Sixty Muslim pilgrims left yesterday afternoon on a Caribbean Airlines flight to Toronto where they would have spent a night before departing on a 13-hour flight to Saudi Arabia. Before leaving, their family members hugged and cried with them while some prayed for their safe return.

Caribbean Hajj Limited’s group leader Samir Hosein said a total of 300 pilgrims were expected to make the journey. He said the only challenge he had this year was that members of his group did not get their Canadian visas, so an alternate route was planned for them.

He said in his group there were many first timers and every year he tries his best to ensure everyone is comfortable.

“Because they are in a foreign land, we have to try and make it as homely as possible for them,” he said.

Hosein said this trip was a very important one as it was one of the five pillars of Islam.

“They are, believing there is no God but Allah and Muhammed is his messenger; giving zakat, praying, fasting in the month of Ramadan and making the Hajj – once you have good health, strength and the wealth,” he said.

The trip, Hosein said, is over three weeks and they will return on September 12 at about 4.40 am. Newsday spoke to a few people who were making the trip for the first time. They expressed that they were going through a range of emotions.

Sherida Mohammed of Warrenville fought back tears as she said she was leaving her three children, ages 25, 22 and nine.

“I’m a bit worried to leave them but they will be with my mom and dad. On the other hand I’m happy because I would be fulfilling all the wishes of my religion so it’s an experience of a lifetime.

I am looking forward to it,” she said. Annie Khan said she was excited but at the same time was sad because she was leaving her family.

“It’s a mix of emotions. I’m excited because I’m following one of the pillars of Islam and you’re also going with expectations that your Hajj will be an accepted Hajj and just being the closest you are to Allah. At the same time, it’s sad because with Hajj you never know if Allah will send you back…it’s a happy/sad moment,” she said.

She said making this trip was very important.

“Once you have completed the Hajj you have done your best towards Allah in fulfilling that pillar of Islam. You put everything that you have learnt and practice from the time you are born until this time in your life, it all comes together now,” she said.

Processing fees for all applications submitted to the Visa Section and the Visa Application Centre can only be paid online now.

Effective immediately, payments at Scotiabank are discontinued but Scotiabank receipts or bank drafts will be accepted until September 29.

J a c i n t h e Roberge-Binovec, immigration programme manager said, “The change is as a result of the modernisation strategy of the Government of Canada.”

We are often told of the great benefits of regular exercise on physical health and as part of a weight loss plan, and according to the National Health Service (NHS) it’s medically proven that people who do regular physical activity have:
• up to a 35 per cent lower risk of coronary heart disease and stroke
• up to a 50 per cent lower risk of type 2 diabetes
• up to a 50 per cent lower risk of colon cancer
• up to a 20 per cent lower risk of breast cancer
• a 30 per cent lower risk of early death
• up to an 83 per cent lower risk of osteoarthritis
• up to a 68 per cent lower risk of hip fracture
• a 30 per cent lower risk of falls (among older adults)
• up to a 30 per cent lower risk of depression
• up to a 30 per cent lower risk of dementia
But not enough is said about its mental health benefits. We are increasingly having to cope with stressful situations and circumstances that affect social and psychological wellness such as exams, work place dynamics, relationship breakdowns, unrealistic targets and deadlines, financial worries, and the list goes on and on. So, given the amount of stressors in life, it is well worth reiterating that physical activities can positively impact on emotional and mental health and should therefore be embraced as part of overall health and wellbeing plan.

There is an abundance of research on physical activities and its impact on mental health, and many show that exercise as a behavioural intervention can be as effective as other forms of treatment in addressing the symptoms of depression.

Those who live with depression know that it can cause general malaise and a sense of despondency, low mood and isolation, which makes it even more difficult to motivate oneself to do any physical activity.

Also a concerned parent, the retired teacher who maintains very close links with former colleagues, told Newsday of changes made last year by the CXC which could undermine pupil queries. She said unlike in past years when a query would be handled by the CXC completely re-marking the pupil’s exam scripts, as of last year and continuing this year the CXC no longer performs a full and fresh evaluation but rather merely does a tally of marks awarded for the different sections to ensure the numbers were correctly added.

In past years, if a review found errors in the original tallying of marks, this would lead to an automatic full re-evaluation of the exam script, she said. She said this change was the subject of a circular sent from the CXC to the Ministry of Education and then to school principals in April 2016.

