Ignorance of your history is catastrophic.

Raymond Ramchartitar via email

The Anglican Church, with its British roots, has had a centuries-long presence in TT and its adherents have been some of our most influential sons and daughters of the soil. Among them are Audrey Jeffers, who established the Coterie of Social Workers and the late former prime minister Patrick Manning.

The residence of the Anglican Bishop at Hayes Court remains one of the illustrious members of the Magnificent Seven, while the Bishop Anstey Association Schools, among them, Bishop Anstey High School, St Stephen’s and Bishops High School in Scarborough remain some of the country’s most respected educational institutions.

“Planted for the spiritual development and nurturing of the nation,” says Reverend Marsha Joseph, Rector of the parish for the past four years. She says the church, as a force of good, “not only in prayers but in works and deeds,” promotes the “social aspect of looking after the people (which) comes with the Christian faith.” St Mary’s Children’s Home in Tacarigua, initially founded to care for the orphaned children of indentured labourers, as well as St Michael’s Home for Boys in Diego Martin also began as initiatives of the Anglican Church in Trinidad and Tobago.

But for all their good efforts, many of these churches, whose followers remain faithful, have fallen prey to the passage of time, with a number of their structures falling into disrepair, or their treasuries finding themselves insufficient to fulfil the needs of the church and of the communities that they serve. The Parish of St Agnes in St James is one such church.

Having occupied its current spot on Clarence Street since 1929, with a previous location higher up along the Western Main Road only a few years prior, the parish is extremely well-known, and has become a monument of sorts in the ever- bustling St James. And as society changes, the church, even with all its required constancy, must continue to strive in its never-ending efforts to adapt to the needs of a changing people.

Over the next few years, the parish aims to construct a multi-purpose centre to replace the current rectory and parish office on its relatively small compound. As one of its fundraising initiatives the church will host Ah St James Ting, a cultural celebration of the lively district’s food, music and history, on August 12 at the church’s compound, 20 Clarence Street, St James. Newsday spoke with the Reverand Joseph on the developing venture.

These days, many of the older churches receive little to no assistance from larger entities and thus, are charged with the responsibility of raising their own funds to be able to maintain their domestic and community efforts. Joseph speaks of this self-sufficiency to the end of “not only maintaining our plant, but to continue the work of evangelism and outreach, the organisation of seminars and programmes for the parents of the school.” St Agnes Anglican Primary School has educated some of the country’s cultural icons, among them, Pelham Goddard and Len “Boogsie” Sharpe.

In the spirit of St James as the “city that never sleeps”, Ah St James Ting will include an open air concert and walk-in museum, showcasing the history of St James from the 1950s through to the 1970s.

Soulful crooner, Jason “Fridge” Seecharan; soca parang queen, Marcia Miranda; 2016 Calypso Monarch, Devon Seales; Lydians soloist, tenor Kory Mendez, accompanied by composer and pianist, Astra Noel; and Scrunters Pan Groove are among the diverse lineup of acts, which will include music representing all facets of St James’ eclectic culture and then some.

The walk-in museum will feature displays that include artifacts from the period – utensils, furniture, etc. An hourlong documentary featuring first-hand accounts of some of St James’ longest residents, filmed especially for the event, will also be screened. Local delicacies will also be on sale.

For more information, contact 628-2885, 716-0839 or 779-0089.

He said the GATE forum yesterday gave less answers than expected and raised more questions.

“Where means testing is concerned, it seems like the ministry themselves do not know the answers to simple questions we have been asking since its announcement,” he added. He said the procedure seemed rushed and not properly planned.

Edwards posted on his Facebook account seven points which, he said, applicants still needed clarity on. These points included the issues of extended family, proper documentation and other areas which could cause the means-testing procedure to be prolonged due to “inaccurate and inadequate information.” In response to the minister’s call for applicants to be truthful, Edwards said, “Some students live with family members who will not be directly responsible for the paying of their fees. These relatives may see it as unnecessary to comply with the request for their personal information.” He added that students might not include that information and could be penalised for doing so.

He further explained that others may feel rushed to get copies of documents while others are concerned about the rate of response from GATE officials.

“Many want to know how long it is now going to take to get approval since more checks have to be done by officials and the offices were already inefficient.” He further stated that the GATE programme was first started to provide an equal opportunity for persons who wanted to access tertiary education and these recent measures appear to be reversing that initiative.

“Even if the household exceeds $30,000, how can one breadwinner be expected to pay tuition in whatever percentage, especially in cases where there are multiple children pursing tertiary education.” Edwards said.

