Ragoonanan who is the manager of JMD Transport of Chase Village, Chaguans, read about Ganesh’s plight in Newsday.

He contacted the Newsday offering to help the suffering family.

“I am happy to help Ganesh since he is unable to walk or work in order to take care of his young family,” Ragoonanan said, adding that he hopes that more people can come forward and assist the Ganesh family.

Having been shot twice in the chest by bandits in 2012, Ganesh is now paralysed from his neck down.

Ganesh lives with his wife Karen, 35, and his daughter Emily, 11, at Cashew Gardens, Longdenville, Chaguanas.

At the beginning of September Ganesh was given an eviction notice by the HDC to vacate the unit if he did not pay a monthly rental of $800.

“I have a disability grant of $1,800 in which I must pay utility bills and maintain my wife Karen and daughter Emily,” Ganesh said. Apart from having to pay for groceries and utilities, his disability cheque must also cover the cost for his medication.

Ganesh was handed keys to the house by the HDC in April 2015 under the People’s Partnership.

Today he is unable to make payments because of his condition.

He is pleading with Minister of Housing, Randall Mitchell to look into his matter and allow him tenure on grounds of him suffering a disability through no fault of his.

He noted that he is a victim of crime and as a result he is paralysed.

“Now my family is fighting to survive on what little government assistance we get,” he said.

In 2012, Ganesh was at his home in St Helena when bandits entered. He was shot twice.

In what villagers described as a freak storm at about 1 pm on Sunday, a large tree at Granville Beach, Cedros, crashed into him and a parked Nissan AD wagon.

On impact, Grannum fell to ground and lost consciousness.

A woman from Gasparillo, was trapped in the driver’s seat and villagers had to rescue her. The wagon almost split in two, with its windscreen smashed onto the bonnet and both front doors damaged.

Cedros police rushed Grannum, who was then unidentified, to the Point Fortin Area Hospital.

Several hours later, doctors pronounced him dead. An ambulance subsequently transported the injured woman to the hospital however, she was treated and discharged

But we create confusion and mayhem by including other things such as the process of acquisition of the Galicia in 2014, which should be another issue on another occasion.

And we must include the MV Tobago, MV Sue, DC9 aircraft, Lockheed Tri-Star aircraft, Trinidad- Tesoro etc.

The records will show that when Parliament, in the absence of the political leaders of the People’s National Movement and the United National Congress, was addressing the issue of corruption in Parliament on July 27, 1990 … Well we know what happened.

And we jamming still. But please remain focused.

PHILIP AYOUNG-CHEE via e-mail

Aboud made the remarks during his address at the renaming ceremony for Miss Universe 1977, Janelle Commissiong at the Government Campus Plaza on Richmond street last Friday. “There has been around us, unthinkable destruction and tragedy in many of our neighbouring islands, scenes of destruction and suffering, transforming entire countries overnight into wastelands of debris, homelessness. Here at home we have our own storms some of them are not related to the other, our trust in authority is being tested and our very faith in the future of our country is strained sometimes.” Without going into further detail, he added that recent developments have caused concern among the public and expressed his distaste for what he described as an undermining of the public’s intelligence. “We are bewildered at the way the roles have been switching between accusers and accused and the extent to which the public sense of intelligence is often taken for granted. What is not in question however, is the timeless beauty of you Janelle Penny Commissiong.”

OFTEN times I would observe posts from some of my social media friends in which they’re paying attention to haters and I would sometimes respond by saying transfer your love and attention to lovers not haters.

Hate is a word that I am hearing much too often and I would preface my feature today by asking readers to avoid purchasing the hate pill when they visit their emotional pharmacy.

Hate is useless as it is filled with darkness and undue pain. But why hate? Research has offered a number of reasons why hate exist which quite frankly I consider to be superfluous, particularly when each and every one of us on this earth was uniquely created and deserve a space to comfortably co-exist.

Different life experiences lead people along the lines of hatred and that is indeed unfortunate.

If someone has something which you don’t have that’s their wish and right and therefore should not be bothersome to you; if someone is enjoying the fruits of their labour in a particular career and/ or or business, try to learn some lessons from their success which can no doubt support and/ or improve your own endeavours.

Life is not a competition but rather about living and enjoying happy moments even if it means just being alive.

There is no need to bear hate for someone who may have ruined what was once a wonderful friendship, just pick up the pieces and move on; you may have been in an intimate relationship which now offers you regretful and painful memories, though difficult, let it go and move on; you also need to build strong capacity of resilience to deal with disappointments from within your family circle including your children, your neighbourhood or even your workplace.

