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.

Back in June, Yorke announced that he was able to use his influence at United where he is one of the club’s ambassadors, to obtain the traning gear through the Manchester United foundation. The stock arrived in Port of Spain earlier this month and was received by Minister of Sport Darryl Smith.

“I am delighted to confirm that a massive amount of Manchester United kit and football equipment such as boots, balls and cones have finally arrived in Trinidad and Tobago and was collected by the Ministry of Sport. The intention here is for these items to be distributed to several of the young teams in Trinidad and Tobago which are underprivileged or simply don’t have the means of accessing this kind of football gear in order to engage in playing matches or training,” Yorke said. “Personally it is a great feeling that I’ve been able to make this happen in spite of my schedule at the moment which is a pretty hectic one with the new role I’ve been assigned in Dubai,” Yorke continued.

“For me, my home country is always in the back of my mind and as it relates to football development I am pleased to assist in any little way that I can. We’ve got a lot of talented youngsters coming up and it’s important that we take the right approach and the right steps with them,” Yorke added.

The former Aston Villa striker joined GEMS Education and the ESM Football Academy and was earlier this month unveiled as an ambassador in the UAE (United Arab Emirates).

Yorke commenced his role this month working with beginners to advanced players.

“As a member of the FIFA Development Committee, I am extremely passionate about helping young footballers achieve their immediate and long-term goals,” said Yorke, who won the treble with United in 1999 scoring 52 in 96 appearances under Sir Alex Ferguson from 1998 to 2002. “I can understand the challenges of playing football in a small country and really relate to their dreams of playing in the major football leagues around the world.” Managing Director at ESM Football Academy, James Bowring, said: “ESM Football will stick to its strong long-term vision of helping produce quality players in the UAE, and giving boys and girls the opportunities to consider a professional career in the ‘beautiful game’ post their studies.

“We all understand the importance of development of young players here in the UAE. Dwight Yorke will be a fantastic addition to our development programmes, offering an invaluable insight in to playing at the highest level. This experience and view point will benefit the talent we have here and help produce a new generation of players.”

Police reports revealed that during the early hours of Sunday, bandits using a blowtorch cut a hole at the eastern side of the bank and later used the same blowtorch to cut open a vault containing the $3.5 million.

The break-in was only discovered at around 9 am on Sunday when people who went to the bank’s ATM machine to use the fast service saw the gaping hole and contacted Chaguanas police.

On Sunday ACP Irwin Hackshaw along with head of the Port-of-Spain CID Ag Snr Supt Ajith Persad, and Snr Supt Kenny Mc Intyre put together a team of officers to assist in bringing the perpetrators of this crime to justice.

Investigators are expected to return to the bank today to interview several people, including employees and to review footage from the bank’s surveillance cameras.

Officials at the bank are also expected to do an audit to ascertain exactly how much money was in the vault, however, officials believe that the money in the vault was valued at more than $3 million. Within recent times bandits have targeted several Scotia Bank branches, however with the latest heist at FCB bankers are planning to meet to have discussions on how security operations could be beefed up to avoid a recurrence. Yesterday, fingerprint experts returned to the bank as part of the ongoing investigation and they are expected to return today in company with officers of the Cyber Crime Unit.

ACP Hackshaw said yesterday that the team of officers assigned to carry out the probe remains committed to solving this crime.

Yesterday also, members of the Chaguanas business community were advised that in the aftermath of Sunday’s robbery, to beef up security at their business places and make all necessary precautions.

Maughn, who have captured the national title a whopping 13 times, is hoping to accumulate at least $25,000, which will cover the cost of his airfare and accommodation.

He is hopeful that he can get support from the Ministry of Sport, the corporate sector as well as members of the public, in his quest to put Trinidad and Tobago on the global stage.

For more information, call 352- 8054, 684-9299 or 297-7407.

The little boy identified as Zeke Henry was reunited with his mother Marsha Henry and other relatives shortly after 4 am.

