From raising funds for the Trinidad and Tobago Cancer Society to donating wheelchairs from the proceeds of her annual Christmas bazaar, she is always giving of her time and resources to a worthy cause.

Her most recent venture is planning fundraisers to support an initiative of her brother’s, George Janoura, to provide avenues to educate illiterate boys in Trinidad and Tobago. “It’s a fact that the boys are not performing like the girls…and we recognise that there is a deficiency in the system of how to teach boys, whether it is academically or how they should be taught totally,” George tells Newsday.

Although the project is still in the developmental stages, he and his team have begun raising funds in order to put programmes in place. Hannah is spearheading the events which has so far included a Wine and Cheese fundraiser, which took place at the Movie Towne Conference Hall on last month.

Hannah said that her brother asked for her help in order to jump-start his project. “I took the opportunity to do it and it was a great success…everywhere I turn someone is talking about the event.” The event included performances by Wendy Sheppard, Raquel Winchester, Wendell Constantine, Marvin Smith, Rosezanna Winchester and Kelwyn Hutcheon, among others.

George says he also has plans to get corporate TT involved.

The team is targeting the low-ranking primary boys’ schools, in particular, schools in the hot spot areas along the East-West corridor. He says it is important to target these schools because “that is where it should start.” He spoke of plans with the Massy Group to merge the current project to the Boys to Men: Rites of Passage programme designed to help young men ages 14 to 21 learn certain leadership skills and other lessons that can positively affect their lives.

We need a cricket coach who is willing to spend the majority of his time working on the West Indian cricketers’ mental strength and getting the players to perform at a much higher level.

We need to hire a coach that has a proven track record of being able to turn losers into winners.

This is something that will be truly remarkable to witness.

This is what truly great leaders do. Like General Patton of World War II who transformed his army divisions into effective fighting forces.

Leaders who make remarkable things happen without the long list of excuses explaining why it could not be achieved.

We need a coach who we can trust with taking full control of the team, increasing the amount of time spent on the training field and who understands the importance of playing veterans over rookies.

Our next coach must be dedicated to the sport of cricket, hard work, and possess a clear vision of what he wants to achieve in a short space of time and is a mastermind at turning losers into winners.

Leaders who turn their teams into winners are not always popular.

They are changing the status quo and people like where they are even if they are not living up to their potential.

We are sick and tired of leaders who are more willing to go with the flow rather than make the necessary changes for the better.

Cricket West Indies must give our next coach plenty of authority to make the necessary changes to make us into a force to be reckoned with. People like the coach we need are special leaders.

They have a very dedicated and loyal staff that enables their leader’s strengths beyond what could normally be done. That same staff helps improve any leadership weaknesses.

An experienced, tough, no-nonsense coach is key to the West Indies team’s success, much like Patton’s chief of staff who drove them to meet Patton’s tough will.

We need an innovator of cricket tactics and a motivator of cricket players. Like the conquering generals of ancient history, we need someone who is best at winning with mediocre teams and limited resources.

SIMON WRIGHT Chaguanas

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.”

The toddler, who is on life-support at the Intensive Care Unit of the Eric Williams Medical Science Centre in Mt Hope, has a slim chance of survival doctors say.

She continues to shift in and out of consciousness and her parents have been told they should prepare for the worst.

A woman reportedly punched the child in her stomach and back several times on August 12 when she was left in her care by the child’s 42-year-old father.

It is alleged the assault was witnessed by the suspect’s teenaged daughter who has already been interviewed by the police.

When the child complained of feeling unwell, her father took her to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex on Sunday where an examination revealed the child’s colon had been ruptured as a result of blunt force trauma.

Emergency surgery was carried out but the injuries were so extensive, the child’s condition was deemed critical and a decision is yet to be made on whether to take her off the life support machine.

Yesterday her parents remained at the ICU praying non-stop for her recovery, but at the same time demanding swift justice.

Police told Newsday yesterday after yesterday’s interview with the main suspect, they will approach the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for directions in the matter. The suspect has vehemently denied that she assaulted the child and claimed the child fell and was constipated.

