Greetings viewers, listeners, citizens and residents. This year’s Child Abuse Prevention Week slated from November 20th – 25^th is being celebrated under the theme “Leading with Prevention: Creating Awareness, Promoting Alliances & Strengthening Communities”. This week of activities is centered around the international observance of World Children’s Day which is celebrated on November 20^th, and on the heels of the newly declared observation of World Day for the Prevention and Healing from Child Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Violence on November 18th.

The international theme for World Children’s Day is “Inclusion for Every Child”. This theme builds on the principle of no one left behind and reminds us of the importance of child rights, the role children play in our community, our need to nurture, protect and guide them but also the need for them to be included in every aspect of our society, including children being able to contribute in decision and policy-making processes.

The Ministry of Social Development and Gender Affairs continues to receive unfortunate reports of child abuse indicating how common this social problem really is. We know, however, that reports do not always tell the full picture since for every incident of abuse reported there are still several that remain unreported. This year, the Ministry’s celebration of World Children’s Day is therefore focused on raising awareness around child abuse and advocating for child abuse prevention. Any form of abuse, whether emotional, physical, or sexual, limits and curtails a child’s inclusion and growth into healthy adolescents and adults.

The Ministry of Social Development and Gender Affairs intends to increase awareness of this serious issue throughout the week and beyond by highlighting child abuse prevention strategies, strengthening alliances with community groups and stakeholders, and creating new partnerships that will ultimately lead to communities that provide safer environments for children and facilitate their holistic inclusion.

As adults, we should all know what child abuse is, and have an idea of the signs and symptoms of child abuse as well as to know where resources are available to address known cases of child abuse taking place. If you are unaware or would like guidance on finding information, please reach out to the Ministry or Department of Probation and Child Protection Services.

Parents with greater support systems tend to be more resilient, less isolated, and therefore more likely to provide safer home environments for children. As such, we must provide support for parents and families not only in the household but also in the workplace by seeking to implement family-friendly policies that encourage family cohesion.

As neighbours and community residents, we should increase volunteerism by showing up to volunteer during youth-friendly activities with organizations that engage children and youth in positive ways for development. You may want to consider becoming a scout leader, offer to teach a baking course for children, volunteer to read stories to children at the local library or teach a Sunday school class. Having adults involved in these activities ensures that children are not only properly supervised but are also actively engaged in positive ways that help in growing their confidence to advance their development.

Finally, as we work on building healthier relationships with children we must learn to respect our young children by listening to them and helping them to learn and set boundaries as human individuals. We must never disregard their cries for help and protest. Let us learn to respect the innocence of our children and speak out about child abuse when it is seen or suspected. Child Abuse Prevention must begin with each and every one of us.

The colour blue has been identified as the primary colour for child abuse prevention and World Children’s Day. The Ministry is encouraging persons to get creative and sport something blue on Friday, November 25^th as we stand in solidarity against child abuse. You may consider Wearing something Blue, painting your nails blue, making a blue cake, or dying your hair to mark the occasion and showcase your creativity in support of child abuse prevention. However you choose to wear your blue, we encourage you to take a photo and post it on social media with the hashtag #gobluedayskn!

Remember that every child matters and every child should grow up in safe, harm-free environments. We look forward to your solidarity and support for child abuse prevention.

Eight gentlemen were recognized as positive role models and awarded for their outstanding contributions to St.   Kitts and Nevis at a ceremony on Friday (November 18) organized by the Ministry of Gender Affairs in celebration of International Men’s Day. International Men’s Day is observed annually on November 19, 2022.

The awardees were Rodney Browne recognized for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development, Elmo Burke for First Response, Recaldo Richards for Environment and Sanitation, Clive Saunders for Community Service and Activism, and Sylvester Huggins for Creative Economy and Cultural Arts.

The Prime Minister’s Man of the Year Award was awarded to cricket icon Elquemedo Willett. The Director’s Men of Valour Award went to Jahrick Crossley, while the Legacy Award was received by Leroy Willett.

Director of Gender Affairs, Virgil Jeffers said Friday’s ceremony reaffirms the nation’s gratitude.

“To our men, we say we care. We appreciate you for all that you have done and are doing,” he stated while advising them to prioritize meaningful relationships, to show affection and empathy, to apologize when needed, and to celebrate differences.

Cabinet officials attending the ceremony were Prime Minister the Honourable Dr. Terrance Drew, Junior Minister responsible for Gender Affairs, the Honourable Isalean Phillip, and Cabinet Secretary Dr. Marcus Natta.