“The query process is now that they just add up your marks. You still pay your 30 Barbados dollars, but just for a tally.” She said she’s not sure many parents know of these changes, but there is a lot of concern among teachers.

The parent said in the past, the CXC had found when requests for a re-marking were made by pupils, only 15 per cent of re-evaluations ever resulted in a fresh mark being awarded.

“Maybe they felt it was a waste of time,” she said. “And maybe the change is part of their cost-cutting measures.” She said she was unsure if CXC now has an option for a pupil to pay a bit more to get a full evaluation done on their script.

The parent also expressed concern that pupils may be further disadvantaged by the CXC’s new e-marking of exam scripts. She said, previously teachers would go to marking centres such as in Barbados where they would cluster around tables and mark papers according to a supplied rubric or model answers, but in a spirit of interaction and collaboration that benefitted pupils. “If the markers found a trend that pupils were all interpreting a question in a particular way (different to the model answer), they would discuss it and perhaps say, ‘let’s give a mark for this’. This would lead to consistency.

“However now it is all digitally marked by each marker at home with the rubric but without much collaboration.” Education Minister Anthony Garcia told Newdsay he had heard of these concerns and will discuss all such matters when he meets schools principals this week. “If there is any validy, we’ll decide what to do,” he said. Garcia said the CXC is a prominent regional body whose integrity must be maintained, even if challenges must be overcome. Newsday could not reach CXC assistant registrar – public information and customer services Cleveland Sam for a response to these concerns.

Gopeesingh contrasted this state of affairs with the ministry under his tenure when the staffing of the Student Support Services Division was increased from 250 to 700 employees.

Education Minister Anthony Garcia told Newsday most such contracts had ended and some staff will be re-hired.

“We are in the process to renew the contracts of those whose performance has been satisfactory,” Garcia said.

“We took the note to Cabinet which approved it.” He could not say how many staff will be rehired and how many let go, but said this is a function of the ministry’s human resource department and will depend on employees’ individual performance appraisals.

Gopeesingh also queried recent statements by Garcia that all schools will be re-opened on time for the new school year. He alleged Garcia said the same thing last year but that shortly after schools had re-opened many were immediately shut again for repairs.

“More than 25 schools then remained closed for a significant time, some exceeding one term.

So Minister Garcia’s statement must be taken with a pinch of salt.” Querying whether repairs are underway, Gopeesingh added, “Given the amount of contractors who remain unpaid, it will be interesting to see who they get to do the work.” He said $1.2 billion is still owed. He lamented that out of the school construction begun under his tenure, the Government had left 78 schools unfinished, many now in decay and ruins.

Garcia in reply told Newsday that he was standing by remarks made last Friday. “The EFCL’s (Educational Facilities Company Limited’s) Ricardo Valdez’s view was that all is on stream for all schools to be re-open on time.”

Addressing a news conference at his party’s San Fernando headquarters yesterday, Abdulah took issue with the appointment of businessman Christian Mouttet by the prime minister to investigate the ferry fiasco.

He described the appointment as “spectacular failure.” “He (Mouttet) has absolutely no power to investigate anything,” Abdulah said. “He has no legal authority to summon anybody as a witness, to get any documents, to go into any office and take away computers, to access email information.” He told reporters commissions of inquiry over the years have failed to bring perpetrators to justice.

“So that it is clear to see nobody does the time in Trinidad and Tobago,” Abdullah said, adding that when a commission of inquiry is appointed it takes weeks and months to be completed in addition to the enormous costs to the taxpayers.

He said the only people who benefit from this are the lawyers who are hired to investigate these matters.

Abdulah said it makes no sense reporting matters to the police since they have a track record of zero per cent of success with respect to investigating white collar crime.

He cited the 2015 matter in which former attorney general Anand Ramlogan is being investigated for witness tampering with regard to Police Complaints Authority director David West and, two years later, the police were only now seeking to question Ramlogan.

He listed “prisongate” and “emailgate” as issues which had been dragging on in the public domain with no end in sight.

Abdulah also cited the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) which makes reports of suspicious transactions amounting to billions of dollars in corruption and money laundering and so on.

“Not a single person has been reported as a result of the FIU reports,” he said, adding that this unit provided information to the police service and they had not been able to bring prosecution or closure to any of these matters.

