Ten Habitat, a non-profit organisation which focuses on developing investor-ready start-up Caribbean entrepreneurs, and regional bank CIBC FirstCaribbean have partnered in a venture to support local and regional start-ups.

Gary Brown, CEO of CIBC FirstCaribbean and chairman of CIBC FirstCaribbean’s charitable foundation, and Selwyn Cambridge, founder of Ten Habitat, recently signed a memorandum of understanding at the bank’s Warrens, St Michael offices in Barbados which will see the bank supporting the work of Ten Habitat with a yearly grant of US $15,000 for the next three years.

“At CIBC FirstCaribbean, we recognise the need for young entrepreneurs to get that grounding in starting their businesses and so we support the work of Ten Habitat and organisations like it that will hold the hands of young start-ups to guide them on the way to successful businesses,” Brown said after the signing.

Ten Habitat will work with young entrepreneurs by exposing them to a range of hands-on support that will assist them in building their businesses.

The organisation boasts a global network of experts, mentors and coaches who help the start-ups move their ideas from concept to reality and then further facilitate them by mobilising the Caribbean Diaspora to invest in those businesses.

CIBC FirstCaribbean is one of the first corporate entities to support Ten Habitat in the quest to assist young entrepreneurs, as part of a programme which will be rolled out in Barbados first and then to the rest of the Caribbean.

Ten Habitat supplies mentorship, guidance, funding and a co-working space for the businesses and stages a number of key events annually aimed at strengthening their various skills.

Rambharat said the Forestry Division has overall responsibility for this exercise.

He identified Cleaver Woods Recreation Park, Matura National Park, Aripo Savannah and Quinam Recreation Park as some designated national parks and recreation areas.

Later in the sitting, Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan said the first phase of work along the Southern Main Road in Warrenville took place between October 31 and December 2.

Sinanan said the re-commencement of work, to complete 100 metres of box drain and pavement should take place in April.

“It is not an easy thing as a mother to get a telephone call and being told that a light bulb shattered and your nine-year-old son was injured,” Martin-Charles told Newsday in an interview.

On February 1, her son, standard three student, Jayden Martin- Charles was seated in his classroom when a fluorescent light bulb in the ceiling exploded.

The glass splinters scattered unto the chairs and tables, one of the broken pieces of the light bulb penetrated the boy’s scalp. Jayden, according to his mother, lost a lot of blood. He was rushed to the Princes Town District Health Facility.“ He was bleeding at the school and the bleeding also continued at the health centre.

It was really hard as a mother to see my son in this condition,”Martin Charles said. She told Newsday that her son was traumatised and crying. “He was treated at the Health Centre and even some weeks after, he was still getting headaches.

He is doing okay now but I am afraid that if this problem is not addressed that this may happen to another child,” she said. Parents and students have since held two consecutive days of placard demonstrations to voice their concerns.

The school building has been in existence for the past 17 years and parents said the electrical wires need to be changed. “My son is alive and I am happy the injuries were not more severe.

He was lucky that because of his thick hair the piece of glass did not penetrate deeper into his scalp.” She said those in authority need to get their act together. “All my children have attended this school and the teaching they have received is excellent. The teachers are doing their job, but the problem is the wiring and if it means closing the school for one week to rectify the problem it must be done.” Martin Charles said all parties should work together to create a safe environment for the students.

Several weeks ago a fire also started in one of the classrooms due to the faulty electrical wires.

In a statement on Saturday, the TTCG stated that it is “cognizant of the voice of the public as it has been expressed that there are potential threats to the boating community and the occurrence of illegal fishing.” “The Coast Guard has noted that the concerns on illegal fishing have cited activities around unauthorized fishing in Tobago. As such, the TTCG is increasing patrols during this carnival season. Many people from around the world visit our shores, therefore the TTCG has developed its scope of operations to ensure the safety of the public that traverse the seas.” The TTCG said that to effectively carry out their maritime safety initiatives they advise members of the public to contact the TTCG via radio on VHF channel 16 or via the telephone contact at 634-8824 to give information about sailing movements. It is also important for persons to indicate to the TTCG the name of the vessel and the number of persons on board to ensure their safety while at sea.

