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Tobacco leaves were smoked as part of the ritual during the First Peoples river ritual on October 11. – Photo by Jeff K Mayers

“Spirituality is a way of life.”

So said Santa Rosa First Peoples chief Ricardo Bharath Hernandez as he described the river ritual that was held by the Santa Rosa First Peoples Community at the Arima river, Blanchisseuse Road on Tuesday morning.

The river ritual is among the activities carded for Heritage Week, a week of festivities from October 10 – 15 to commemorate the first peoples annual day of recognition on October 14. This year’s theme is Acknowledging the Resilience and Creativity of Our First Peoples.

“We have been lobbying for quite a while for a day of recognition as the first people’s of Trinidad and Tobago. We had to choose a day of significance, so we chose the 14th of October.”

Bharath Hernandez said on October 14, 1637, Chieftain Hyarima of the Nepuyo people did his “most daring act” when he fought against Spanish oppression of his people by attacking the town of St Joseph – burning it to the ground.

“It is a day of resistance against the oppressors.”

Bharath Hernandez said his people revere water and as such pay homage at the river to honour its deep-rooted significance to their culture.

“Everything we do everyday is based on some aspect of our spirituality. The first peoples would have made their villages at the banks of rivers or near a watercourse because of the importance of water for life generally.”

“Water is sustaining, it is healing, it is cleansing, you cannot live without water and we respect the water. We sing praises to the water, we do offerings in the water with some of the traditional foods like the cassava bread and so on. And, through the flowers that we carry we make personal offerings.”

Bharath Hernandez said indigenous people contigents from Suriname, Guyana, Venezuela, Belize, St Vincent and Dominica travelled to TT to take part in Heritage Week festivities.

This year’s Heritage Week programme will include:

October 10: Conference on Reparations, UWI St Augustine campus (10am – 12 noon)

October 11: River Ritual, Arima river (6.30am)

October 12: Remembering the Ancestors ritual, Red House (10am)

October 13: Youth Forum, University of Trinidad and Tobago, Point Lisas campus (9am – 11.30am)

October 14: Day of Recognition, gathering at Hyarima monument (6.30am)

October 15: Church service and procession to Santa Rosa First Peoples head quarters (6pm)

Parang festival (8pm)

Newsday’s chief photographer Jeff K Mayers captured these images from the Santa Rosa First Peoples river ritual.

The First People paid homage to water during the river ritual at the Arima river on October 11. – Photo by Jeff K Mayers

Drummer Sergio Bergmans of Suriname says a personal prayer while blowing smoke from the tobacco leaves at the First Peoples river ritual at the Arima River, Blanchisseuse Road on October 11. – Photo by Jeff K Mayers

Suriname Shaman Anesta Jagendorst adds the final cleansing by blowing smoke from tobacco leaves onto the special medicinal herb water at the First Peoples river ritual at the Arima River, Blanchisseuse Road. – Photo by Jeff K Mayers

Suriname Shaman Anesta Jagendorst blows the smoke from the tobacco leaves on Santa Rosa First Peoples Chief Ricardo Barath Hernandez which is a symbolic cleansing from bad energy at the First Peoples River Ritual at the Arima River, Blanchisseuse Road on October 11. – Photo by Jeff K Mayers

Suriname Shaman Anesta Jagendorst smoking tobacco leaves at the First Peoples river ritual at the Arima River, Blanchisseuse Road on October 11. – Photo by Jeff K Mayers

Suriname drummer Sergio Bergmans cleanses himself before the start of the festival while paying respect to the water at the First Peoples river ritual at the Arima River, Blanchisseuse Road. – Photo by Jeff K Mayers

Suriname Shaman Anesta Jagendorst, Santa Rosa First Peoples Chief Ricardo Bharath Hernandez and Queen Nona Lopez Calderon Galera Moreno Aquan make offerings after paying respects and saying a personal prayer during the First Peoples river ritual at the Arima River, Blanchisseuse Road on October 11. – Photo by Jeff K Mayers

Queen Nona Lopez Calderon Galera Moreno Aquan during the First Peoples river ritual at the Arima River. – Photo by Jeff K Mayers

Suriname drummer Sergio Bergmans from the Waiono Arowakaan group makes an offering after paying respects and saying a personal prayer during the First Peoples river ritual at the Arima River. – Photo by Jeff K Mayers

Suriname drummer Sergio Bergmans from the Waiono Arowakaan group, makes an offering after paying respects and saying a personal prayer during the First Peoples river ritual at the Arima River, Blanchisseuse Road. – Photo by Jeff K Mayers

Chief Ricardo Bharath Hernandez and his granddaughter 6-year-old Amaya Bharath Hernandez during the First Peoples river ritual at the Arima River, Blanchisseuse Road on October 11. – Photo by Jeff K Mayers

Santa Rosa First Peoples chief Ricardo Bharath Hernandez performs a ritual during the First Peoples water ceremony at the Arima River, Blanchisseuse Road, Arima on October 11. – Photo by Jeff K Mayers

Santa Rosa First Peoples performed their river ritual at the Arima River, Blanchisseuse Road on October 1. – Photo by Jeff K Mayers

Santa Rosa First Peoples performed their river ritual at the Arima River, Blanchisseuse Road on October 1. The ritual was a part of Heritage Week festivities. – Photo by Jeff K Mayers

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Source: www.thebalancecareers.com

Panellists at a TT Chamber of Commerce virtual workshop said while there are still things to be considered while looking into a work-from-home policy for both the public and private sectors, it wouldn’t hurt to start the conversation about working from home, what is needed, its benefits and its drawbacks.