According to reports, police constables Gerald Morris and Dillon Ramsumair were on mobile patrol shortly before 4 am along the Churchill Roosevelt Highway when they saw Zeke walking along the shoulder of the westbound lane.

The boy wore a green sleeveless top and three quarter khaki pants.

The stunned officers brought the police vehicle to a stop and asked the child where his parents were.

He said, he did not know, but bravely gave his name as Zeke Henry.

The policemen placed the boy in their vehicle and PC Morris contacted a female friend who lives in the El Socorro area asking if she knew Zeke or members of his family. She told him that she knows Zeke and where his parents live.

The officers followed the direction given to them and within minutes they were at his parents’ home knocking on the front door, as it was a short distance from where they found Zeke.

A male sibling opened the door and was surprised to see Zeke in PC Morris’ hands. The boy’s parents, who were asleep at the time, were awakened and they too were surprised that Zeke had left the home unnoticed.

His mother told the police that the front door had broken and it was supposed to be repaired.

She told the officer she believed that Zeke opened the door and left the house unnoticed.

Zeke admitted that he opened the door to go outside to play. He said that he was frightened when he reached the highway because the place was dark and no one was around. He promised the officers never to repeat the act again.

Thanking the two officers for safely reuniting Zeke with his family, she said the two officers’ actions gave her an added faith and confidence in the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service.

When told how the officers received the information where Zeke’s parents could be contacted, Marsha said, she believed it was divine intervention that the two officers were on patrol at the time her son was wandering.

Though each segment of the creative sector faces unique challenges, one conclusion can be drawn from the Inter American Development Bank (IDB) discussion that took place at the Hyatt Regency in Port-of-Spain.

It is time to stop paying lip service.

Let us build our creative industry.

In a time when diversification is the key principle that should be shaping the future economy, this is an area that must be harnessed.

It is potentially a source of great revenue and employment.

For this to happen, however, the state and private sector – especially banks – must be willing to invest. No doubt agencies like the IDB can help redefine our economic approach to the creative industry.

But bolstering the arts economy is not just a matter of capital.

It is also about the efficient use of resources. One key criticism levied by filmmaker Yao Ramesar relates to our untapped talent pool.

Ramesar argued too much of the local creative sector exists in cliques of friends – largely based on geography and class – to the exclusion of others.

Saying film-making is not the exclusive preserve of the young, he said one of Trinidad and Tobago’s current emerging film-makers is a retired public servant.

“If you want to get the best film and stories that are out there, you’ve got to spread your net wide,” he said. Yet, it is one thing to confront the exclusivity of an industry, it is another to identify and nurture talent. Gains in the sector are rendered transient if both issues are not addressed.

Though the arts clearly have a role to play in offering employment and providing GDP, art itself cannot be limited to mercenary functions. Art is inherently a social thing. It can help open doors for people with special needs, giving them opportunities to learn and assert their place in society. And it is an agent of renewal, relief and change.

Animation pioneer Camille Selvon Abraham noted animation is not only potentially a new industry but also a social tool, helping children with special needs, like those who are autistic.

No matter our views as to its function, we must stop seeing arts and culture as secondary to development. It is pivotal.

This is why it is also essential that as a society we not only hail talent but also require artists to think about the business aspect of things that is required to sustain creative industries.

Costa Rica Ambassador LillyEdgerton Picado also said TT’s abundance of talent is mind-blowing but creative personalities must also face up to the realities of business, such as crafting a business plan and properly pitching the price of their works.

Phase II pannist Yohan Chuckaree spoke of the irony that few know where to buy a steel pan, a sign that we have more to do when it comes to distribution of the national instrument. At the same time, technology is making it possible to market steel pan music to the recording industry all over the world.

Sunday’s panel discussion coincided with the TT Film Festival which, though still in infancy, points us in the right direction.