Prime Minister Drew made a toast to the awardees. He cited the local theme for the men’s celebration, which is Gender Equality: The Role of Men and Boys in Building and Maintaining Positive Relations and stressed the value of positive males.

“The men who were awarded tonight are really an embodiment of what that last part of the theme says,” expressed Prime Minister Dr. Drew. “They have demonstrated their commitment to their different fields of endeavour, to their craft, and that has resulted in helping to build positive relationships that resulted in them being recognized tonight.”

The Prime Minister singled out sanitation worker Recaldo Richards and commended his service to the country as a whole, and to elderly persons in his community. Richards volunteers to clean the area of seniors who are unable to do so. Dr. Drew also extended special commendation to Jahrick Crossley whose volunteer service to humanity extended to a stint in Nairobi, Kenya.

In saluting the men and boys across St. Kitts and Nevis, and the world at large, Honourable Dr. Drew said “You are never forgotten. We do appreciate you.” He then lead the audience in three cheers to all males.

Fellow citizens and residents, today I’m here to greet you on the occasion of International Men’s Day which is observed globally each year on November 19th. International Men’s Day is set aside to bring a closer focus on improving gender relations by promoting positive expressions of masculinity and highlighting male role models. We use the opportunity to promote men’s health and to celebrate the achievements and sacrifices of our men and boys who honour the importance of building positive attitudes and behaviours in contemporary society

The 2022 international theme for Men’s Day is “Helping Men and boys” This theme recognizes the need to support nurturing expressions of masculinity which can help in encouraging boys and men to be expressive, more caring and to be fully engaged in all aspects of domestic and social life.

Our local theme for this year is tagged as “Gender Equality: The Role of our men and boys in building and maintaining positive relationships”. Our local theme prioritizes positive relationship building as a primary aspect of shifting violent realities around domestic and gender relations.

Both local and international themes are suitable and necessary in the context of situations that we face in our country and by extension the entire world today.

By helping men and boys, we are all encouraged to engage with the men and boys in our own lives by creating safe spaces and giving them the tools that help them to grow emotionally, economically and socially to change harmful attitudes and ways of being around what it means to be a man and male leader.

Our local theme highlighting The Role of our men and boys in building and maintaining positive relationships focuses on three core areas:

First, it encourages healthy and positive relationship building between men and their female counterparts in their homes, at work, at school, during social events and in our communities. To cultivate healthy relations between men and women, we need men to value women equally, to approach each other with gentle kindness and respect and to be more collaborative in sharing the responsibilities in domestic and professional life. Ultimately, positive relationship building is about men and women becoming better allies. It is about men and women creating a culture of mutual respect and open communication with each other.

It is evident that men are essential to the journey towards gender equality. Promoting and supporting better and healthier relationships between men and women must be supported as a key step towards greater understanding and connection between genders.

The second core area of our local theme is Relationship building with fellow men who are friends, brethren, and brothers. Research suggests that healthy and positive male-to-male friendships and brotherhood help our men and boys to become more self-confident and less insecure, to feel connected and to have a sense of belonging and to improve/maintain their mental health. With strong, healthy and positive male friendships, men and boys have a lower risk for depression, suicide, dropping out of school, teen pregnancy, substance use, and gang membership.

Men, the truth is, living your life as a one-man show isn’t just sad, it’s scary. Unfortunately, the suicide rate for older men is much higher than any other demographic or age. So maintaining friendships and talking to your fellow peers and male friends regularly are key to living a rich and fulfilling life. Far too often, men end up alone due to the paranoia of being seen as soft or weak for displaying any kind of vulnerability. This isn’t the case. No matter what you’re doing, we all need friends who share similar interests and who allow us to be fully human. So we’re encouraging our men to seek out connections with other men through work, church, sports clubs, volunteer groups, domino events or community corner spots where men usually congregate. If you haven’t already, try to make a new male friend today.

Finally, building stronger relationships between men and their children as well as increasing mentor-mentee relationships between men and boys is the third core area of focus for our local international men’s day theme. The type of relationship that fathers have with their children affects children’s cognitive and social development.

Where involved and active father figures are absent in a boy child’s life, mentors become even more necessary to support healthy development and growth. Mentorship is found to be impactful at influencing behaviour change and life choices among at-risk children and youth in particular. The Department of Gender Affairs currently coordinates an ongoing Boys Mentorship programme in different communities and we are always in need of male volunteers to sign up as mentors. Men are welcome and encouraged to invest some time into mentoring a young boy in our communities today. We must build better relationship with our male children and youth to inspire the development of nurturing masculinity and to encourage, educate and empower them to grow into the stable confident leaders and caring providers that our society longs for and desires.

