However, if one stands at the Tarouba turnoff of the Sir Solomon Hochoy Highway, one can see to the south-west the Mannie Ramjohn Staduim. It is well constructed, on a former racing track, with spacious parking, proper entrance and exit roads, non-obstructive view of the field, extremely breezy etc.

But it, as the rest of government institutions, has been neglected.

So why pump so much money in a neighbouring stadium when the money could have been used for other purposes, eg one-stop school for special children, or even a rehab centre for the drug and substance abuse citizens who cry out for help.

Or better yet, an oncology centre, where citizens could get accommodation, treatment, and be comforted.

Think about it.

JOHN R RAMDEEN via email

The caregiver was hired earlier this year by family members to take care of their elderly relative and only recently discovered that money was missing from her account.

A report was made to the Fraud Squad in San Fernando and following investigations the caregiver arrested and charged with 49 counts of fraudulent use of an ATM card by breaching the electronic transfer of funds Act.

Former chairman Nicole Dyer- Griffith and former political leader Prakash Ramadhar said they were considering contesting the party’s internal polls .

“I am giving it active consideration because of the number of persons that have given quite compelling reasons for asking me to consider it, but it is not a decision to be taken lightly,” Dyer- Griffith told Newsday yesterday .

Griffith said part of her deliberation over the decision involved meeting with many current and former supporters of the party to hear their thoughts on the party’s current status and its future .

“It would take a number of strategies to rebrand, to regroup and re-energise the party. It is almost like re-engineering a rebirth and a revolution which I think quite frankly is something that might really add some new life to the current political landscape,” she said. The former party chairman said the party would always have a place in her “political heart” as it was where she launched her career, but said she resigned in 2015 after she felt it lost its “political moorings.” Former political leader Ramadhar, who resigned last year after taking responsibility for the party’s losses in the general and local government elections, is also considering a return to the helm of the party. In a brief telephone interview, Ramadhar said, “I have been asked to consider contesting the election by many, many COP supporters, but I have not decided yet whether or not I will be contesting.” The upcoming election is an important one for the party’s future following its recent losses .

Current political leader Dr Anirudh Mahabir, who took up the post after Ramadhar’s resignation, said he will not contest a position .

June 16 is nomination day for the internal elections .

The event began promptly at 8am as the US flag was hoisted near the fountain by three US Marines.

Ogley, the officer in charge of the temporary move to San Fernando, said this was a “great opportunity” for the embassy to engage with the business organisations and people in one of TT’s “most popular cities.” This country, said, was “one of our closest partners in the Caribbean region, with vast economic ties, historic military co-operation and deep cultural and family connections,” he said, adding that an estimated 10,000 US citizens lived here.

“The US is Trinidad and Tobago’s largest trading partner and US firms have invested over $1 billion in sectors including petrochemical, oil and gas, and the iron and steel areas,” he said.

“San Fernando is a city of industry and education and we are here today to celebrate the connections with Trinidad and Tobago and especially the links and relationship in south.” Consular Chief and US Embassy Liaison in San Fernando Timothy Swanson said while embassies “seldom pick up and move elsewhere for a day,” the temporary move was a “great way to deepen our links with San Fernando and southern Trinidad.” Mayor Junia Regrello applauded the embassy’s visit, saying his hope was that “all of the citizens of San Fernando as well as our more southerly neighbours take advantage of the information that would be shared today to ensure that persons interested in getting a US visa would be better apprised as to what is needed.

“Finally I must mention the symbiotic relationship between Trinidad and Tobago and the United States.

Trinidad is hailed as the land of Carnival, but in almost every major US city there is now a carnival celebration. In Trinidad there are about 127 steelbands ,while there are over 600 bands in the US,” he said.

Over 50 embassy staffers were present to interact with members of the public, with activities including a student outreach programme, a US citizen town hall meeting, and a visa question- and-answer session.

The ‘All in’ ideology behind the tournament stemmed from the inclusion of all Purple Dragon branches (dojos) located throughout the country, where 598 participants competed in various categories.

Organiser Sensei Christopher Walton, a fourth-degree black belt with the Purple Dragon, and head of the Couva Dojo, gave Newsday an insight into the event.

“ ‘All in’ sums up the ultimate goal of martial arts, which means if you are totally committed and ‘all in’, you would always achieve victory,” he said.

