Black Immigrant Daily News

With ongoing gang violence splitting Riverton City in St Andrew into at least three sections, according to residents who spoke with Loop News on a recent visit to the area, mini dumps have popped up inside the community that is the home of Jamaica’s largest garbage disposal site, Riverton City dump.

The residents explained that warring factions are determined to retain access to what they consider their share of the garbage, which contains valuable items such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles and scrap metal that they retrieve for sale.

“They’ve divided the community over the last four years into about three separate and distinct areas, and they have created another situation where people start to divert solid waste from going to the dump and starting mini dumps around the place,” one male resident disclosed.

“There are mini dumps popping up all over Riverton that are creating both health and fire risks,” he emphasised.

When contacted, Anthony Hylton, the Member of Parliament for St Andrew Western which is where Riverton City is located, confirmed the presence of mini dumps in the community.

This, he said, was a matter for the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) to address.

As it relates to the sporadic gang violence in the area, Hylton lamented that Riverton City is “a wide open area” that attracts undesirables from all over the country, including Spanish Town in St Catherine, who contribute to the problem of violence plaguing the community.

That, he said, was a police matter.

“Riverton is a wide open space with people entering the dump from all over the place, so you don’t know who is who. You know somebody tonight and there’s some violence and it’s not the same violence producer (the next day), it’s some strange face,” Hylton said.

Meanwhile, according to one woman who appeared to be defending the diversion of solid waste from the main dump site to other parts of the community, “Garbage is money”.

“Everybody haffi secure fi dem share,” she said.

The residents explained that the gang violence makes it unsafe for them to venture into certain parts of the community, with some of them unable to access the landfill where they eke out a daily hustle.

As a result, they instruct the drivers of the garbage trucks to offload their contents at locations away from the landfill. The Loop News team did observe garbage strewn about sections of the community.

Member of Parliament for St Andrew Western Anthony Hylton

The Member of Parliament also lamented that with the divisions created by the warring factions, some residents are afraid to attend community meetings when they are called to discuss important matters like the pending closure of the dump and his ongoing efforts to help them secure titles for the lands on which they have lived for decades.

When contacted about the mini dumps, Executive Director of the NSWMA, Audley Gordon, put a different spin on the matter while suggesting that gang violence is contributing to the problem.

“The story you get out of Riverton will vary depending on who you talk to,” Gordon told Loop News.

“There are always gang issues in Riverton, the police will tell you that, it is not anything that is secret. There are a lot of gangs all over the place down there.

“What I can tell you is that they hustle off the garbage, so the scrap metal, plastic bottles, different components of the garbage, people make a livelihood from it. I’m not saying that they divert trucks, because we still get our 300 to 400 truckloads of garbage each day (at the landfill); that is consistent, and the numbers have not declined.

“But, what we do know is that they (residents) will stop the trucks and take things off the trucks that are of value to them. I know that, we have had that experience from where people tell us that and the truckers tell us that,” said Gordon.

Executive Director of the NSWMA, Audley Gordon

“To say that they divert the trucks and dump garbage to make other dumps, to what end?” he asked rhetorically.

“Sometimes they will intercept the trucks but not in a wholesale way,” he insisted.

In the meantime, Hylton said he intends to speak publicly on the issue as it must be addressed as a matter of urgency.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

News

The book cover of 400+ Heroes, Pioneers and Role Models of TT. –

IN recognition and celebration of TT’s recent 60th Anniversary of Independence, corporate sponsor First Citizens, in collaboration with author, researcher, producer Nasser Khan and the Ministry of Education, launched an e-book. Hard copies of the e-book will be available in due course and can be ordered by calling or sending a WhatsApp message to 387-2731.

The book is named 400+ Heroes, Pioneers and Role Models of TT.

The link to read the book can be accessed at https://epub.safaripublications.com/firstcitizenstt/profiles/.

In his remarks at the handover recently at the Ministry of Education, to the ministry’s CEO Dr Peter Smith, Khan outlined the genesis of the e-book that is the updated edition from the original version first published in 2012, for TT’s 50th Independence anniversary.

At that time First Citizens sponsored 5,000 hard copies that were distributed to all schools and libraries and other deserving institutions and individuals in TT. Due to an increased demand, First Citizens agreed to an online edition that, since then, has garnered approximately 1.6 million hits, mainly by students doing their research for social and other studies assignments. The book has also become popular for those outside of educational institutions seeking knowledge of our heroes, pioneers and role models.

Author Nasser Khan handing over a hard copy to Dr Peter Smith, CEO of the Ministry of Education while Trudy Louison of First Citizens looks on –

Khan further emphasized that the purpose of the book is to provide an online reference tool about TT’s heroes, role models and pioneers and falls under the umbrella of a youth education literacy initiative that seeks to educate, inspire and motivate its readers about our path to Independence in 1962, 60 years ago and those heroes, pioneers and role models who were and have been instrumental in its achievement…those in the various spheres of activity.