In closing, I must express thanks and encourage all of us to honour the leading men who already exist in our lives and society. As I mentioned, international men’s day is also just as much about recognizing the upstanding men in our communities who actively work to set a positive example for our children and families. In fact, as part of the department’s activities, throughout the month of November, men in St. Kitts and in Nevis have been recognized, celebrated and awarded for their work and leadership in various areas of community and social development. The annual International Men’s Day Awards would have awarded 8 men for their contributions as male role models and leaders on a national level. To our current and past awardees, congratulations and thank you for being a positive example in our communities! Also, recognizing that there are unsung male heroes among us, I want to encourage all of us to celebrate and honour the positive men we engage with every day. This is one of the ways we can continue to help men and boys in our efforts to achieve gender equity. The Department of Gender Affairs looks forward to creating opportunities to engage men in talks about solutions to gender-based violence, learning about male perspectives on gender equality, and understanding what healthy and nurturing masculinity means to them and the challenges they may face in our evolving and rapidly changing society.

Happy International Men’s Day and thank you for listening.

Males across St. Kitts and Nevis who are making a positive impact in society are being applauded for their contributions in shaping a stronger and more resilient twin-island Federation as the nation observes International Men’s Day on Saturday (November 19, 2022).

The global theme for the annual observance is Helping Men and Boys. However, officials at the Department of Gender Affairs have considered the local cultural context and coined the theme as Gender Equality: The Role of Our Men and Boys in Building and Maintaining Positive Relationships.

Junior Minister responsible for Gender Affairs, the Honourable Isalean Phillip, made a national address on Saturday to mark the observance. The Minister said that the local theme highlights the value of building positive relationships to deter violent realities that surround some domestic and gender relations. She added that achieving the outlined goals will require focusing on three core areas.

“Firstly, it encourages healthy and positive relationship building between men and their female counterparts in their homes, at work, at school, during social events, and in our communities. To cultivate healthy relations between men and women, we need men to value women equally, to approach each other with gentle kindness and respect and to be more collaborative in sharing the responsibilities in domestic and professional life,” Honourable Phillip stated.

The second core area encourages building relationships with fellow men who are friends, brethren, or brothers. Strong and healthy friendships with other positive-minded males result in a lower risk of depression, suicide, school dropout, teen pregnancy, substance abuse and gang involvement.

The third area highlighted was the relationship between men and their children as well as increasing mentor-mentee relationships.

“The type of relationship that fathers have with their children affects children’s cognitive and social development,” Minister Phillip expressed. “Where involved and active father figures are absent in a boy child’s life, mentors become even more necessary to support healthy development and growth. Mentorship is found to be impactful at influencing behaviour change and life choices among at-risk children and youth in particular.”

The Junior Minister encouraged interested males to sign up to become mentors in the department’s Boys Mentorship Programme. She added that the Department of Gender Affairs is exploring additional opportunities to further engage men in dialogue that explore solutions to gender-based violence

The Ministry of Small Business and Entrepreneurship as part of its Global Entrepreneurship week 2022 celebrations held a CannaBiz panel discussion on November 16, 2022. During the panel discussion, Attorney General the Hon. Garth Wilkins spoke to the existing laws that deal with the regulation of Cannabis and the Government’s plans for the industry moving forward.
 
“The Cannabis Act is a piece of legislation passed in 2020, and that Act provides for the establishment of a medical Cannabis authority to regulate, monitor and control the cultivation, supply, possession, production and use of medicinal Cannabis and for related matters. What that Act does is it sets up the Medical Cannabis Authority which is the body under which the rules that govern the medical Cannabis industry will be set.  It establishes the board of directors; talks about the administration and how it is being financed etc, and it goes on to discuss access to medicinal Cannabis, so that includes the prescription mechanism for doctors. It also speaks about the regulation of the use of Cannabis in places of worship. It talks about the issuance of identification cards, which means if doctors are to prescribe persons Cannabis for any of their health-related matters they are supposed to have a special ID card that the authority can keep track of, and other forms of regulating the industry including granting licenses to cultivators, granting license to retailers, granting license to pharmacy etc.,” said Attorney General Wilkin.
 
The Cannabis Authority created by the Cannabis Act has completed oversight in relation to the local medical medicinal Cannabis industry. Although the Act has been passed, the only aspect functioning is the Cannabis Authority. The Attorney General indicated that the Government intends to complete the full rollout of the Act.
 
