BALDWIN, JULIET Deceased of 4446 Hadeed Avenue Calvary Hill Arima, Died peacefully in her sleep on Monday 17th April, 2017. At the age 70yrs. She was the daughter of the late George and Theodora Dedier. Wife of the late Irwin Vincent Baldwin Snr. Mother of Irwin Jr.Marcia, Stanley, Nadia and James Mother in law of Melissa, Marcia and AnthonyYoung. Grand mother of Jizzle, Melanie, Maurice, Alex,Le Jeanne, Jessie, Bradley, Ronaldo, Dana & Briana. Great Grand Mother of Four(4) Sister of Archie (dec.),Lenora (USA), Ruth (dec.), Janet (dec.), Marie, Farria(dec.), Cutbert (aka Zut deceased), Tommy, Judith, Marion (dec), Humphrey, and Teresa (USA)

Funeral for the late Judith Baldwin takes place on Tuesday 25th April 2017 at 12.00 noon at the Santa Rosa Roman Catholic Church Thence to Belgrove Funeral Home Crematorium. Orange Grove Road, Trincity. The body will be removed from Junior Armstrong Memorial Funeral Services.#14 King Street, Arima at 11.30am for the church. Enquires can be made at Armstrongs Arima. Tel: 667 3250/776 2613

WILLIAMS: Edmund b.k.a Eddyand Sunday of #4 Imrie Street,Les Effort East, San Fernando passed away on April 20th, 2017at the age of 89. He was the Husband of Beulah Carole Williams. Father of Anthony Dave Williams, Derek Williams and Dawn Williams Chamberlin. Father in law of Carla, Elizabeth and Trevor Brother of twelve (12) deceased. Grandfather of Natalie, Michaela, Nicholai, Daryl, Christian, Cordel, Candice, Djorn, Joanna and Nikita. Great grandfather of eleven (11). Uncle of many. Close Friend of Jano Bishop.

The Funeral Serviceof the late EDMUND WILLIAMS will take place on Tuesday 25thApril, 2017 at 3:00 p.m. at the St.Paul's Anglican Church, Harris Promenade, San Fernando followed by cremation at 5:00 p.m. atJ.E. Guide Funeral Home & Crematorium Limited, #120 Coffee Street, San Fernando. Enquires can be made to J. E. Guide Funeral Home & Crematorium Ltd., #120Coffee Street, San Fernando (6524261 or 6575465).

There is quite a bit of trepidation and indeed fear on the part of many a homeowner who has sacrificed a great deal to bring their properties up to a certain standard in order to improve their quality of life to be now burdened with the payment of increased property tax. Indeed this is one occasion when I am tending to agree with Mr Ramadhar who has claimed to have been bombarded with calls from citizens who expended vast sums of money improving their homes only now to be saddled with more tax hereby further eroding their limited disposable income and by extension their quality of life.

One can understand the position of the Government which is caught between a rock and a hard place with respect to the running of a fiscal deficit due to the fall in oil/gas prices and depressed production levels. However, the imposition of another tax over and above existing taxes such as VAT and income taxes borders on taking advantage on the middle and lower income earners and is quite unwelcome at this time.

Imagine the single income homeowner who has sacrificed and saved the 10 per cent down payment on a two bedroom property, is paying a mortgage, property insurance and has four children of school age. Being an ambitious person and wanting to improve his quality of life he has improved his home over the years through sacrifice and thrift, and now lives in a two storey property which he does not let/rent out to anyone else. Is he now going to be penalised through a heavy tax for trying to make his home comfortable?

One can understand that people with luxury homes equipped with swimming pools and fancy additions, where opulence is evident, paying more to the taxman but ordinary working class people, while not being exempt, should pay only a nominal tax.

That Government needs to raise revenue to try to fill the fiscal gap is understandable. That Government has a Heritage and Stabilisation Fund to tap into is also a boon at this time.

What I am proposing is a flat rate for single storey and two storey residential properties which the average poor or middle class owner could normally afford which is more in line with the old land and building taxes. Residential properties with more than two stories to attract a higher rate of tax. The rate of property tax on commercial and industrial properties to be increased because these properties are going concerns.

Persons on fixed incomes and senior citizens who are also home owners should be exempt and tax rates should vary between town and country locations. This should make computation of the tax easier while making it fair and equitable.