Hate also comes from a place of seeking attention, there is no need to seek attention, it will come to you once the circumstances permit.

Dealing with people with whom you assume may spew hate towards you requires some basic skills, firstly don’t take their actions personally as it’s all about them and not you. Ignore and avoid responding to hateful comments as that exacerbates an already terrible situation; if ignoring does not work, then it may be advisable to use a direct approach in attempting to arrive at an amicable solution.

Minimise your negative interactions with the individuals and instead build a circle of supportive people with positive influence; depending on the relationship between you and those inflicting the hateful pain, set boundaries to avoid further cracks in the relationship.

It may be wise to let the person know that you are not appreciative of their negative behaviour and attempt to make amends. Spread love not hate.

Sandrine Rattan is a communications/ branding consultant, author, empowerment builder and president of the International Women’s Resource Network (IWRN) Contact: thecorporatesuitett@ gmail.com or intlwomensresourcenetwork@ gmail.com or contact 283-0318.

KWAYNE SANCHEZ San Fernando

Among those in attendance was World War II veteran Mary Anthony, 91, of Crest Camp, Fyzabad. She worked as an accounts clerk at the Quarter- Master office in the Royal Army Medical Corps, a group responsible for running what was called the British Military Hospital.

“That was located at the back of the Colonial Hospital (now called the San Fernando General Hospital). The local soldiers who would have gotten sick, went to this hospital. We had a kitchen, three cooks and what we called medical orderlies. We had about three to five wards, as far as I remember,” Anthony said.

Anthony recalled that part of her duties included ordering food and medicines, all without the use of money as only the nationals of the United Kingdom “handled cash”.

“While we purchased things, we never used money. What we used were army forms. All the bills, I would list them on army form 22 which were then listed on Army form 56. We would pass those forms to command payment,” Anthony told Newsday.

She joined the service in 1944 and served for three years and seven months. She returned as a civilian to “close up the books”.

National Security Minister Edmund Dillon attended the ceremony yesterday as well as Member of Parliament for the area, Dr Lackram Bodoe.

Dillon noted that one of the most important thing about yesterday’s event is the building of camaraderie and showing respect to those who have served the country.

“Once you bring the family together, you continue to contain the memories of those who severed us. When you see people like Mrs Anthony here, who is still driving her own self, it speaks volume,” Dillon said.

He commended the veterans saying it was important for him to attend, as a former military man himself, to give them the kind of respect and honour and to celebrate with they come together as a family.

“I think this is an effort to strengthen the persons interested in this organisation, to bring them together in an atmosphere of cordiality and fun and games,” Dillon added.

RCEL’s public relations officer Ricardo Manzano estimated that nationwide there are about 30 veterans who are alive, many of whom are ailing.

Chairman of the Royal Air Force Association (REFA) Dennis Oliver, who is also chairman of the Federation of Veterans Association attended the event. He said that more than 350 Trinidadians joined the forces in WW II in which 52 were killed.

“The memorabilia and artefacts are some of the history of those who went to war in WWI and II. We honour them as often as we possibly can. This is a Family Day hosted by the legion of the southern branch. We are just part of the event,” Oliver said.

Members of the Royal Air Force on their return to TT from WWII, formed the organistaion in 1953.

The office is located at Queen’s Park East, Port-of- Spain.

Asked if people were suffering from donor fatigue at the many calls for charity, whether medical cases, refugees from Venezuela, or hurricane- hit Caribbean nations, Schutters replied, “There’s so much going on, and a lot of dishonesty going on, that people are kind of wary as to who to donate to.” She said that rather than the public donating to individuals they are not sure about, they should donate to registered charities such as the foundation.

“As an NGO we have checks and balances, so the donation is rightly used.” Schutters hoped the corporations could familiarise themselves with the tax breaks they can get for their donations to registered charities such as the foundation. Meanwhile she said people can contact the foundation at hopeofamiracle10@ gmail.com or by phone at 371-6476.

The group also has a Facebook page and a website, http://hopeofamiracle.com.

Meanwhile 27 people have been confirmed dead, 27 confirmed missing, and an additional unconfirmed 18 missing on account of Maria.