He explained that the information is placed in different categories and various agencies under his ministry treats with that information accordingly.

In response to another question later in the sitting, Dillon indicated that the height requirement of persons seeking to join the Police Service is being reviewed. He said the current requirement has been in place since “colonial times”. Dillon did not indicate when this review would be complete.

Bloomberg has reported that over the next 18 months, Digicel will be re-organised into regional hubs, including two for the Caribbean and Central America, and two for the Pacific region. It is expected that this will result in job losses. Delves apprised Cuffie about this re-organisation and the context of this decision.

The two will meet at the earliest opportunity to discuss the implications.

“Despite efforts to encourage young people to delay sexual activity, Da Costa-Martinez said, “young people are sexually active.” Noting the need to scale up the work that is being done, there is need to act, she said, “on a focused strategy about what we all need to do about the manifest links between inadequate education, early sexual activity and the negative economic and health outcomes.” The question that remains, she said in a statement, “is whether we have the Cabinet-level leadership and decisiveness to do what is needed in the national interest.” Noting that FPATT was ready to engage with the Education Ministry to nurture children in a holistic manner, Da Costa-Martinez said, continued discussion without action is to abdicate responsibility to the children.

Staging a one-time conference on “Sexually Transmitted Diseases in Schools” is not a comprehensive response to the issues at hand, she said.

She noted that Caribbean Development Research Services study done in October 2013 on public attitudes on sexual and reproductive health, child sexual and physical abuse, domestic violence and stigma and discrimination related to HIV and homophobia showed that 83 percent of the population agreed with teaching age-appropriate sex and sexuality education in secondary schools.

The recently reconstituted National AIDS Coordinating Committee, she said, “must step up and take on its leadership role in implementing appropriate prevention strategies to address this dearth of information.” The Ministerial Declaration “Preventing through Education”, at which Government was represented and which was approved in Mexico City in August 2008 at the 1st Meeting of Ministers of Health and Education to Stop HIV in Latin America and the Caribbean, she said, should guide initiatives.

At that meeting, the ministers agreed to implement and/ or strengthen multi-sectoral strategies of comprehensive sexuality education and promotion of sexual health. This included HIV/STI prevention, and to ensure that health services provide effective access to counselling and testing for HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) including clinical, condoms and education in their correct and consistent use, and counselling about reproductive decisions.

Agreeing with Education Minister Anthony Garcia’s comments that parents play an essential role, she said, parents or guardians know that it was not an easy task in a fast-changing world and not all parents have the necessary tools to do so.

Alarm expressed by the public on learning recently that over 300 children of school age were diagnosed with sexually transmitted infections between 2012 and 2015, she said, “was mind-boggling”, but it was in keeping with what the local statistics.

The World Health Organisation Global School Health Survey of 2011 noted that in TT, 27 percent of young people between 13 to 15 years had sexual intercourse. It showed that multiple partnerships were common among the 15 to 24 age groups with 52 percent of boys and 33 percent of girls reporting more than one sexual partners during the year of the survey. Transactional sex was also high among this group with 42 percent reporting exchanging sex for gifts, favours or cash.

This has significant impact for teenage pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections including HIV, she said.

Repeated calls by FPATT, National Parent Teachers Association (NPTA), faith-based organisations and other non-governmental organisations, expressing support for including comprehensive sexuality education in the primary and secondary curricula, she said, has public support.

They have been shouldering the responsibility for preventing young people from becoming one of those statistics, and equipping them for adult life.

The Collaborative HIV/ AIDS Management Programme (CHAMP), an HIV prevention programme for adolescents, is an initiative of FPATT, which has been adopted by the Anglican Church. It includes parents in an holistic education and counselling programme about sexuality, including HIV, she said, yet teenage pregnancy and HIV prevalence among young people remain unacceptably high.

Noting that Education Ministry in 2014 reported an average of 2,500 adolescent girls becoming pregnant each year in school, she said, the Medical Chief of Staff in the Ministry of Health noted that in one local hospital, 74 girls under the age of 16 gave birth in 2015.

He called for “the need to address contraceptives to prevent teenage pregnancy.”

