“That school(s) is one that is high on our agenda and we are going to move as quickly as possible,” Garcia said in a text message reply to Sunday Newsday yesterday.

He was responding to questions raised by parents and Barataria/San Juan MP Dr Fuad Khan about delays in renovating the schools which share the same compound.

In February 2012, the boys school was closed due to infrastructural problems. In March of that year, the students were temporarily relocated to the St George East district office building in Tunapuna, the same building where students of Febeau Government Primary School were housed for more than a year. The next year, students of the girls school were also relocated to the building.

Renovations were scheduled to be completed in 2016, but work stopped in 2015 and has yet to resume.

On Friday, parents protested outside the abandoned schools, calling on the authorities to complete repairs and to give them an update on the renovations.

A representative of the parents, Joel Scott, said since 2012 buses were provided to shuttle students from San Juan to Tunapuna. However, the schedule of the buses, and the shorter school days meant the children were subjected to shorter hours of school time, no play time, and transportation safety and security challenges. In addition, for the school term so far, fewer buses were sent for the children, resulting in overcrowding in the buses.

Contacted on what he has done to help his constituents, Khan said he sent letters to Garcia, and met with him on several occasions, asking him to address the matter, but was not satisfied with the response.

“The end result of everything is that he (Garcia) did not know when they were going to start, there is a problem with the contractor, and he assured me that things would be done. I asked for a time limit but didn’t get any,” Khan said.

Khan said he will continue to lobby Garcia on the matter.

“I keep the process going but that’s about all I could do,” he said.

Therefore, at the last My Sister’s Keeper workshop by the Soroptimist International Newtown (SI NT), teenaged girls shared their experiences and were given safety, and self-defence tips.

“This particular one we decided to host because of the current climate of missing girls and increased violence against women. We wanted to have something where the girls could openly discuss, and gain some tips on safety and ways, specific to their age group, that they could protect themselves or another victim,” explained SI NT president, Nneka St Rose.

She told Sunday Newsday over 40 girls attended, about twice as many participants as was usual for the workshops. Held at the Ministry of Community Development in St Ann’s the girls learned basic safety tips, especially as many of them take public transportation.

These included paying attention to their surroundings instead of being on their phones, the best place to sit in a taxi, and safe actions when someone drives up to ask for directions.

In addition, St Rose said Margaret Sampson-Browne, retired Assistant Commissioner of Police, urged the girls to value themselves and to not allow their worth to be dictated by others. And to end the workshop, Master Cheryl Ann Sankar, former taekwondo Olympian, showed the girls various taekwondo moves for self-defence and how to escape an attacker.

That edition of My Sister’s Keeper was the fourth in the last year and a half. The first focussed on personal development, the second on non-traditional careers and the third on health and well-being.

St Rose explained that SI NT was one of six Soroptimist International clubs in the country and was the youngest, not only because it was started only seven years ago, but the members were the youngest as well. She said Soroptimist International aimed at educating, enabling and empowering young women by equipping them with skills and techniques to navigate life issues.

Their chapter chose to focus on teenaged girls, ages 12 to 16.

Sophia House on Park Street, Port-of-Spain, was one of its flagship projects. Initially, the members worked with the girls on a one-on-one basis but expanded the project to a workshop series where the girls could interact with secondary school students. Now, SI NT has developed relationships with several schools and homes for girls.

In addition to the workshop, St Rose said the group also hosts an annual poetry competition for World Literacy Day.

It also co-ordinates a Christmas Caravan, delivering necessary items to selected children’s homes.

Last year they decided to “switch things up” and SI NT liaised with one Santa Cruz councillor and instead helped three families in need.

Based on feedback, she said she believed the club was making an impact on girls and the country’s population in general, and she hoped it would be able to do even more in the future.

The rich man does not see Lazarus at his gate. The disciples proceeding to Emmaus do not see Jesus and think Him to be a stranger. “There is none so blind as he who will not see” is a well-known saying.

It is not that he cannot see, but he “will not see”.

This blindness of ours can arise from many sources.

The love of money may blind us to poverty on our doorstep. Racial, ethnic or religious prejudice may blind us to the need to accord dignity and respect in persons who are not of our race, ethnicity or religion. There is another, perhaps more insidious form of blindness to which we may all be subject. It arises from the institutions or circles we inhabit — our place of work, our church group, our circle of friends, our role as parents.