Social media have become a primary pathway to vicious attacks on people. But bullying takes many forms. The virtual takes bullying to a new dimension and has led to its increase.

Maybe this is a reflection of our global politics where leaders like US President Donald Trump bully others into submission or find ways to blame “both sides,” even when there is evidence of racial terrorism.

The scenario, there are two sides to every story, holds little truth when there is a bully involved.

Bullies operate through processes of intimation that may be overt, in terms of the fear of physical harm, but are, more often than not, subtle and effective.

We all have our weak spots.

The bully knows how to activate them. He also exists within a sphere that gives permission to his abuse.

According to the Web, and quite surprisingly, bullying often exists within the safe haven of families, where members gang up on one individual and that person becomes a victim of family bullying. He or she is often stigmatised, stereotyped or ostracised.

Some suggest that this might have to do with the natural herd instinct, which causes members of a group to bond by providing a scapegoat for the entire group.

After all, Christianity needed Christ as a scapegoat and scapegoats exist in every culture.

However, it also speaks of the lack of tolerance of difference.

The poet Yeats once said, “tie a string to the leg of an eagle, and the others will pick it to death.” Communities apparently require sameness in order to cohere. Excluding the one who is different provides the cement for those who make up the majority.

Bullying is based on a need for dominance.

The nursery rhyme, The Farmer in the Dell, speaks specifically to this according to Maria, who works with vulnerable people: first the farmer takes a wife, then the wife takes the child, the child takes a nurse, the nurse takes a cow, the cow takes a dog, the dog takes a cat, the cat takes a rat and the rat takes the cheese.

Then the cheese stands alone.

Each one has someone beneath them that they can dominate or possess, until at the end the cheese has no one, and is alone and isolated.

What starts off as a story of love, turns to one of dominance and possession.

And, unfortunately, there are simply too many relationships like this in our world.

The need to have power over others leads to emotional and psychological bullying that destroys self-worth.

This abuse may take very innocuous forms, such as constant criticism or gentle reminders that one person is extravagant or, as has so often been noted in male-female relationships, that the woman is “too emotional.” Of course, we no longer see the word emotional as evil. We even talk of “emotional intelligence,” but the idea that an emotional woman is irrational and therefore irresponsible lingers.

Many individuals assume a mantle of protection that serves to dehumanise or minimise the worth of the other. One person becomes hopelessly disempowered and lacking in self-confidence.

This may also be accompanied by constant criticism.

There are other forms of bullying, such as being cursed or screamed at or having accusations levelled against one. Cyberbullying is a form of this kind of bullying, where compromising photos might go viral or intimidating messages sent on social media.

It is pointless to say that people should stand up for themselves; the truth is bullies wear down their victims. As a psychologist once pointed out, there is no fun in wearing out a weak p e r s o n , but think of the pleasure a bully gets from b r e a k – ing down someone who is strong.

On August 15, Trade and Industry Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon and members of the ministry’s technical staff met with director of the Trinidad and Tobago Fine Cocoa Company Ashley Parasram and representatives of the British High Commission to discuss opportunities for collaboration.

This was the latest in a series of meetings held by the ministry to examine new and innovative opportunities to boost exports and increase access to markets in agro processing.

The ministry said during the meeting, Parasram “shared an overview of the company’s operations and opportunities for partnership.

“Lauding the company’s innovative and enabling strategies in the area of agro processing for export,” Gopee-Scoon reiterated Government’s inclination to support business ventures into high end lucrative markets.

Gopee-Scoon emphasised these initiatives “not only strengthen our economy but also solidify Trinidad and Tobago’s brand internationally.” The minister commended the company for its “significant accomplishments” over its two years of operations and assured Parasram of the ministry’s commitment to product quality improvement efforts.

The company operates a facility at the La Reunion Estate, Centeno.

It carries out breeding programmes, conservation, agronomy and processing trials, provides farmers with planting material and technical advice, training and infrastructure.