“It wouldn’t hurt to seed the idea and move toward it,” said Jonathan Cumberbatch, vice president at the University of TT (UTT). “I appreciate that there are difficulties, but having said that, it wouldn’t hurt to raise the topic and get it out there.”

Cumberbatch said the issue of traffic has reached crisis levels.

“I watch that traffic every morning and I cannot comprehend how someone would do this every morning – the idea of seeing these cars in front of them, then the flashing brake lights for two hours both ways. That is some people’s version of hell. It is unacceptable.

“I cannot speak to every job being laptop-based or what have you, but we do know that so much of the tasks can be done at home with a minimal IT infrastructure.”

The statement came in the wake of the Prime Minister saying that TT was not “sufficiently prepared” for a work-from-home policy while responding to questions in light of the increases in fuel prices announced in the 2022-2023 budget read on September 26.

“I don’t know that we are sufficiently prepared for that to be a major initiative, largely because it requires certain technical infrastructure and a certain level of discipline,” Rowley said. “Some people not even working in the office, so we have to be careful how we talk about that.” The PM later clarified that he was talking about the public sector.

In 2021 Newsday reported that the Ministry of Planning was drafting a work-from-home policy. Minister Camille Robinson-Regis said working from home for public-sector employees would require a robust digital environment, including infrastructure, skill redevelopment and revamping systems. She added that the Ministry of Digital Transformation would be instrumental in such a transformation of the work environment.

On Monday, during the third session of the Standing Finance Committee, Minister of Public Administration Allyson West echoed Rowley’s statements while fielding questions from the opposition.

“The public service is not quite ready for work from home, because we need to ascertain what needs to be put in place to allow for that in a seamless manner,” West said. “There are rules, there are KPIs to be drafted, there are kinds of equipment that has to be secured to allow for work from home. We have to assess those who can work from home.”

The government allotted $1 million to assess the requirements fora work-from-home policy.

“The plan is to engage a service provider to investigate the situation and advise us on what the work-from-home policy is, craft one for the TT public service and roll it out as the circumstances allow us to, as the public service becomes ready to handle work from home,” West said.

She said a request for proposals had been drafted and would be published soon.

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Full statement from Public Works Ministry:

The Public is hereby notified that as of MID-NIGHT TONIGHT, October 11, 2022, vehicles weighing 18tons and under will be allowed to transit the Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB), however, this will only be allowed under a special arrangement.

Hon. Bishop Juan Edghill, Minister of Public Works, says following another inspection of the bridge by Structural Engineers, the bridge’s Management Team has advised that the retractor span can accommodate 18tonnes with specific restrictions.

“Firstly, Structural Engineers are recommending that the weight of 18tonnes and under be allowed to cross the bridge, but only between the hours of 00:00hrs (12:00 PM) to 04:00hrs (AM), when there is far less traffic on the bridge.

“There is also a stipulation with the speed limit, drivers must adhere to the speed limit of 32KMH while traversing in ONE direction at a time,” The Minister has made clear.

Minister says Shift Supervisors, along with the Special Constabulary Ranks will be closely monitoring the transit of vehicles on the bridge to ensure adherence to the temporary special arrangements.

“I want to reiterate my gratitude to commuters and drivers for their patience during this unexpected ordeal and urge them to use the bridge with care, I implore you to follow the rules, your safety is very important, and we want you to reach your destination safely.

 

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Barbadians who wish to get in-tune with, and stay on top of their health, are being given the opportunity to receive a free health check, thanks to a recent partnership between Sagicor and the James Street Methodist Church.

The insurance and financial institution is providing monetary and human resource support to the Church’s health screening programme, offering free health checks to members of the public from 7:30 am until 12 pm on the first Saturday of every month. During this time, Sagicor’s in-house nurse, Rosanna Springer, along with representatives from the church will be on hand to test individuals’ cholesterol, blood sugar and blood pressure; capture weight, height and waist measurements; and provide tips and advice on maintaining good health.

Paul Inniss, Executive Vice President and General Manager for Sagicor Life (Barbados) Inc, said the decision to work with the Church on this programme was an easy one, as it falls squarely in line with Sagicor’s commitment to educating the public on ways to improve their health and reduce the risk of disease.

“Blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, body mass index (BMI), hormones and waist circumference are key indicators of our risk for major illnesses, therefore, understanding this is the first step towards reducing our chances of developing medical conditions such as heart disease and diabetes. We therefore encourage Barbadians to take full advantage of this opportunity, and to stay on top of their numbers by making regular visits to their physician”, Inniss stated.

Speaking on the initiative and the church’s partnership with Sagicor, was Reverend Derick A. Richards, Superintendent Minister of the James Street-Speightstown Circuit and Bishop of the South Caribbean District of the Methodist Church in the Caribbean and Americas, who thanked the financial institution for facilitating the recommencement of the programme, which had previously been derailed by the persistence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Barbados is known for having a high number of cases of heart disease, diabetes, and other medical conditions, many of which go undiagnosed for years. During the pandemic, Barbadians understandably were not making regular visits to their physician, therefore, there was a serious threat of more cases going undetected. Having Sagicor’s support on this initiative is key to our efforts to help our members and the wider public to get on top of their health, and we are so grateful for their assistance”, said Reverend Richards.

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Dans le cadre de la journée internationale de sensibilisation au deuil périnatal, l’association Zétwal An Syèl organise une rencontre ce samedi 15 octobre, de 10h à 18h, à La Familiale de Fond Pérèz, à Saint-Joseph.

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