These institutions act to interpret and give order and meaning to the world around us. They provide us with the mental models, and the “lenses”, through which we see, interpret and judge information about the world. They determine which news sources we consume, or whether we rely on gossip and social media for our information.

Without really thinking, we find ourselves having views on, or attitudes towards, what our children wear or what music they listen to, or to Donald Trump’s presidency, the actions of Vladimir Putin, or what Pope Francis says. Such mental models are functional in that they help us to classify and make sense of people and events relatively quickly. But they can also lead to spiritual blindness.

Many politicians who are elected into government find that they get into an institutional ‘bubble’ in which the information that gets to them is filtered, their actions and responses and circumscribed, and they gradually lose touch with the people who elected them to office. The same can and does occur with CEOs and with religious leaders. It is said that: It is lonely at the top! All of us, and particularly those in positions of leadership who may be trapped in institutional “bubbles”, need to recognise the dangers of our mental models and deliberately take steps periodically to recalibrate our lenses, escape our bubbles and allow fresh information and insight to reach us.

Parents need to get into the world that their teenage children inhabit and understand what is shaping their thinking and their behaviour. Priests and religious leaders need to get into their communities and see and experience what their followers are experiencing.

Politicians need to get in touch with their constituents and not just when they engage in protests for bad roads or lack of water. Intellectuals need to read and engage honestly with views which are not consonant with their own.

But even as we seek to avoid being imprisoned by our mental models, which may be fixed by our politics, our ethnicity, or our ideology, there is one lens which ought to remain constant and clear and that is to see God in every human being we meet. We can be sure that when viewed through that lens, we are more likely to have the right view and the right interpretation of any situation we are dealing with.

Opening batsman Belcon struck five fours in his 40-ball knock to lead the Diego Martin- based team to a score of 148 runs for eight wickets. Ex- TT and West Indies batsman Lincoln Roberts pitched in with 32 off 29 deliveries, while Amir Khan and Ranga Lachana scored 19 not out and 19 respectively.

Khan was instrumental in getting Merry Boys to a competitive total as his knock came off just six balls which included one four and two sixes.

Devon Clement took two for 41 in four overs, while Anthony Simmons snatched 2/9 in two overs for Cane Farm.

Cane Farm got off to a disastrous start as they were reduced to 32/5 in the eighth over. Shakeel Allick and Brandon Ramdial fought valiantly for Cane Farm but they were left with a lot of work to do.

Allick slammed an unbeaten 33 off 31 deliveries with four fours, while Ramdial contributed 27 as they reached 100/7 in their allotted 20 overs.

Rishaad Harris, who did the damage at the top of the innings, finished with 2/22 in three overs.

Trinidad and Tobago Red Force captain Marlon Richards snatched 2/13 in four overs and Keon Isaac took 2/17 in three overs.

Up to press time last night Queen’s Park I and Central Sports were playing in the second quarter-final.

Today, in a quarter-final double- header, Courts Orangefield and First Citizens Clarke Road will square off at 3 pm, before Powergen and Jailal Enterprise Victoria face off at 7 pm.

Years later, she would get serious about her clowning and delight children with her character, Aunty Giggles.

Bangura told Sunday Newsday she was born and raised in San Juan and is one of four children. While attending Newtown Girls’ RC School and Providence Girls’ Catholic School she was always the class clown.

“All about having people laughing and grinning in class rather than doing work.” When her mother would go to Parent Teacher Association meetings the teachers always reported that “Kayleen would prefer to have the class in stitches than doing (school)work.” Sometimes she would run into some of her former teachers, who are never surprised when they find out about her profession.

She graduated with three Ordinary Level passes and had to repeat some subjects at San Juan Government Secondary. She then attended the Stenotype College, a secretarial school, where she continued to be the class clown. “I really do like to see people laugh. The few seconds they forget their troubles of life is all worth it.” She said that she likes people to belly laugh and really enjoy the joke.