La Reunion produces the highest quality of Trinitario beans, which have achieved global recognition by consistently winning awards at the Salon du Chocolat in Paris every year.

In a statement on Friday, Charles said the draft bill was presented to the Cabinet last November.

“This bill came after many months of consultations, where Tobagonians made it very clear that they are ready to play a more decisive role in determining how the island and its resources are managed,” he said. “This draft bill is currently before Cabinet for consideration, and is expected to be taken to Parliament in the near future for debate.” Charles said the bill must be passed by a special majority to become law. “Until then the THA continues to be constitutionally limited in its ability to govern the island.” The THA Chief Secretary said the issue of autonomy will continue to be of paramount importance to his administration “as we seek to maximise the development potential of Tobago.” Charles gave an update on the status of the draft bill as he responded to statements made by president of the Downtown and Owners Merchants Association Gregory Aboud, in a recent CNC 3 news report, which he felt cast the island’s administration in a disparaging light He said Aboud’s comments could be deemed as careless and divisive. “I am of the opinion that Mr. Aboud’s views are obviously ill-informed since the powers of the Assembly are limited in the current governance structure,” Charles said.

“However, despite this limitation we have always sought to take a collaborative approach to the administration of the island for the good of the people of Tobago.” He added that the THA has sought to forge partnerships that will facilitate the island’s development goals, which includes supporting entrepreneurs in an effort to boost export income and seeking public-private partnership opportunities to advance Tobago’s development agenda. Charles said the sea bridge provided a very necessary service, not only for the regular citizenry of Trinidad and Tobago but for the business community of Tobago,.

He said the island’s businessmen relied on the service to satisfy the many needs of Tobagonians which, in turn, contributed to the buoyancy and profitability of many Trinidad businesses. “We must be cognisant of the fact that as a twin island state, we are currently operating under a constitution that governs the relationship between Trinidad and Tobago, which at this time, allows for certain services and amenities to be provided by the central government, inclusive of the inter- island transportation services,” Charles said. “However, I must note that statements such as Mr. Aboud’s seem to reflect a disharmonious approach, especially as he referred to Tobago as a country, as if we were two separate nations.” Charles said the justification for seeking greater autonomy is to allow Tobago to have greater decision- making authority over the island’s development, inclusive of the ability to borrow funds for the island’s developmental needs.

“I encourage and caution all to operate with the required level of sensitivity and respect for one-another, even during these challenging economic times,” he said.

“Our first response to challenges and issues must always be one that puts country above self and especially so, as we get ready to celebrate 55 years of independence. I remain optimistic that we can go forward in mutual respect of our diversity and uniqueness.”

The question of the audit into Pan Trinbago in particular, came after there was much upheaval within the movement when panmen marched to its head office for non payment of money owed to them from the 2016 Carnival season.

The association eventually handed out $1,000 cheques but those bounced at the banks leaving panmen furious with the body and its president Keith Diaz.

Panmen also wanted answers concerning alleged questionable financial transactions by Pan Trinbago heads.

Under pressure, the National Carnival Commission (NCC) stepped in and stated it will take control of income from the gates of all national 2017 Carnival shows, but the groups will be allowed to manage their shows. However that was met with disdain by the groups.

TUCO president Lutalo Masimba said his organisation was not happy with the NCC’s approach while Pan Trinbago labeled the move as a hostile takeover. However Gadsby-Dolly denied the accusation back then.

Pan Trinbago in turn demanded a NCC probe and even threatened to take NCC to court. But in recent developments, the Pan Trinbago president has claimed NCC hasn’t given his organisation any money from gate receipts from the 2017 panorama competitions and thus couldn’t pay staff, nor has the players’ remittances been paid for 2017. But via a subsequent newspaper advertisement earlier this month, the NCC stated: “Although the full 2016 Government allocation of monies for pan was paid to Pan Trinbago, which included the players’ stipend for 2016, Pan Trinbago failed to pay the stipend to the steelband players.

Pan Trinbago subsequently informed NCC that it had no funds from which to settle the stipends.