Peter Narcis

If what I read on the front page in the Guardian of April 13 is true, I am surprised and shocked to discover that the HDC, a state snterprise, is promoting the sale of the Victoria Keys apartments.

Is the HDC using taxpayers funding for the development of upmarket housing in competition with the private sector? If so, this cannot be right. If the HDC came to the conclusion that the original site was not suitable for low/middle income housing they should have auctioned the land to the private sector to develop.

How can a government be competing with the private sector they are trying to encourage to get involved?

In addition, with the HDC handling the development themselves, we are unlikely to get a transparent account of the real costs involved. But, the real issues here is tha a government should not be competing in business with the private sector and should not be using taxpayer’s funds to finance projects to sell in upper income brackets. Can someone explain what exactly is the HDC’s mandate?

Peter Tang

The topic of retirement has engaged the minds of many people for a long while now. In the decade before Independence, life expectancy was lower than in developed countries and thus retirement was set at 60 years of age.

In France at present, the retirement age is 65 years, and in Denmark it is expected to be increased to 70 years because life expectancy is higher there and people are living well into their 90’s. It should be emphasised that these are countries with a cooler climate, a higher standard of living and better quality of life.

In Trinidad and Tobago we have seen people living into their 80’s and 90’s. Those people grew up during a time of no automobile transport, they were more mobile, did more physical work than people do now and walked long distances to school and also to fetch transport to work. Also, their nutrition was far better than the eating habits that got established since the early 1980’s.

In France, one candidate in their election campaign, Jean Luc Melenchon, has proposed to lower the pension age to 60 and the weekly working time to 32 hours, give employees a sixth week of holiday, raise the minimum wage by 16 per cent and force the state to give everyone work.

Societies are undergoing a demographic transition the world has never seen. It is also true that work provides cognitive health, slows mental decline and lessens isolation.However, in this country, working conditions and daily life are stressful to many and even unbearable in some cases.

For decades, the daily stress of traveling alone has wrought a tendency towards absenteeism, unpunctuality and reduced manpower. Older workers eagerly look forward to gaining control of their life at retirement. They do, however, wish for some kind of engagement to prevent atrophy, but they certainly do not see themselves working 8 am - 4 pm at 60 years of age.

Being able to work beyond 60 years depends on sound physical and mental health. Many young people in their 40’s are afflicted with some ailment, be it obesity, diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol or chronic back pain, which is now increasing in numbers. Depression medication is now listed on the CDAP programme, indicative of a condition prevailing in the country. Then there is the creeping condition of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, which is affecting some people in their 40’s. All of this mitigates against raising retirement age. The annual increase in budgetary allocation for health in this country is testimony that the country is neither robust nor healthy. Many people after retiring find themselves at a loss to adjust to a life of failing health and dependency. Over the past 30 years, I have observed government workers who die within three to five years after retirement because they were limping along during the last years of working.

Because this is a very hot and humid country, the toll exacted on people every day, makes the point that retirement age should not be increased. In fact a case may well be made to lower the retirement age.

Ronald Bhola

via email

The 39-year-old struck a solid 58 while Babar Azam top-scored with 72 and opener Ahmed Shezad, 31, as Pakistan ended the day at Sabina Park on 201 for four – 85 runs behind on first innings.

With Younis and Azam involved in a 131-run, third wicket stand, the visitors appeared to be taking a strong grip on the game but fast bowler Shannon Gabriel (2-37) struck twice in successive overs to remove both batsmen.

Captain Misbah-ul-Haq and Asad Shafiq, both unbeaten on five, then saw Pakistan safely to the close.

Earlier, West Indies were dismissed 286 after resuming from their overnight 278 for nine.

Captain Jason Holder, who started the day on 55, finished unbeaten on 59, an innings that required 75 deliveries and included seven fours and two sixes.

Left-arm seamer Mohammed Amir finished with career-best figures of six for 44 after claiming the final wicket, that of tail-ender Shannon Gabriel who missed an ambitious drive and was bowled for five

Holder’s innings in the morning’s third over.

Azhar Ali then stroked two boundaries in a breezy 15 off 19 balls as Pakistan started well but he paid the price of his ambition when he slashed at wide, innocuous delivery from young fast bowler Alzarri Joseph and was caught behind in the sixth over at 23 for one.

Shezad looked in nice touch with five fours in a 50-ball knock, including two handsome off-side strokes off Gabriel in the third over of the innings.