After she completed secretarial school she went on to work at various law firms and her bosses were confused as to why she was always laughing. “I could not fit in.” She worked in the insurance industry and then at a doctor’s office until she got married and became a stay-at-home mom to two boys, who she home-schools. Bangura thought about ways in which she could generate income and recalled seeing a number of people doing face painting and balloon twisting.

In December 2012, she purchased a Santa Claus suit from Amazon and played the character for events at the Tunapuna Presbyterian School and a number of preschools. She had difficulty speaking in a male voice so the character was silent. She recalled there was one boy who realised she was female and shouted “Is a lady!” She eventually added cotton candy and popcorn to her act. But with so many people doing this type of business she needed to do something to stay “ahead of the pack”. That was when she began incorporating a kids comedy magic show in her act.

A sign language interpreter for over two decades, she explained that she had a background of being creative and was always good with her hands so she was able to quickly pick up the tricks she saw on YouTube. She also learned balloon twisting from watching videos online. The balloon twisting evolved into a balloon show, where the balloons become characters in a story. Her stories for the show includes the nursery rhyme The Old Lady Who Swallowed the Fly and The Three Little Pigs.

“It is fun for the kids.” One of her specialities is her balloon candy cups – cups with treats topped with balloon decorations – which are an alternative to party bags.

Asked about the name Aunty Giggles, which she began using three years ago, Bangura recalled that her teachers used to ask her why she was always giggling and this inspired the name. She said sometimes even while out of costume going about her business children would recognise her and shout “Aunty Giggles!” She said the kids really get into her shows and some adults say they enjoy the show even more than the children. She performs at children’s parties, church events, baby showers and does balloon twisting for corporate events.

She really loves what she does and every time she puts on her costume she gets excited like it is the very first time.

As Aunty Giggles she would love to visit hospitals and perform for children for free as “they could do with a little laughter.” She also hopes to take her act regionally in the future.

“It’s a real joy. I wouldn’t trade this job for sitting down behind a desk.” On Facebook she can be found at Aunty Giggles Balloon Candy Cups ‘n’ Belly Buddies or contacted via telephone at 774-3377.

In a media release yesterday, the TTOC said it acknowledges the continued public interest in the on-going court matter between Williams and the TTGF following the decision of its Games Management Committee (GMC) to confirm Dick as the named gymnastics representative to be included in the Team Trinidad and Tobago (Team TTO) delegation for last year’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The TTOC maintained that the process of the GMC was respectfully followed including confirmation of the eligibility of the athlete and confirmation of the qualification process of the International Federation of Gymnastics (FIG). The TTOC reiterated that the FIG spoke to the legality of the selection of the named athlete, and noted that the name change of the TTGF representative from Thema Williams to Marisa Dick was made in accord with its regulations.

“The decision of the GMC that the TTOC had no choice but to include Ms Marisa Dick in the TeamTTO Rio 2016 delegation was made after two days of intense discussion, and the consideration of submissions by several entities including FIG, the TTGF, and legal advice.” The TTOC said in light of the ethical is sues raised during the selection process, the TTOC made the decision to invoke its authority under Clause 13 of its constitution to determine whether the TTGF had infringed the TTOC constitution, the Olympic charter and the International Olympic Committee’s Code of Ethics in respect of their duty to be fair.

“The lawsuit subsequently filed by Ms Williams tied the hands of the TTOC with regards to Clause 13, as the matter was now considered ‘sub judice’ and thus prohibited from public discussion elsewhere.” Williams through her attorneys has initiated legal action against the TTGF. Last Wednesday, she attended a media conference with her attorneys Martin Daly SC and Keith Scotland. Daly levelled nine questions to the TTOC which he said, if answered, would provide a clearer understanding into the country’s controversial first entry into gymnastics at the Olympics.

TTOC said it would like to underscore its commitment to improve sports governance.

“The TTOC also affirms that the public has a vested interest in the selection of athletes to represent Trinidad and Tobago. As such it is committed to making the selection criteria for athletes seeking to represent Team TTO in various sports available on the TTOC website, and on the websites of various sporting organisations.” The TTOC pointed out TTOC president Brian Lewis recently stated, “It is my belief that the modern sport organisation, which is still a member-based, non-profit and even volunteer- based operation, has to strike that balance between non-profit and operating in the business- space, modern environment.” The TTOC said it therefore acknowledges the potentially significant legal implications and consequences of all its decisions.