We cannot afford to approach the arts sector with short-sighted plans. Through sustained development initiatives, we must build it. And make it stronger.

The Road Sprint is open to all riders.

The qualifying round will be held during stage three of the Cycling Classic at Shelbourne Street, Plymouth on Friday from 2.30pm with the finals during stage four at Market Square, Wilson Road, Scarborough on Saturday from 9am.

Australian Tyler Spurrell won last year’s title ahead of his PSL teammate Jamaican Marloe Rodman. TT ’s Adam Alexander was the top local finisher, taking fourth place.

The 2017 edition of the TICC rides off tomorrow with the opening ceremony at 9am and the first leg of the four-stage race at 1.30pm. Over 200 cyclists from Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Argentina, Colombia, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Guyana, United States of America, Canada, St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Lucia, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago will compete in five days of cycling in the four-stage race, Road Sprint, Mountain Bike and the UCI 1.2 Tour of Tobago.

Overall stage winner Dutchman Arno Van Der Zwet of team PSL is already in Tobago and he is seeking to win a second straight crown. Fellow Dutch rider and PSL teammate Nick Stopler was second in 2016 and will aiming to upset his compatriot. Rodman, the 2015 victor, is also confirmed for this year. Multiple champion and hometown hero Emile Abraham (Team Pharmaco) will be aiming for the top spot. Abraham is back after missing last year’s edition.

Two-time Olympian Njisane Phillip and former Caribbean junior champions Tyler Cole and siblings Akil and Teniel Campbell along with Varun Maharaj, all of PS L’s Caribbean team as well at Team Riders (formerly Team Foundation) brothers Adam and Joshua Alexander will also lead the local charge. Barbadian Jamol Eastmond (Team Heatwave) finetuned his preparation by winning the Republic Day Classic in Diego Martin on Sunday.

Ten teams (PSL, Pharmaco, Raiders, Heatwave, Embrace The World, RC Schwalbe, Econo, PSL-Jet Blue, Veloclub Ratisbona, St Vincent and the Grenadines) have registered for the Elite (Division One) category.

Organisers have thanked their Gold Sponsors including National Lotteries Control Board, Tobago House of Assembly and Ministry of Sport.

Key Sponsors include Caribbean Bottlers, bmobile, Econo Car Rentals, British Airways, Crown Point Beach Hotel, Johnston Apartments, Caribbean Airlines, Kiss Baking, Holiday Snacks, Agostini Insurance and El Pecos.

The information provided to the committee, and by extension to the national community, by all of these “witnesses,” representing the full critical decision-making spectrum for the port, including the level of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet, has led to the inescapable conclusion in the national community that the current arrangements for the direction and the overall management and operations of the port constitute an unmitigated disaster and is an ongoing costly failure.

So, it is time to fix this. There is no more any need for debate on whether or not the arrangements for the management and operations of the port need to be fixed. And criminal charges — if any are ultimately indicated out of the various enquires — will take their normal course for matters of this kind in our country. The population should now press the Government to initiate steps to make dramatic and fundamental changes in the framework governing the management and operations of the port.

In this regard, all the evidence that has been presented to the national community over the past two weeks, in particular in respect of the port, raises the question as to exactly what, if any, is the real purpose and authority of the board.

It appears to be completely superfluous. The minister, Cabinet and the management of the port are the real decision makers. Why have a board at all? This whole sorry mess demonstrates that it is entirely inappropriate, dysfunctional and indeed unsafe for politicians, whatever their qualifications, experience and good intentions, to have any direct hand whatsoever in the decisions at the port.

And I will go one step further to suggest that what we have learnt about the port is symptomatic of a widespread problem. Accordingly, all necessary constitutional/ legislative steps should be taken to ensure that all State-owned businesses must be structured to operate as entities definitively belonging to the State and not to the Government of the day, as is painfully the case today.