He said SWMCOL has changed the located of the sitting area where waste is received and also increased the amount of stockpile materials at the site to be used, should a fire occur. Hinds added that an emergency access route has been created on Cedar Hill Road to reduce the time taken by fire fighting appliances and trucks to respond to any fire at the dump.

He indicated that the International Monetary Fund in January, projected oil prices of US$51.20 per barrel and US$53.10 per barrel, this year and in 2018 respectively. Imbert underscored the point that, “the Government’s medium term fiscal strategy since inception has been one of stability, consolidation, debt sustainability, tax reform and diversification of revenue and expenditure.”

Hidden beneath his calm exterior and soft voice lies the spirit of a true warrior.

Grant, 36, has practised three different styles of martial arts while attending university in the United States.

He is also the founder of the Southern Warriors of Mixed Martial Arts (SWMMA), one of the Caribbean’s premier mixed martial arts schools.

Recently however, Grant has taken his fight outside the ring, engaging his community through school visits, seminars and after-school programmes in an attempt to reach out to troubled youth spreading the philosophy of humility and discipline through the martial arts.

Newsday spoke with Grant for an insight into his work and how he intends to achieve his goal of saving the nation’s youth.

“It’s more than just teaching persons how to punch and kick, for me it’s about sort of bridging the gap as a father figure for youths where a lot men have failed.

“It’s about reaching out and helping enrich my community however I can.” What sets Grant aside from your standard martial arts coach is his tireless work ethic and larger-than-life personality, which has earned him the admiration of both his students and his community.

Drawing strength from his humble beginnings, his unique leadership style is a testament to his success as a coach, striking a delicate balance between drill sergeant and motivational speaker.

When he is not at his gym, Grant divides his time between his job as a machine engineer, a chartered pilot and family man.

One of his sons, five-year-old Chedon Grant, is a full-fledged member of the Southern Warriors and despite his limited experience, has already competed on a regional scale, taking down opponents several years older than him.

To some this might seem counter-productive, at a time when school violence is a hot topic, however, Grant boasts that his son, despite his extensive training as a fighter, has never been involved in any conflicts at school. Asked his secret, Grant attributes his son’s discipline to old-school parenting.

“I always tell my son that if he is being bullied or picked on by any of the other students, to go and tell a teacher. I never encourage him to go out and start fights with anyone, martial arts training or not, it’s something I take very seriously.” Grant’s interest in martial arts began at the tender age of seven, when his father recommended karate to him. Before long, the young prodigy excelled in the art, taking his interest with him abroad where he was exposed to styles such as judo, Brazilian jiu-jitsu and eventually mixed martial arts.

“My father always told me if you’re going to do something do it well. It’s something that I take with me even to this day.

It’s all about being the best that you can be and ignoring the boundaries that others set for you. I always tell my students that.

In keeping with the school’s mantra of “producing extraordinary people”, Grant says that he isn’t concerned with merely teaching youngsters how to fight, rather he is interested in the holistic development of troubled youths.

“My role is not to simply produce fighters, it’s to produce outstanding individuals, productive members of society, doctors, lawyers and entrepreneurs, people who can go out there and make positive changes in their community.” Grant has made proposals to the Ministry of Education, to partner with the SWMMA in tackling delinquent students.

“What I’ve realised is that students that have been suspended from school often have nowhere else to go but home where they stress their parents or back to the streets.” Addressing the negative stereotypes behind the martial arts and martial artists, as promoting violence, Grant believes that he has the key to getting through to at-risk youths as he has dealt with violent persons on a daily basis in his job as a martial arts coach.

“Martial arts is a rough sport.

There’s no getting around that, but being a rough sport, I believe that I have some insight into dealing with rough people.

Often times we need to change their mindsets and get them outside of their comfort zones in order for them to see what lies ahead for them if they are willing to work for it.” So what lies ahead for the Southern Warriors? Despite enjoying considerable success at home and regionally, Grant says that he is not yet pleased until he achieves his ultimate goal of sending a local fighter to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) which is an American mixed martial arts promotion company.

“We have an enormous amount of potential here in Trinidad and Tobago, the key to unlocking it is to remain consistent in developing the raw talent into skill. Like any other sport, martial arts requires that consistency and I know that we have what it takes to produce a UFC-quality fighter.”