“As an independent body, the TTOC must continue to resist pressures including those of a political, legal, religious and economic nature that would potentially distract from its larger responsibility to all athletes in Trinidad and Tobago. The TTOC takes its role to develop and protect the Olympic movement and sport throughout Trinidad and Tobago seriously, and therefore cannot offer any further comment on the on-going matter involving Ms Thema Williams and the Trinidad and Tobago Gymnastics Federation (TTGF).

“I must say, sometimes, the men are better dressed at functions than the women now,” said Eastman.

“Fellas now, they learn the importance of a jacket and a blazer and a sweater and a cardigan and a bow tie and I mean, the fellas and them, they on top of things.” It is a welcome development, Eastman observes, who along with Khan, have been in the industry for four decades, inclusive of the life of the Zadd and Eastman brand of women’s fashion.

In 1981, Khan founded a retail outlet on the Point Fortin Main Road by the name of Le Fleur.

After earning a name for himself as a retailer, Khan developed the skills and confidence necessary to create his own fashion label with Eastman. The brand has burst its local seams and is internationally known and sought after.

“We have styled Destiny’s Child – we did a photo shoot with them in California,” Eastman said of the multiple Grammy award winning R&B group, which produced superstar Beyonce.

“We also supplied Nicki Minaj with clothes for different purposes when she came to Trinidad. And Dottie Peoples, the award winning gospel artiste.”

Trinidad-born Minaj has also one multiple awards as a top performing hip hop artiste.

Locally, the designers have dressed an impossible to list number of women, from Sharon Rowley, lawyer and wife of Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, to jazz singer Vaughnette Bigford. They’ve styled several Miss Trinidad and Tobago queens and won numerous awards at home and abroad.

The brand is focused on providing beautiful clothing to “sophisticated women who know and understand fashion” and, will continue to do so, Eastman assured.

But, the designer has taken note of how local men are grooming and styling themselves.

“Now, it is a gym thing, and the haircuts.

Before, when you would just going by a barber and scrape down your hair, but now you have styles: the high-cut, the beard, the Muslim thing, the male ponytail on the top, the buff-up shoulders, the slim shirt and sleek jeans. I mean, they are on par and sometimes even better dressed than the woman.” Despite the welcome change, Eastman, who also lectures on design concept in fashion design degree programme at the University of Trinidad and Tobago’s BA in Fashion Design, sees no need for the label to go into the men’s wear just yet.

However, he said the trend reflects a slowly unfurling consciousness about what new developments in the industry.

“Trinidad is having a conversation about a fashion industry. People have been saying that this is one of the alternative industries to oil and gas. To get there, we have asked for free zone spaces, training people, introducing sewing classes into the education system.” And government has responded to the calls for fashion to be taken seriously as a viable industry with FashionTT , a subsidiary of Creative TT .

“Stimulating and facilitating the business development and export activity of the fashion industry in Trinidad and Tobago to generate national wealth,” is the state enterprise’s mandate, according to Creative TT ’s website. The Ministry of Trade and Industry’s analysis of the creative industry last year identified 210 fashion companies, which employed over 1,465 persons and generated in excess of $266 million.

As such, Eastman believes there is potential for growth with proper planning and implementation, but the road ahead will be long.

“Trinidad people are generally very fashion trendy, we go with the new trends, but we are basically a new society.

London and these places have had 200 to 300 years of history to develop their own.” To get there, Eastman asked that people ponder three questions. “What is our taste? What are our standards? What is our aesthetic?” Even as he raises the debate on fashion on the national level, Eastman said the Zadd and Eastman label remains rooted in its Point Fortin hometown.

And they will be part of the borough’s annual celebrations this week, leading to its 37th anniversary date on May 6.

Women are sure to step out in a Zadd and Eastman signature style for the events.

“We have always supplied clothes for parties, like the newest all-inclusive Bedrock.” However, Zadd and Eastman is most popular in the community as queen-makers.

“Since the inception of the Miss Borough competition, we always placed first, second, third, over the years. We have not entered over the last few years, giving the other young people a chance, but that has been our major contribution to the borough

The announcement was made by the chief judge of the prize, Professor Edward Baugh, at a ceremony last night at the Old Fire Station, Port-of-Spain. The OCM Bocas Prize is one of the highlights of the annual NGC Bocas Lit Fest.