He believes that the government is taking too strong of a stance on this matter especially when the procedure seems to be not properly planned

Dan declined to state the cost of the procedure. While such surgery is usually done for weight-loss, he said stomach-reduction surgery may offer the benefit of curbing diabetes in patients, and is thus recommended by many diabetes associations worldwide. However, he also said this surgery also can cause a lot of sudden metabolic changes to the body.

For example, the surgery increases the sensitivity of the pancreas, whereby a person can be exposed to a precipitous drop in their blood sugar level.

Dan said TT has the most deaths from non communicable diseases in the Caribbean. Further, TT’s rising tide of obesity makes it the world’s third most obese nation, with a quarter of deaths due to heart disease.

Earlier Dan spoke of robotic surgery, which he said can be carried out over the internet by a surgeon who is separated by miles from the surgical blade, each even possibly being separated by the Atlantic Ocean. He listed the advantages of robotic surgery as being the greater precision and great flexibility of the wrist motions, plus the 3-d, high definition images. “It can work in really difficult spaces,” he said.

However Gill said the disadvantages were the equipment’s initial high cost of $1 million, and the $1 million annual cost of maintenance.

He traced how surgery had evolved over years from procedures that left large scars, to those using multiple small points of entry called ports), to single port surgery, to natural orifice surgery (using mouth, anus, vagina or stomach), and to robotic surgery.

We have already seen, at the State level, budgetary cutbacks and the discontinuation of some subsidies. At the business level, it has, in some cases, led to tough decisions to ensure survival of the operation.

In the 1980s, the country also faced a period of adjustment; one that many believe almost brought the country to its knees. Coming out of a time of high oil prices and a period of new affluence for the country, Trinidadians and Tobagonians were largely unprepared for a downturn.

Despite the warning signs, there was strong resistance to attempts to change national expectations, and bring them into alignment with the realities of the country’s coffers. It took the country several years to recover from what amounted to attitudes of extravagance, followed by a collapse of oil prices, with subsequent imposed conditionalities, which were very severe.

Shades of this period are evident today, with the recent decision by trade union leaders to host a march – one that is unlikely to provide any concrete solutions to the challenges which workers face.

Perhaps foremost among the similarities we face today, is the reluctance to take decisive action which will allow us to weather the period of adjustment and transform our country. This is not the remit of any one sector or grouping, but rather, it is the responsibility of all national stakeholders.

The Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce is acutely aware of the need for collaborative action in the interest of our people and our country. Several attempts have been made towards tripartite (or multipartite) engagement. Unfortunately, these appear to have collapsed, largely because of a lack of trust if one is to judge by the decision of the trade unions to leave the National Tripartite Advisory Council (NTAC).

But walking away from such forums could hardly lead to improving the situation. Moreover, it would certainly not inspire confidence in our ability to work together to hammer out resolve from our diverse perspectives. Building trust, therefore, remains an essential component of any effort towards tripartite action. The T&T Chamber is of the view that this approach is potentially one of the most positive mechanisms for forward motion.

Without a more unifying approach to dealing with our challenges, while opting instead for partisanship only, we will continue to experience many troubling conditions in our country; a dangerously high crime rate that consistently undermines the moral fabric of our society; institutional dysfunction and inertia and low investor confidence – to name but a few.

As a measure of our maturity and a mark of our nationhood, would it not be far better if we found a way to reach some form of consensus? That collective “we” includes and encompasses Government, the Opposition, Business, Labour and Civil Society. After all, the future of our nation is at stake.

“It’s pretty good so far (at Connection),” said the 26-year-old Point Fortin-born Joseph.

“I’ve learned so much more under (Connection) coach Stuart Charles-Fevrier and it has opened up my mind a lot more to the game.

He is very (patient) in teaching the game so you can understand it a lot more.” Joseph, who split with serial champions Central earlier this year, joined Connection in pre-season after a lengthy absence from the game due to a fallout with the “Couva Sharks”. But it didn’t take long under the guidance of the Connection coaching staff for the 2013/14 Golden Boot winner to shake off the rust.

With arguably one the deadliest left foot in the Pro League, Joseph scored the winning items in Connection’s opening wins against St Ann’s Rangers (1-0) and Point Fortin Civic (2-1).

“The ambition is to help Connection win the League,” said Joseph.

“I want to do all that I can for the team. I want to also win most goals this season but the ambition of the team comes first.