“The plan is for this Government to bring the whole Act into force so that persons can begin to get licenses to start their cultivation and doctors can find out what the rules and regulations about granting prescriptions are and persons with illnesses who are prescribed by doctors able to utilize how they access the Cannabis for that use. And all of that will be done under the framework of the authority. And, I want people to know this is the start. I don’t know if people realize that in California it started as a medicinal industry…. Let us start in this way, get everything regulated, let the doctors control access and then we can go forward,” said Attorney General Wilkin.
 
Other panellists included Dr. Garfield Alexander, Mr. Stuart LaPlace, Mr. Everton Delaney, Ms. Lynvie Burnham and Ras Iya. The panel was moderated by Ms. Patrice Harris.

The Ministry of Small Business and Entrepreneurship is tasked with transforming the economic landscape of St. Kitts and Nevis by helping to create more businesses and offering support to business owners. During the Prime Minister’s Press Conference with the Cabinet at the St. Kitts Marriott Resort Ballroom on November 15, 2022, Minister of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship, the Hon. Samal Duggins expressed his vision for local producers.
 
“It is a future where all entrepreneurs have a space to thrive, where a small business of today becomes a big business of tomorrow. And not a society where small businesses stay small, because if we are truly talking about growth, then we must recognize that growth means getting bigger, getting better, and becoming more efficient. Expanding our wings just not in our jurisdiction is key to maximizing our potential. Why can’t we have a multi-national company that was started here in St. Kitts and Nevis and developed throughout the region and expanded across the world? What is stopping us from doing that? And in my vision, there is absolutely nothing but time. And I say that because the efforts we are putting in now should certainly yield such fruits,” said Minister Duggins.
 
Minister Duggins also indicated that the Government will focus on diversifying the local economy in an effort to boost local production by maximizing the potential of the local population. Transforming St. Kitts and Nevis into a sustainable island state will depend on the capacity of local producers to advance with modern technology in an effort to be more competitive in the international marketplace.
 
“We recognize the challenges and we are doing everything in our power to address those challenges and we are leaving no one behind. We are spreading out our wings to empower everyone and taking everyone forward on this transformational journey because my commitment here is that St. Kitts and Nevis will be the talk when it comes to entrepreneurship and business development as well as food security. There are some exciting plans for our food-based entrepreneurs; just know that we are committed to making the Federation the food Mecca of the Caribbean. I stand committed to that. Commitment made and commitment will be kept. We are leaving no one behind,” said Minister Duggins.
 
The Small Business Development Center (SBDC St. Kitts) will end Entrepreneurship Week 2022 with a Small Business Expo on November 18^th, 2022 in Independence Square where local entrepreneurs will be provided with the opportunity to showcase their products and services.

 Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education, the Honourable Dr. Geoffrey Hanley pledged to capitalize on every scholarship opportunity offered to the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis so that citizens and residents can benefit from higher education.

“This is something that we campaigned on, indicating that we are going to do all that we can to ensure that our people in the Federation get these opportunities,” said Minister Dr. Hanley during a special Prime Minister’s Press Conference on November 15 at the St. Kitts Marriott Resort Ballroom.

The Honourable Minister said that there are several scholarship opportunities that persons did not take advantage of. However, since assuming office work has begun to ensure that this practice does not continue.

“Since assuming the role of Minister of Education, we have put a scholarship desk within the Ministry so that every scholarship that comes through this country, whether through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the Human Resource Management Department, the Ministry of Education would have that,” he said. “We will also make sure that we get people to apply for these scholarships. We are going to make sure that wherever we get these scholarships we are going to identify persons to fit them because we need our own speech therapists to assist our children with autism…”

The Education Minister shared some exciting news with respect to new scholarship opportunities.

“Earlier today (November 14), while we had our Youth Forum with the ministers, the Prime Minister [the Honourable Dr. Terrance Drew] was able to announce to the young people here that Germany has answered our call for scholarships. So we now have Germany on our list,” said Dr. Hanley. “Our people must now get into that mindset that they must go out, study, come back and invest in our people.”

Dr. Hanley encouraged citizens and residents to take advantage of the opportunities to gain a higher education.

Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Hanley stated that the Government “has always been looking out for its people as he recalled that it was under the Labour Administration that the “scholarship gate opened up.”  He referenced Cuba for example, adding that the Honourable Marsha Henderson and Ambassador Kenney Douglas were able to capitalize on that opportunity.

The 2022-2023 cruise season will see thirteen ships making their maiden voyage to St. Kitts, a clear signal of recovery in the tourism sector and cruise officials’ growing confidence in the destination’s tourism product.