With the aim of getting everyone on board, Professor Don Jacob, Head Sensei at Purple Dragon, said the organisation intends to hosts several tournaments throughout the year, and Saturday’s event was viewed as the initiation of the project.

He added, “Being a national tournament, the facility added to the international feel and we did a pretty good job in generating a large crowd response as we are ever-grateful for the availability to use the facility for such events.” The various categories on the day included Katas (empty handed/imaginary fighting), Sparring, Weapons (for green belts and over) and team demonstrations.

Purple Dragon Barataria made a clean sweep in the female division with victory in Katas, Weapons and Sparring events. In the male division, Purple Dragon Arima won two Grand Championships in Weapons and Sparring, while Purple Dragon St. Ann’s prevailed in the Empty Hand Katas.

Sponsors for the event included TSTT , Sport Company of Trinidad and Tobago, Randy’s Auto Air Conditioning, Mecca Industries, Media 21, Wide Turn Transport Services, The Vector House and Bhola’s Marketing Limited.

Making reference to the present economic climate, Primus told the graduates that whenever a person keeps a job, some other person also loses a job. “In the economy of the future, everywhere you go, people are creating jobs. The only safe job is when you are your boss. Make that degree work for you. You should decide what you are going to do with this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity presented to you by bpTT.

Beyond gaining employment, think about being an employer,” Primus challenged the graduates.

The degree they obtained, he advised, was just the preliminary tool in shaping the real person they could become. He also appealed to them to make a real difference in their communities.

Voicing the gratitude of his peers was valedictorian, Dinesh Boodoo, who graduated from The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, with a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering.

“The youths of Mayaro and environs have a distinctive advantage over others with respect to access to higher education through this Brighter Prospects programme.

Therefore, we should not waste this opportunity given to us.

What bpTT is doing through this initiative is building a stronger community through education.

It is a fact that this ‘little fishing village’ of Mayaro is well equipped with brain-power. We have qualified teachers, doctors, engineers and other professionals who have beneffited through this programme. Many of us may not have reached this far without this far-sighted programme.” Open to residents of Mayaro and environs, Brighter Prospects is one of bpTT’s flagship programmes in its policy of investing in human capital development. Started in 2003, the initiative provides financial assistance to students who gain access to tertiary education at approved institutions. The programme has fostered over 185 successful graduates since its inception Inspiring the graduates to even greater achievement was Dr. Jared Brewster, himself a graduate of the Brighter Prospects programme and is a surgeon at the Sangre Grande Hospital. “You graduates are no less the local heroes. Against the odds you have acquitted yourselves with excellence.

BPTT has flexed its corporate muscles to break barriers and create opportunities to make it less daunting for you to achieve your educational goals. I urge you to be lifelong learners. I challenge you to be conscientious citizens as you embark on this most important journey that awaits you,” Dr. Brewster exhorted the graduates.

Earlier, Matthew Pierre, Community Liaison Officer, bpTT, said that the Brighter Prospects scholarship programme, which focussed at the beginning on energy-sector disciplines, had broadened over the years to cover a wide range of tertiary education studies, such as medicine (with at least four doctors already qualified), IT and computer studies, and social sciences.

The programme covers disciplines from several tertiary institutions, such as the University of the West Indies, the University of Trinidad and Tobago, Metal Industries Company, the College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts of Trinidad and Tobago and the Trinidad and Tobago Hospitality and Tourism Institute.

McClean, a self employed 41-year-old, got a reality check after tipping the scale at more than 300 pounds, two and a half years ago. Since then, he has been on a mission to get smaller and healthier and signed up for Rainbow Cup in 2015, where he completed the sprint triathlon category (750m swim, 20km ride, 5km run).

While training and then competing in 2015, he lost an astonishing 100 pounds in just over six months. In his first Rainbow Cup experience he completed the event in two hours and 32 seconds (2:00:32) to finish 87th overall. Leading up to the 2017 edition, which was held on Saturday, he lost 30 pounds in three months while training. He improved on his time by more than 15 minutes, completing the annual race in 1:44:28 for 64th overall. Talking about his journey over the past two years in the Rainbow Cup McClean said, “I did it two years ago. I did it on my own, I did not have a trainer or anything. My girlfriend at the time was doing it so I did it with her. It is a very different experience now because I trained (with my club) for the last three months. Great group of people, they definitely encouraged me a lot and we got specific training on cycling, swimming, running, all the disciplines and it helped a lot.” McClean said he made the decision to lose weight because he wanted to live a long life. “I never felt unhealthy to be very honest, but I just thought I want to have longevity and I figured being at that weight is not going to help me be around here for a long time. In doing the triathlon, I realise if I keep losing weight, I will be better on climbing the hills, it will just be a lot easier so that is really the motivation.” McClean said it is possible for anyone to lose weight, and encourages those struggling with their exercising to have positive people around them. “Nothing is impossible. I would say if you have good people behind you, whether it is a nutritionist, whether it is a coach, whether it is just your friend, it does not matter.