So if I think a teammate is in a better position to score I will offer the chance to that person like I did in the games I haven’t scored this season.

“It may not always be the best decision, but I am working on improving my decision making up front as well as my scoring.

We are all working on improving as a team at Connection and with a little more gelling and improvement on our finishing in front of goal, I think we can go on to win the league.” Trinidad and Tobago coach, Dennis Lawrence, who took up the post in January, is yet to call on the Connection forward but Joseph is determined to earn his pick.

Lawrence is assisted by Joseph’s current club coach, Fevrier, Central FC assistant coach Stern John, and former Central coach Ross Russell.

“I will get there (on the national team) again,” Joseph said. “I am motivated at club level to do well and improve my play in front of goal and in scoring. Although I am not around the national team right now, I am supporting the team and the coaches to do well. We have a lot of good players at the national level and the coach (Lawrence) knows what he is looking for.

“He is seeing what I am not, so it’s up to me to continue working harder at improving my game and (hopefully) I can be part of the team for the remaining World Cup qualifiers to help my country try and qualify (Russia 2018).”

(ttproleague.com)

The TT team arrived in the US on Monday for a live-in training camp ahead of their opening match in the CONCACAF Under-15 Championship against Costa Rica on Sunday .

TT got off to a quick start yesterday with an opening goal from Fatima College forward Justin Araujo-Wilson in the first minute of play .

He had the simple task of a close-range tap in on an assist by San Juan Jabloteh’s Josiah Edwards .

However, Tampa Bay equalised in the 12th minute .

“It was a good encounter for the young boys to get the legs going .

We have just a few days left before our first match against Costa Rica so everything in between now to then is about managing the boys carefully and ensuring we do things in the right manner before the start of the competition,” said TT coach Russell Latapy .

TT have been drawn into Group B alongside Costa Rica, United States and Canada .

TT will open their campaign on August 13 against Costa Rica and will play Canada a day later before closing off the group stage against the US on August 16 .

The other countries taking part include Group A – Mexico, Honduras, Jamaica, Panama; Group C – El Salvador, Bermuda, Martinique, Cuba; Group D – Haiti, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Curacao; Group E – Puerto Rico, Belize, Barbados, Guadeloupe; Group F – St Lucia, Suriname, Guyana, St Kitts/Nevis; Group G – Aruba, Cayman Islands, Bonaire, Saint Martin; Group H- Antigua/ Barbuda, Grenada, Dominica, Sint Maarten; Group I – Bahamas, US Virgin Islands, French Guiana, St Vincent/Grenadines; Group J – British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, Montserrat, Turks and Caicos .

The display is to honour the life of this country’s longest serving member of parliament and fourth and sixth Prime Minister.

It will also commemorate the first anniversary of his death and celebrate his birthday which would have occurred later this month.

Head of Technical Services/Special Collections at The University of Trinidad and Tobago, Janice Blake said the display is meant to give the public an opportunity to look into Manning’s life. “It’s about seeing his personal and professional life and understanding what it is like to be prime minister,” Blake said. “There is a whole other side than just running the country.” She said it aids in documenting the lives of those who served us. “What do we know about our past governors? Nothing.” Blake said in the future, our descendants can look at the artefacts and understand our history.

She said she expects a sizeable turnout. She is also expecting members of the Manning family and those who would have served with him to visit the exhibition.

Items on display include clothing, awards, photographs, newspaper clippings, Vision 20/20 documents and even a 400-year-old bible found in his office.

The exhibition can be viewed at the Adult Library, 1st Floor, National Library Building until August 31.

Viewing times are between 8.30am to 6pm weekdays and until 4pm on Saturdays.

Given the complexity of many financial transactions as well as the importance of best practice to business and society, professional bodies such as ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) have a particular responsibility to uphold and lead on ethical issues.

The ACCA Code of Ethics and Conduct (the Code) is binding to all our members and students, as well as any partner (or director) in an ACCA practice. It’s based on the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) Code, and the fundamental principles that we set out are the same as IESBA’s.

In order to stay vigilant to omissions, errors and deliberate accounting violations, all professional accountants will need to develop and balance necessary professional quotients to fit their role and stage of career. A key quotient is technical skills and ethics (TEQ): The skills and abilities to perform activities consistently to a defined standard while maintaining the highest standards of integrity, independence and scepticism.

Finance professionals must think and behave with integrity, independence and professional scepticism. They must also demonstrate this to stakeholders including regulators, investors, colleagues, and entities that are the subject of audit and assurance engagements. Vigilance is also needed in observing and applying local and international laws, regulations and standards relating to engagements for the audit and assurance of historical financial statements and other subject matters – such as ISAs, federal company laws, and regulations on data protection.