This was Miller’s second time at the OCM Bocas Prize ceremony, as he was previously named the non-fiction category winner and shortlisted for the overall prize in 2014, with his essay collection, Writing Down the Vision.

Miller’s novel was chosen by the judges from a short-list of three books, made up of the genre category winners of the 2017 prize.

The poetry winner was Jamaican Safiya Sinclair, for her debut book Cannibal, and the non-fiction winner was the late Trinidadian writer Angelo Bissessarsingh, for his twin volumes Virtual Glimpses into the Past/A Walk Back in Time: Snapshots of the History of Trinidad and Tobago. They each received an award of US$3,000; Bissessarsingh’s award was accepted by his mother Carmen.

Augustown is a historical epic set in a deprived community on the outskirts of Kingston, Jamaica’s capital. The novel jumps between the 1980s and the early 20th century and tackles complexities of class, ethnicity, religion, and language.

The judges described Augustown as “a spell-binding novel written in simple, well limned, imagistic prose. It’s a novel that’s realistic – a realism grounded in history – and magic-realist.” In addition to Professor Baugh, the final judging panel for the prize included UK-based Guyanese writer David Dabydeen, academic Susheila Nasta, and Jamaican editor Kim Robinson- Walcott.

Miller, 38, who is based in the United Kingdom and is professor of creative writing at the University of Exeter, is the youngest winner of the OCM Bocas Prize to date.

The 2017 NGC Bocas Lit Fest opened on April 26 and ends tonight with Grand Slam: 2017 First Citizens National Poetry Slam Finals.

Number two seed Marcelle fell to the talented youngster Renales 21-19, 21-9.

Renales, the Trinidad and Tobago Badminton Association nominee for Sportswoman of the Year 2016, was scheduled to face Solangel Guzman in the final yesterday.

Guzman’s superiority was on show as she swept past Leanna Castanada 21-6, 21-2. The number one seed, who has dominated women’s badminton for the best part of a decade, is a formidable tactician who has won many local as well as regional titles.

Alistair Espinoza defeated fellow veteran Roger Moore, to set up a showdown with his nemesis Will Lee in the men’s singles final.

In the other semi-final, Lee had stiffer competition from his longtime time rival Naim Mohammed, before winning the match 22-20, 21-14. Espinoza and Lee both play for the Shuttleforce club located in Sangre Grande and know each other’s game well.

In the men’s doubles semi-finals, Espinoza and Lee defeated Hayden Bishop and Jason Ramjass 21-9, 21-13.

The pair will meet Mohammed and Sheraz Nabbie, who got past the Sinanan brothers Renaldo and Travis 21-19, 21- 16.

The women’s doubles final will pit the number one seeds Guzman and Renales against Castanada and Latoya Walrond.

Guzman and Renales got past the Mollah sisters Faith and Kelly 21-8, 21- 3, while Castanada and Walrond beat the number two seeds Marcelle and Stephanie Mitchell 21-16, 21-10.

The master’s round robin title was also decided yesterday.

Many of the players will be on show when the Caribbean Regional Badminton Confederation (CAREBACO) Championships are held in TT from August 10-25 at the National Racquet Centre in Tacarigua.

Always cruising behind leader Whisper Light, champion jockey Ronald “Tiger” Ali asked the Harriram “Pepsi” Gobin-trained for his effort 400 metres out and he simply scooted clear to win by a massive 11 1/4 lengths.

Champion sprinter Control Unit, despite having three kilo claimer Omar Mohammed up to lessen his 60 kilos burden, failed to make an impression in the race and finished fourth of five.

Both ali and Wilmer Galviz shared riding honours, landing two winners apiece.

But no trainer managed saddling more than one winner on the day’s eight-race programme.

The day saw its fair share of upsets, with the biggest being when Sling Shot won to reward backers with $16.70 and $5.05 on the tote, and Star Pharoah backers got $12.65 and $3.35 on their tote wagers.

Turfites had to wait for the final race to csh in on the Hi5 which paid a most handwome $5,215.40.