The names of the deceased and the missing will be made public, Skerrit said. “We are fortunate to not have hundreds or even thousands dead,” he said. “Thank God for sparing us.” Along with heads of the Dominica Police Force (DPF) and the Regional Security Services (RSS), Skerrit gave an update on the security situation at a press briefing yesterday morning.

They said the looting was brought under control.

“We will not tolerate any lawlessness whatsoever,” Skerrit said adding that the curfew will be lifted on the advice of the police.

At present, regional support on the island include 30 from the RSS, Barbados Defence Force, 27; Royal Antigua and Barbuda Defence Force, six; and St Lucia Police Force, 13.

There is also a 21-member contingent from the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency.

The Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force, which has 25 members of the Coast Guard and 25 regular soldiers, along with a Dutch contingent, are currently providing security at the main port and deepwater harbour. TTDF’s ten airmen are assisting with distribution of supplies. Expected to arrive in the country today is an advance team of a 120-strength contingent from the engineering battalion of the Jamaica Defence Force.

A 15-member team from the St Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force is also expected.

Skerrit said that food and other supplies are reaching the country and every community and street will be getting them.

While he could not give an assessment of the damage to the country in terms of dollars and cents, he said, he has invited the World Bank, Caribbean Development Bank and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean to do independent assessments and to advise on the way forward.

Having visited many communities, he said, the country has lost 100 per cent of its agricultural stock and advised people to start replanting from next week once supplies and temporary shelter is addressed. Seeds and seedlings will be provided.

In terms of shelter, he said, Carnival Cruise Line will be making available 1,000 igloos of which 150 will be made available this week and the remainder in October.

Hurricane Maria completely demolished many homes and left the majority of those still standing without roofs. The Americans were providing some temporary roofing.

On family and friends who wish to send relief supplies to their people in Dominica, Skerrit said, “We are encouraging it.” However, he advised that they should not do so immediately as the infrastructure to receive them were not in place. Customs officers were affected as everyone else and they will have to return to work once the situation begins to normalise.

The immediate focus, he said, was on getting relief supplies out nationally and to get people back on their feet. He does not want relatives and friends to send supplies and then accuse the government of stealing them when they could not be delivered in the current scenario. There is a tremendous amount of food supplies and other forms of relief that came in mainly for the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States and Caribbean Community countries, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, China and the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela among others.

The government has also opened a line of credit in Barbados to keep food supplies going until the situation improves.

In the meantime, he said, a lot is happening to restore the country to some semblance of normalcy.

Even though the hospital was without electricity and the lives of dialysis patients were threatened, he said, Dominica received a donation of solar powered dialysis machines which are in operation.

He was prepared to lose votes, he said, rather than place the nation at the mercy of the IMF.

This is according to a release from the NTAC which said it was one of many pointed statements he made when he addressed NTAC members at the first meeting at the resumption of talks between labour, the private sector and the government at La Lune Conference Room, Eric Williams Financial Complex on September 20.

The talks between the three parties were suspended earlier this year. On his determination to not to end up at the IMF, the release said, Rowley reiterated the harsh realities which the country faces in its development.

The large deficit facing the treasury, $38 billion in revenues as against $51 billion in expenditure, he said, needed little effort in appreciating the harsh economic decisions which have to be made.

He was confident that labour, the private sector and Government have the capacity to measure up to the challenges which confront the nation. With the backing of civil society organisations and the population in general, he said, there was no reason why the nation could not weather the storm without IMF intervention.

He challenged the council of the NTAC to place high on its agenda their role in facilitating Government’s determination to stay far away from the doors of the IMF in resetting its platform.

Given the prevailing circumstances, he said, the decisions which will be made to ensure safe distance from the IMF will not be popular nor painless. However, all all reasonable steps, he said, will be taken to ensure they will be constructive, productive, sensible and bearable with sights set on future developmental outcomes.

Any other consideration, he said, would see the country at the mercy of the IMF, an option which he said would be exponentially worse than current social and economic conditions. Noting that there is not enough employee ownership within the State sector, he said, it was an issue to be addressed.

He was concerned that, in spite of allocations for the delivery of health and national security services rising fivefold or more, the results had not been commensurate with increased expenditure.

He challenged NTAC to also focus on social and economic imbalances to enhance the quality of customer service delivery to the population at large.

The NTAC, he said, needs to address issues relating to the delivery of legal and judicial services which form an integral component of the national development landscape.

Calling for unity during this period of adversity, he said, this was the worse time for Government, labour and private sector to be at war with one another. He assured Government’s commitment to tripartism.