, in the country, we see that there is the unfolding of so many rights, as “Human rights are indivisible and interdependent, so the right to adequate housing cannot be separated from the other rights, such as sanitation, water, education, and healthcare.”

I recall that in June of this year, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA), Sherwyn Greaves, emphasised that the Government’s housing drive is synonymous with the creation of employment. This was a commitment that was also made to Guyanese back in August 2020. He rightfully stated at that time, “This will not only help the landowners; it will, at the same time, provide employment for our citizens across the country,” as the CH&PA will always be inviting individuals, groups, and companies to express their interest in providing various skills and services for the housing initiative.

Plaudits, then, to the leaders of the land. Guyanese today are achieving equity, dignity and security in an unprecedented way.

Yours truly,H Singh

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