Once somebody is behind you supporting you, anything is possible. If I could do this at 300 plus pounds when I started training for it, anyone can do it.” The Tacarigua resident said taking small steps towards your final goal is crucial. “One step at a time, don’t set ridiculous goals.

Set short team goals, achieve them and then set something else.” McClean’s journey is far from finished, as he plans to compete in a triathlon in Barbados later this year.

“I would like to lose about 40 more pounds again. I am doing the triathlon in Barbados – that is my intention. That is in October, so I am hoping I could get down close to that weight by that point.”

She was speaking at the installion of the executive of the Trinidad and Tobago Blind Welfare Association the Office of the President, St Ann’s.

“Our society needs to ensure and sustain the personal independence of each and every visually impaired person. The right to appropriate access to public buildings, the right to live independently and the right to genuine opportunity are social fundamentals that must not be ignored and must not be taken for granted.

Many able bodied persons in our society do not recognise that these are basic human rights issues that must never be the subject of compromise,” she said.

Carmona said there were many examples of marginalisation suffered by the visually impaired in this country including the blocking of guide dogs for the blind as well as the lack of bells at most of the traffic lights.

She said she was “at pains” to indicate at the United Nations Regional Workshop on the Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD last month that society was simply not doing enough.

“It is quite possible that we may be hosting the CPL tournament at that venue and other venues,” he said. Addressing PNM supporters yesterday at the party’s Annual Family Fun Day at the Eddie Hart Ground, Tacarigua, Rowley said, if the discussions are successful, the facilities would be used for what they were intended.

He said, the facility is not just a cricket ground but an academy.

To this end, he said, Government is proposing to use the Brian Lara Academy as a campus of the University of Trinidad and Tobago in the pursuit of degrees in disciplines such as sport management.

He urged young people in particular to make use of the academic opportunities available for the development of sports.

“Notwithstanding the nonsense going on now with West Indies cricket,” Rowley said, “We believe that we can strengthen West Indies cricket right here in Trinidad and Tobago.” Government has also made available, he said, the Ato Boldon Stadium so that football players and administrators can have a base for administration, playing and training. Government is also working towards the establishment of hotel facilities in the Couva area to provide accommodation to those who use the stadium, swimming and cycling facilities in the area.

The objective, he said, would be to market that area as a sporting zone.

He said he visited the site of the Diego Martin Sporting Complex last week and found that the foundation is almost ready for the fabrication of the structure. Once completed and in use, he expects more sporting champions to come out of the area. For Tobago, he said, Government was in discussions with the Sandals Resort for the development of a world class golf course, which would bring the number of golf courses in Tobago to three. These will supplement those in Barbados and Jamaica, enabling the Caribbean to host golf tournaments at the highest level.

“We could look forward to the day when such tournaments would be held in Tobago.” As sporting facilities become available, he is asking people to respect them to develop the national potential. Noting the current state of the economy given the decline in the price of oil and gas, and the costs at which the facilities were being built, Rowley said he expects the facilities would also be used to generate their own income.

Fasting is not the law of the land but the law of Allah: Q2:181.

Fasting is a spiritual and physical exercise. It is a religious institution and universal as prayer.

It is also a hygienic maxim and an important observation. It is a basic and minimal requirement for the fulfilment of a Muslim’s faith.

Fasting enables one to attain a feeling of closeness to Allah. It is for Allah that Muslims fast.

The purpose of fasting is to learn piety, self-restraint, God-consciousness, to fear Allah, to do good deeds and to obey Allah.

The aim of fasting is to obtain Allah’s pleasure.

It makes a Muslim steadfast, disciplined and always conscious of Allah. The wisdom of fasting is to renounce the lawful satisfaction of one’s desires. Fasting strengthens the will of self-control and heals any pain. It prevents diseases, helps concentration and lays the foundation of moral purity.

May Allah reward Muslims who fast. Ramadan Mubarak.

AHAMAD KHYYAM Curepe