In light of the failure of these institutions, Abdulah is proposing that Government establish special prosecutors who would have sole responsibility for managing the gathering of evidence with respect to white-collar crime and corruption.

A special prosecutors office, according to Abdulah, should be equipped with well-trained police officers and be given a budget to hire international forensic investigators or auditors who knew how to “follow the money” across Trinidad and Tobago or wherever the money might end up.

He recalled that this method was not new to this country saying the late Desmond Allum was appointed as a special prosecutor and he had made headway with regard to the Scott drug inquiry where charges were brought against former commissioner of police Randolph Boroughs.

He also said that another special prosecutor was Karl Hudson Phillips who dealt with the Piarco Airport project and this led to people in the US being arrested and made to serve time. In this case, money was recovered and returned to T&T because of this special prosecutor.

Over 6500 swimmers aged 25 and over including former Olympians and world record holders, converged on the Duna Arena for seven days of swimming.

Swimmers from every continent participated including Hungarian Bela Banki Horvath who was the oldest swimmer at 96 years old.

Cozier competed in the 50m backstroke for age 50 -54 females yesterday and placed 8th in a time of 35.91 seconds.

She also placed 15th in the 50 free (30.83) and 50 fly (33.15). Among the other TTO entrants were 1984 Olympian and Head Swim Coach at UTT Paul Newallo; Head Swim Coach of YMCA Swim Club and 2010 CISC bronze medallist Mosi Denoon; and former national record holder in the 9-10 female 50 and 100 fly Ava Badal, now Ava Badal Henry-Chow.

TT Women’s Results: 25-29 Megan Charles- 50 free 39th 29.92; 100 free 33rd 1:05.48; 200 free 37th 2:28.46 Rochelle Pierre- 50 free 42nd 30.36; 50 fly 56th 33.12; 50 breast 34th 40.51 35-39 Ava Badal Henry-Chow- 50 free 41st 31.67; 50 fly 33rd 34.61

40-44 Shinelle Padmore- 73rd 50 free 34.02

50-54 Danielle Cozier- -8th 50m back 35.91; 15th 50 free 30.83; 15th 50 fly 33.15

TT Men’s Results: 25-29 Mosi Denoon- 35th 100 breast 1:13.21; 21st 200 breast 2:42.43; 41st 50 breast 32.90

30-34 Daniel Newallo- 93rd 50 free 27.45; 62nd 100 breast 1:20.20; 69th 50 breast 35.20

40-44 Anton Gopaulsingh- 26th 50 free 26.09; 46th 50 fly 28.92; 17th 50 back 31.40 Curtis Harper- 67th 27.48 50 free; 100 free 71st 1:02.95 Adrian Murphy- 150th 50 free 30.38

50-54 Paul Newallo- 27th 100 breast 1:19.45; 50 breast 34.50 26th

60-64 Richard Knaggs- 32nd 50 free 29.76; 27th 100 free 1:08.69; 21st 50 fly 32.65

RELAYS: Age 200-239 male team: Gopaulsingh Knaggs, Newallo (P), Harper 4×50 medley relay 15th

2:06.03 4×50 free relay 11th 1:49.09

Age 120-159 female team: Pierre, Cozier, Charles, Henry- Chow 4×50 medley relay 11th

2:19.59 4×50 free relay 9th 2:00.69

Age 200-239 mixed team: Murphy, Padmore, Cozier, Knaggs

4×50 free relay 29th 2:04.49

Age 200-239 mixed team: Cozier, Newallo (P), Henry- Chow, Knaggs

4×50 medley relay 16th 2:13.12

Pierre’s gown, titled Enigma, was a tribute to the wire and steel benders in Laventille and was created by Kareem Henry and Sharon Phillips. The beautiful gown was reminiscent of the blossoming youths of Laventille as she moved gracefully across the stage.

On Saturday, the National Academy for the Performing Arts in Port of Spain was filled to capacity as patrons were eager to see which of the 16 queens would walk away with the title at the Prime Minister’s Best Village Trophy Competition Finals hosted by the Ministry of Community Development, Culture and the Arts. Competitors donned spectacular gowns created by some of the best local designers.

Using materials such as black eyes peas and dhal to represent racial integration, to gowns that glowed in the dark with shells, sand, seaweed and embellished mesh, the queens spared nothing in their attempt to wow the judges..