But seamer Holder got the breakthrough in the third over before lunch when he brought one back to beat Shezad’s defensive stroke and claimed an obvious lbw decision at 54 for two.

Younis and Azam then denied West Indies a wicket in the post-lunch session, adding 66 to push Pakistan up to 125 without further loss at tea.

The closest West Indies came to a wicket was off the fourth ball after lunch when Azam drove a low full toss back to Jason Holder who stuck out his left hand but failed to hold on to the low, sharp chance.

Unbeaten on 22 at tea to move to 9 999 career runs, Younis became the first Pakistani to reach 10 000 runs in Tests when he swept the second ball after the break from off-spinner Roston Chase to the fine-leg boundary.

He is now the 13th player to reach the coveted landmark and has 10 035 runs in his 116th Test.

Not out on 47 at tea, Azam raised his third Test half-century in his seventh game in the same over from Chase when he cut to the ropes at backward point.

Younis began to score freely, coming down and lifting Chase to the ropes at long-off to raise the century partnership before also clearing the ropes back overhead with part-time off-spinner Kraigg Brathwaite.

He brought up his 33rd Test half-century with a single to square off Brathwaite but perished 25 minutes later when he drove Gabriel low to cover, in the second over of the bowler’s new spell.

Younis faced 138 balls and counted five fours and a six.

Gabriel struck again in his very next over when he got Azam to play on, with a century beckoning.

He faced 201 deliveries and hit eight fours and a six.

However, West Indies were then kept without success as Misbah and Shafiq kept their heads. CMC

West Indies allrounder Dwayne Bravo has been ruled out of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) because of his ongoing rehabilitation he suffered in December.

Bravo has been with his IPL team - Gujarat Lions - this season but has not played a game, and his captain Suresh Raina said it was perhaps time to think about a replacement.

“No Dwayne Bravo. He’s been doing proper rehab and it might take three-four weeks, so he might be out of the tournament,” Raina said at the toss of Lion’s game against Punjab in Rajkot. “So now we have to talk to the management and think about a replacement.”

A couple of hours after Lions lost to Kings XI, Bravo put out a statement confirming his withdrawal from the tournament this year.

“While recovery is going well and I have made vast improvement and have participated in team training with the Lions, my body is not ready to perform at its fullest potential,” Bravo said.

Lions are presently at the bottom of the table, having won only two out of their first seven games. In 2016, their debut IPL season, Lions had finished on top of the league with nine wins in 14 games but did not make the final. Bravo had been their second highest wicket-taker last year, with 17 wickets.

Bravo suffered the injury while fielding for Melbourne Renegades - his BBL team - against Perth Scorchers on December 29. He had been stationed on the off-side boundary, and injured himself when he ran across and lowered himself to field a ball. He clutched at his hamstring as soon as he went down, and had to be taken off on a MediCab.

Bravo has not played a match since, missing the Pakistan Super League and West Indies’ fixtures in the lead up to the IPL. With West Indies not part of the Champions Trophy in June, their next fixtures are a home series against Afghanistan at that same time.

Queen’s Park Cricket Club continues to lead the TTCB Premiership race as they defeated Alescon Comets by an inning and 29 runs yesterday in their fifth round match at the Oval.

After amassing 437 for eight declared in their first innings, the Parkites bowled out Comets for 117 in their first innings. They then asked the Charlieville team to bat again and they resumed yesterday on 239 for three but collapsed to 291 all out losing the game handsomely. Opener Andy Gobin went on to score a century but his 106 could not stave off defeat. His dismissal at 261 saw the fall of the next six wickets for 30 runs. Wicketkeeper Steven Katwaroo got 52. Spinner Darren Deonarine grabbed 4/99, while Terrence Hinds continued his consistent performances this season with 4/56.

Also on winners’ row in the fifth round were Central Sports, as their captain Shazan Babwah dominated with bat and ball to give his team victory over PowerGen on Saturday.

Trailing by 51 runs on first innings, Babwah took six wickets to help bowl out Powergen a second time for 166 to give his team a victory target of 218. Babwah (6/65) had support from Rakesh Maharaj (3/40) in limiting Powergen in their second innings.

Chasing 218 to win, Central Sports opener Kamil Pooran gave them a solid start with a knock of 71 but with wickets falling around him, Babwah arrived to stroke 52 from 79 to steer them to the target for the loss of eight wickets.