A new business model is needed for the port in particular. Perhaps the model as operates for Plipdeco or Petrotrin? What is needed is any business model that definitively removes ministers and the Cabinet from direct decision making in a State-owned business, leaving boards of directors in charge, while retaining the ownership powers of the State to be exercised at appropriate fora, such as at AGMs, on behalf of the people, the real owners — not the Government.

ASHTON S BRERETON via e-mail

The robbery was only discovered at 9 am yesterday when bank officials received a call that there was a gaping hole at the eastern side of the bank,

When they visited the bank officials saw the hole and on checking found that one of the vaults were cut open and the cash missing. Officers of the Central Division were alerted as well as acting Police Commissioner Harold Phillip,

A team of officers under the supervision of Ag Snr Supt Ajith Persad, head of Port-of-Spain CID, is investigating,

Up to press time, fingerprint experts as well as officers of the Cyber Crime Unit were at the bank continuing investigations,

It remained unclear whether any security officer was on duty when the break in took place,

The stolen money represents deposits from businesses and other business transactions carried out on Friday last,

Bank officials who were at the scene told Newsday they are hoping for a breakthrough in this investigation,

Officials say they believe the people who robbed the bank had information on the location of the vault and which vault to target,

Yesterday, ACP (Crime) Irwin Hackshaw told Newsday he remains confident the crime would be solved and added that the police will be relentless in their efforts to recover the money,

He said that within recent times the Police Service led by himself and Ag Snr Supt Persad have made a series of breakthroughs including the recent robbery at the D’Abadie branch of PriceSmart, two kidnappings and other serious offences under the supervision of acting Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams and Deputy Commissioner Harold Phillip,

Saying that film-making is not the exclusive preserve of the young, he keenly noted that one of TT’s current emerging film-makers is a retired public servant.

Urging everyone to break the chains around culture, Ramesar urged, “If you want to get the best film and stories that are out there, you’ve got to spread your net wide.” He noted that Jamaican reggae icon, the late Bob Marley, was born in an obscure little village, Nine Miles, even as it was later noted that TT’s Nobel Laureate author Earl Lovelace lived in far-flung Toco.

Ramesar said that patriotism is not about buying a red, white and black flag, but about respecting all of your fellow citizens and affording them an opportunity.

Animation pioneer Camille Selvon Abraham said her field offers opportunities for autistic students some of whom have already proven themselves in that field.

If institutional support is given, she saw huge potential for animation, saying it would generate many job opportunities for designers, storytellers, musicians and comedians.

Dr Marielle Barrow, a social entrepreneur of the group “Caribbean In Transit” and “This Is Me”, spoke of the challenges she’d faced in helping youngsters from a wide range of backgrounds in the region to be trained in the arts including its business side.

Saying such training also involves a life-skills component for vulnerable youngsters, she said that one must deal with these social issues such as poverty so as to help them reach to a higher level artistically. Phase II ace pannist Yohan Chuckaree asked guests to raise their hands if they knew where to buy a steelpan.

He surmised, “In a roomful of Trinidadians, only five people know where to buy the national instrument.” However on a positive note he said his firm has begun digitally recording samples of local people playing acoustic instruments, including the Laventille Rhythm Section. “A guy sitting on the Eastern Main Road, Laventille is now being used by a music producer in California, or in Asia.” However Chuckaree said the creative sector needs a roadmap, saying, “Export TT wants to help us but doesn’t know where to start.” He said it is a challenge to deal with banks who do not understand how local creators are using e-commerce to sell their innovations overseas.

“We and the corporate sector must start believing in ourselves.

Our culture can stand up on the world stage.” In the question session, Costa Rica Ambassador Lilly Edgerton Picado said TT’s abundance of talent is mind-blowing but she said creative personalities must also face up to the realities of business, such as crafting a business plan and properly pitching the price of their works.

Rudolph Hanamji of the Calabash Foundation asked all present to consider what is the advocacy gap that is preventing long-espoused ideas from bearing fruit?