Minister of Community Development, Culture and the Arts Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly said, “The spirit of community arts is alive and well. Through the years this competition has seen the passion and unwavering commitment of communities throughout Trinidad and Tobago and I say thank you for your dedication, passion and diligence.” In an interview with Newsday on her victory, Pierre said, “In the moment I was overwhelmed because a lot of work and planning went into this, but at the same time I was filled with gratitude.” Pierre is a full-time student pursuing a degree in Theatre Arts and Carnival Studies at the University of the West Indies, St Augustine.

“Although I live in El Dorado, I do a lot of work with the North West Laventille Cultural Movement.

As Miss La Reine Rive 2017, I hope the Ministry uses me to inspire young people in any way possible.” In second place was Cavel Gordon from Tobago who took first place in the categories of Best Talent and Self-Expression.

Rhesa Chan from Victoria West came in third with Cherisse Ealie of St George West in fourth place. Ealie was also the winner of the Best Evening Gown prize.

Fifth and sixth place respectively went to Nadiola Shadia Brasnell of Tobago and Kadine Edwards of St George East.

For over 30 years, Sarjeant- Gonzales has been a textile designer but only started her own clothing line, Lisa Faye, four years ago. She specialises in hand painting silk to make scarves, dresses, beach cover-ups and other pieces, which she believes has the ability to soothe and heal.

She recalls when a panicked mother entered her store asking for two silk scarves and that when she handed her fussing children the scarves, the fabric soothed them immediately.

She also says she has a lot of customers who were undergoing chemotherapy and with their entire bodies hurting them, they look to her silk pieces as a way of feeling comfortable and beautiful.

“It’s a lot more than just having a business, it’s about adding to other people’s lives in a positive way. So that is why I say this is where it’s at.

It’s a nice place, people are happy and I am happy. I don’t need to have a hundred thousand customers to say what I do is correct.” Using dye to paint designs onto the silk, Sarjeant-Gonzales adds embroidery to some pieces, which she imports from India, to embellish her work. She said each piece takes a week to complete.

She also sells a lot of imported jewellery and shoes that she believes will compliment her designs Prior to starting her own line and opening her store, Sarjeant-Gonzales designed fabrics for other designers and anyone who wanted to buy her fabric.

And as if that was not enough, she also had to balance her work and her family while being a radio talk show host.

After more than 25 years in the media, Sarjeant-Gonzales recently decided to devote her life to her true passion and her “first love,” designing.

She said a lot of her creativity came from her family, with her father being an artist and an architect, and her parents encouraging her: “Be who you need to be, you don’t have to go to the typical… be happy and do whatever you do.” Sarjeant-Gonzales thinks that is how passion grows and “that’s where the success is, once you do what you love.” She also had her husband’s push, telling her it was time to branch off and do her own thing, while her daughter Amaya Alleyne was a great inspiration to her work.

Sarjeant-Gonzales said: “You see creativity a lot more through children because they don’t see the world in the corrupt eyes that they’re in.” She said that as her daughter was growing up, it was a lovely way of spending creative time with her. Her daughter models her mother’s designs, pictures of which can be seen on Lisa Faye’s Facebook posts as well as on the walls of the store.

Sarjeant-Gonzales said when her daughter began modelling and she saw what it did for her daughter’s self esteem she got two of her friends to model also.

“One of them was looking at the pictures afterwards and said ‘Aunty I didn’t realise I was so pretty,’ and she’s gorgeous and I wish I could do that all the time.”

Students were expected to access their results from the Caribbean and Examination Council (CXC) website on Friday at 10 pm, however, the site crashed which left many frustrated.

Several students did not access their results until Saturday afternoon.

In a release issued yesterday, the Ministry of Education said it was aware of the challenges experienced by students and was working diligently with CXC in Barbados to rectify the situation.

The ministry said Garcia acknowledged an understanding of the importance of these results for students to continue on their academic journey, either to sixth form or tertiary education.

The ministry said candidates who wrote CAPE were able to access their results on Friday while most CSE C candidates were able to access their results on Saturday.

The ministry also sought to clarify that it does not manage the websites for release of CXC results as those portals were managed by CXC, and any challenges that nationals faced in accessing their results are communicated to the council by the ministry