Notwithstanding, in order to ensure that steelband players received their monies, the NCC agreed to advance $3.9 million to Pan Trinbago, on condition that these monies would be deducted from the revenue from 2017 ticket sales and their 2017 Government allocation.” The NCC also agreed to and has advanced money to Pan Trinbago to make its necessary payments but on the condition that the money would be deducted from the 2017 revenue. And regarding the players’ stipends for 2017, that money will be disbursed at the end of August.

The chosen samples originated from the San Juan Estate, Gran Couva and the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries’ Rio Claro Demonstration Station.

In a release, the ministry quoted county officer Florencia Beckles who heads a 15-person team at the station which includes station manager Sashtri Doon and quality officer Roger Polia. She said it was an experimental six-week project to teach farmers how to do drying.

“About 75 per cent of the estates in the county are abandoned. We wanted to show the farmers that given the microclimate of this area the quality of the beans was excellent. We wanted to give them a reason to get back into production, show them they could produce quality dried beans themselves and get a good price on the market,” she said.

Agriculture Minister Clarence Rambharat said this country’s cocoa is not generic.

“It’s plant, soil, and geography-specific.

Farm practices create the bean. It is not accidental at all. Rio Claro is such a small team; I think that is what makes this a remarkable accomplishment,” he said.

The ministry said with almost 30 acres in Ecclesville under cocoa cultivation, the Rio Claro project team harvested pods that were predictably sweet and consistent in quality with other varieties of “trinitario” beans native to Trinidad and Tobago.

The ministry noted that just this week, Tobago Cocoa Estate’s ‘Laura’ milk bar, also made from the finest trinitario beans, won gold in the semifinal round of another competition, the International Chocolate Awards.

The Salon du Chocolat is a celebration of the excellence of quality and diversity among cocoa producers worldwide.

Held in Paris from October 28 to November 1, the Salon du Chocolat will host 500 participants from more than 60 countries including 200 world-renowned chefs and pastry chefs.

To qualify for the finals of the International Cocoa Awards, one of the Salon du Chocolat’s marquee events, the top 50 bean samples will be processed into chocolate following which they will undergo sensory evaluation through September by a panel of 40 experts.

It was a virtual final with City Hall in second spot on 14 points and needing a victory against league leaders Transport and Cleansing on 16 points. Anthony Husbands was the hero, scoring a brace to lead City Hall to the narrow victory. N’kosi Raphael also got on the score sheet for City Hall, while Nicholas Solomon and Andy Charles scored for Transport and Cleansing.

St James Division leapfrogged Transport and Cleansing into second spot with a 6-0 victory over Public Health. The knockout competition will start today at Nelson Mandela Park.

SCORES: Round Seven (Final) Round – St James Medical 2 (Stephan Gunn, Tevin Figaro) vs Western Division 1 (Akinola Paul); Central/Eastern 10 (Tikeste Jules 3, Akeem Young 2, Jabari Bruce, Dillon Murrel, Yevan Rajpaul, Ysama Young, Kibwe Petterson) vs Central Market 0; City Hall 3 (Anthony Husbands 2, N’Kosi Raphael) vs Transport and Cleansing 2 (Nicholas Solomon, Andy Charles); St James Division 6 (Marvin Harper, Mi chael Harris, Kalim Young, Keston Williams, Sekou Long-Kujufi, Aton Thomas) vs Public Health 0.

Round Six: Western Division 3 (Devon Jack 2, Asim Faltine) vs Central Market 1 (Arnold Sherry); City Hall 2 (N’Kosi Raphael, Nkosi Telemaque) vs St James Division 2 (Kevon Frederick); Transport and Cleansing vs St James Medical – Transport and Cleansing won by default; Central/ Eastern 1 (Akeem Young) vs Public Health 0.

KNOCKOUT FIXTURES: City Hall vs Central Market, Today, 5 pm St James Division vs Western Division, Tuesday, 5 pm Transport and Cleansing vs Public Health, Wednesday, 5 pm Central/Eastern vs St James Medical, Thursday, 5 pm.