To date, four cruise vessels have made their inaugural calls. They are the Seabourn Venture on October 10, Carnival Spirit on November 09, Voyager of the Seas on November 12, and Ocean Explorer on November 15. A notable inaugural call this month takes place on November 24, when the world’s largest cruise ship, the Wonder of the Seas, is expected to call on St. Kitts.

“It shows that we are working,” Minister of Tourism, the Honourable Marsha Henderson, said at the Prime Minister’s Press Conference with Cabinet Ministers on Tuesday (November 15, 2022). “When we take our trips – we can’t sit here and expect business to come to us. It is absolutely necessary for us to go out there and find the business. We can’t sit in our small corner of this world and expect business to come to us.”

The Minister also revealed that St. Kitts received yet another accolade for its diversified tourism experience.

“We have been awarded The Best Hiking Destination by the Caribbean Journal’s Caribbean Travel Choice Award,” Honourable Henderson stated. “We are working. We are promoting the destination, and we continue at the ministry and, at the authority … to promote our destination so that we can get back to pre-pandemic figures.”

Tourism authorities are working to find innovative ways to enrich the authentic tourism experience in St. Kitts encouraging visitors to Venture Deeper.

Tuesday’s (November 15, 2022) Minister’s Youth Forum has received high praise from scores of young people in attendance who hailed the event as the most innovative and interactive session in years.

The event was held at the St. Kitts Marriott Resort Ballroom and was facilitated by the Honourable Isalean Phillip, Junior Minister responsible for Youth Empowerment. The Junior Minister guided the morning discussion engaging the participants in key areas such as what youth empowerment means. What are the characteristics of a citizen of St. Kitts and Nevis? And how has COVID-19 impacted their reality and prospects?

Patrice Matthew regularly attends the annual Minister’s Youth Forum including five in the last seven years.

“This year’s presentation was mostly different from the last ones I attended and it was more interactive and informative,” he said, noting that the opening inquiries by Junior Minister Phillip challenged the participants to think and engage with each other which set the tone for the rest of the forum.

The afternoon session featured presentations from Prime Minister the Honourable Dr. Terrance Drew, who announced that for the first time St. Kitts and Nevis citizens can now access scholarships from Germany. Deputy Prime Minister the Honourable Dr. Geoffrey Hanley answered questions related to the new Basseterre High School, while Minister of Entrepreneurship, Honourable Samal Duggins outlined ways the Government is supporting small business growth and development.

“What stood out to me was the vibrant energy from the ministers and the vision that they put forward,” Matthew continued, adding that the Prime Minister’s presentation and his participation were “very encouraging.”

D’Jaaden Dunrod of the Cayon High School applauded the candid style of the discussion noting that Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Hanley did not “cut any corners” and was” blunt” during the Q and A session. The style is particularly effective when engaging with young people he added.

Myrah Julius has volunteered with the Department of Youth Empowerment for the past 17 years. She commended the organizers of the event and said that the feedback from the youth at her table was very positive. Pursuing scholarships in the STEAM field that is Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics was received very well Ms. Julius stated.

The Minister’s Youth Forum was one activity celebrating November as Youth Month.

Effective from Tuesday, November 15, 2022, vehicular traffic exiting Port Zante from the Sands Complex end can now turn left into Basseterre, providing easier access to the city centre, especially for tour and taxi operators.  

This was according to the Honourable Marsha Henderson, Minister of Tourism, during a special Prime Minister’s Press Conference on November 15 at the St. Kitts Marriott Resort Ballroom, where she updated citizens and residents at home and abroad on achievements in the sector to date.

“One of the things we were able to do for the tour and taxi operators is get an assessment done on the traffic flowing into Basseterre out of Port Zante, that is, to turn left into town from Port Zante East,” said the Honourable Minister of Tourism, Marsha Henderson. “This, of course, results in our visitors being able to have the scenic view into Basseterre.”

Minister Henderson said that consultations were held with the relevant stakeholders as their input was significantly important.

“We have worked hard with our partners – the police and public works – and we are doing an assessment of the traffic for a trial period so that we can, at the end of the month, make an informed decision as to the flow of traffic,” said the Honourable Henderson. “We want to thank our partners for working with us in that initiative as well.”

According to Minister Henderson, although the traffic lights will not signal a left turn arrow, proper signage will be erected to show the change in the flow of traffic.

In September of this year, the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs, the Honourable Garth Wilkin met with the Commissioner of Police and Senior Police Officers within the Traffic Department to discuss the importance of road safety. Of note, is the implementation of proper road signage which he said will explain to all road users, especially the thousands of tourists/visitors expected during the peak season, the lawful way to utilize the traffic features to make road use safer.