In alphabetical order, categories of 20 areas of human endeavour from agriculture to writing are highlighted. The 200-page book is foreworded by Minister of Education Dr Nyan Gadsby Dolly, the Group CEO of First Citizens Karen Darbasie and noted TT author Michael Anthony.

The Heroes, Pioneers and Role Models of TT are about those who have made valuable contributions to our country’s development, who have paved and continue to pave the way for others to follow. Such people include national leaders, those in public service, politics, medicine, science, law, education, business, social work, sports, labour, economics, culture, arts, radio, television, literature, agriculture, religion, oil and gas, the environment, engineering, architecture, fashion and beauty pageants.

The book, Khan explained, was inspired by a chance conversation he had with calypsonian David Rudder prior to the 50th Independence Anniversary in 2012. During that conversation they both lamented about the lack of a comprehensive book available at educational institutions especially one that features local heroes. The book was the result of that conversation.

The difference in the two editions, from 2012 and 2022, reflects the dates of the deaths of some individuals, the addition of a few that were inadvertently omitted, any corrections from the first edition and the updating of recipients of the Order of the Republic of TT since 2012.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

L-R: Rosette Pradel, Lynnicia Richardson, Shelder Lewis, Violet Gumbs, Kerrianna Vanterpool, Mitchell Gumbs, Denicio Brooks, Judine Green, GM Sasha Tyas with Instructor Richard Stephens

Over the past 8 days, a group of Cap Juluca’s employees were taught the art and skills of swimming, and water rescue, by Mr. Richard “Richie” Stephens, President of the All Nations United Swim Club.

Richie and his team engaged some ten members of the resort’s staff in a gruelling but rewarding stint of training where they learnt the essential skills of swimming, and survival on the sea.

On Wednesday morning, 31st August, the swimming students gathered on the beach near Pimms in Cap Juluca and demonstrated all that they had learnt. According to Richie, “apart from learning how to basically swim, the group learnt the ‘front crawl’, the ‘elementary back crawl’, the ‘back float’, the ‘star fish float’, the ‘jelly fish float’, and the “huddle’.“They also learnt how to apply the life vests in the water, how to use t he ‘rescue can’ and the ‘rescue tube’ as well as how to recue someone with the ‘ring buoy”’.

Swimming Participants with ‘Richie’ and GM Sasha Tyas

Richie applauded Cap Juluca for coming on board and being involved with him in the Summer swimming progamme. “I thank Cap Juluca so much,” he told The Anguillian. “When I approached the Manager, Ms. Sasha Tyas, she did not hesitate. She eagerly came on board and encouraged the staff to become involved. And for that we want to say a big ‘thank you’ to Cap Juluca. We had reached out to others, but the response was not as encouraging as the welcome we got from this resort. It is hoped that the other hotels will see the need for their staff who are able to swim, and that they too would come on board with us in the future.

“As you know, swimming is an important skill to have. Anguilla’s bread basket is in tourism, and I feel that the majority of our hotel workers who deal with tourists daily should be able to swim. If I was a guest now coming to Cap Juluca, my mind would be at ease knowing that there are folks here who can come to my rescue in the event that I find myself in an emergency while I am swimming in the water. Cap Julca is leading the way in that regard, and I hope that others would follow suit.”

At the end of their demonstrations, the new swimmers/rescuers were awarded with their certificates. Those Cap Juluca employees who received certificates were: Violet Gumbs, Lynnica Richardson, Shelder Lewis, Mitchell Gumbs, Denecio Brooks, and Kerrianna Vanterpool. Those who are currently continuing the training but not yet certified are: Marisse Glasgow, Edileyda Connor, Khemwattie Gokarran, Andrea Alexander and Keshana Webster.Cap Juluca’s Manager, Sasha Tyas, said concerning the training: “We decided to sponsor ten team members to learn the essential life-skills of swimming. They have done so well. They look so comfortable now in the water. It is good to know that they would be able to rescue someone if necessary. It is essential that they know what to do and how to do it around water. This is our first cohort of swimming students, and I can assure you it won’t be the last.”“We will continue working with Richie,” she said. “He is amazing, and I thank him very much for imparting his skills to our staff. This is a very great initiative and I am so proud of the ladies and gents that have participated.”One of the students, Violet Gumbs, made a brief commendation at the end: “I would like to say a huge thank you to the Cap Juluca team and, to Sasha, our General Manager, for giving us this opportunity to prove that you need not be fearful of the water. It is a blessing to be able to swim and to do what we do. This is something that could save lives.”

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