Through maintaining high standards of quality in the practice of audit and other assurance, and in practice management, finance professional can ensure there is quality control. Additionally, assessing and responding to risks of material misstatement within appropriate legal framework can aid in detection and reporting error and fraud.

There are wider business issues when it comes to ethics and ethics underpins everything professional accountants do. An ethical dilemma may be resolved by applying a conceptual framework. However, in order to achieve this, we first need to understand fundamental ethical principles so we can ensure there’s minimal risk of them being undermined.

An honest appraisal of the threats to those principles requires the application of personal ethics. That’s why the ACCA Rulebook isn’t just a list of rules, but instead sets out a framework that helps us to resolve or avoid ethical dilemmas in a way that shouldn’t conflict with our personal ethics.

In the global fight against corruption in all its forms, it is vitally important that potential whistle-blowers have a clear view of not only the avenues available for speaking up, but also the full path ahead of them as they go through the whistleblowing journey.

This isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s also best for the business. If employees feel that wrongdoing will be dealt with promptly, fairly and in a transparent manner, they are far less likely to make the issue a public one.

In order to foster a successful speak up arrangement, organisations need to consider how the arrangement interacts with cultural issues. Whilst cultural challenges are surmountable, this might take a little more time and effort using suitable strategies to address issues such as regional differences and language.

Additionally, it’s highly worth businesses considering the use of an external independent channel that sits alongside their internal conduits. It may feel counter-intuitive to set up channels that are external and possibly more formal when you are trying to build trust internally. However, if people use independent external channels and have a positive experience, the trust developed from the experience can transfer to others, including internal channels that they may use in the future.

Now more than ever, how an organisation does business is just as important as the results they achieve. It’s no secret that many of the great reputational disasters of recent years have been made worse by attempts to sweep them under the rug. If effective speak-up arrangements are implemented throughout corporate governance, public sector accountability and professional responsibility, it will create robust risk management, which is in an organisation’s highest interest.

Ethics and trust in a digital age, ACCA’s recent global study of 10,000 professional accountants, found that 95% of those at CFO level or higher believe ethics is very important to their company’s reputation, internally and externally. That commitment grows because they recognise that in an automated age, human judgement becomes more integral to how decisions are made. When faced with a data breach or a company’s exposure to supply chain irregularities, customers and investors won’t look to a systems bot to blame.

Whilst the rise of the robots has been flagged as a threat to professions, it actually represents a new frontier where the skills and judgment of professionals are critical. Accountants are therefore set to remain at the front-line of ethical challenges in business. But doing the right thing in a digital age, digital must also be a whole business concern.

Haemoglobin is the iron-containing protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen to cells throughout the body. Signs and symptoms of this condition may include fatigue, irritability, enlarged organs and failure to thrive. Doctors have recommended that Haleema do a bone marrow transplant. She requires blood transfusions every three weeks in order to avoid these debilitating symptoms .

Her parents are worried that her iron levels are increasing and this could lead to organ failure .

They have received an estimate of $400,000 from the Fortis Medical Research Institute in India to perform the bone marrow transplant .

The Medical Centre is located in Gurugram, Haryana and it is a multi-speciality centre .

The child’s father is a construction worker and wife Kristal is a housewife. The worried parents told Newsday they are unable to afford the cost of the surgery and stay in India and are soliciting help .

“My biggest wish is for my daughter to never have to go back to the hospital,” Kristal said .

She explained that every three weeks Haleema has to have a blood transfusion but in the days leading up to it, she becomes weak and tires every easily. “It hurts when I have to take her to the doctor for the transfusion and see the needles going into her hand. I hope and pray she will get the surgery and not have to go through this all the time,” Kristal said .

In an effort to raise funds, the parents have sent out donation sheets and are also planning a barbecue. An application was sent to the Children’s Life Fund three weeks ago and the anxious parents are awaiting a response. “I just want my child to have a bright future,” she said. The parents explained that because of Haleema’s illness she missed a term at pre-school and is currently not registered at a primary school as she would have to be away for a few months if they go to India .

To date the parents have received some assistance from the Debe Masjid, Nur e Islam Masjid and the Islamic Broadcasting Network (IBN). People wishing to make contributions can do so at First Citizens Bank, Penal account number #2430155. The family can also be reached at 331-4672 or 270-0707 .