At Wilson Road in Penal, the clash between Clarke Road and Merryboys was called off under dispute. Clarke Road set 209 to win the match was 127 for four, when a decision of caught behind against Gregory Mahabir was not given in Merryboys favour and it led to protest and an eventual walk off.

At the Oval: QUEEN’S PARK 437/8 declared (Daron Cruickshank 127, Justin Guillen 72, Terrance Hinds 70, Nicholas Alexis 59; Vikash Mohan 4/82 vs ALESCON COMETS 117 (Steven Katwaroo 26, Vikash Mohan 25; Darren Deonarine 4/18, Kevon Cooper 3/37) and 291 all out (A Gobin 106, Vikash Mohan 74, Steven Katwaroo 52, Darren Deonarine 4/99, Terrence Hinds 4/40). Queen’s Park won by an inning and 29 runs.

At Wilson Road: MERRY BOYS 152 AND 269 (Mario Belcon 66, Rishaad Harris 49, Amir Khan 51) vs CLARKE ROAD 213 (Yannick ottley 74, Adrian Ali 73; Amir Khan 6/65) & 127/4. Game ended in dispute.

At Felicity: POWERGEN 183 and 166 (Jeron Maniram 38; Shazan Babwah 6/65, Rakesh Maharaj 3/40) vs CENTRAL SPORTS 132/9 and 220/8 (Kamil Pooran 71, Shazan Babwah 52; Jovan Ali 3/19, Ansil Bhaggan 3/50.

One hundred and thirty-two (132) runs. That’s all Royal Challengers Bangalore needed yesterday. A little over 13 runs per wicket, only 6.6 runs an over, with Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers in their side.

Against quality pace bowling led by the astute Gautam Gambhir, the most glittering batting line-up in Twenty20 cricket sensationally collapsed to 49 all out, the lowest score in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the 10th-lowest in all Twenty20 cricket. Not one man reached double figures. This was only the 10th time in the IPL that a total of 131 or under was defended successfully.

At the halfway mark, Kolkata Knight Riders felt they were about 50 short of the par score, especially after the start Sunil Narine had given them: a 17-ball 34 in the fastest team fifty this IPL. They had collapsed from 65 for 1 to be bowled out only for the third time when batting first in IPL. That fall couldn’t hold a candle to Royal Challengers, though, who batted with their edges, starting with a golden duck for captain Kohli.

Nathan Coulter-Nile began the slide with the wickets of Kohli, AB de Villiers and Kedar Jadhav in his first three overs, and then Chris Woakes and Colin de Grandhomme feasted on the carcass, taking three wickets each. With Umesh Yadav taking the other wicket, this was the fifth time all 10 wickets had fallen to pace in the IPL.

At the toss, Kohli said he expected the pitch to be a little tacky, and thus helpful to seam, after rain last night and a delayed start because of more rain. However, he opened with his trusted legspinner Samuel Badree, who has for long been one of the best T20 new-ball bowlers. Fellow Trinidadian, Narine, played him like a man who knows him inside out. Immediately he played him like a slow seam bowler angling the ball away from him as opposed to bringing it back in. 4, 4, 6, 4 in the first over, and Knight Riders had their most productive first over since 2013. Narine continuing punishing S Aravind, who had a decent Powerplay economy rate of 7.32, in the third over.

The Narine onslaught forced Kohli to bowl half of Tymal Mills’ quota in the first four overs. It also meant Kohli had to hold back his two other big bowlers, legspinners Badree and Yuzvendra Chahal. Mills responded, though, hitting Gambhir’s thumb on the way to Jadhav in the fourth over. A slower short ball from Stuart Binny in the sixth over accounted for Narine, who pulled and found deep square leg.

In the last match at Eden Gardens, Knight Riders posted 187, and lost with 10 balls to spare. They must have been under extra pressure now to get a total that was Gayle-Kohli-de-Villiers-proof, which is perhaps why they kept going after the legspinners. Badree and especially Chahal loved it. Robin Uthappa fell playing Badree across the line, Yusuf Pathan was stumped down the leg side off Chahal, de Grandhomme skipped out and edged Chahal to slip, and Manish Pandey flicked a Chahal full toss to midwicket. The real show, though, was yet to begin.

Going into the chase, Royal Challengers might have thought of getting a big net run rate bonus here. Small ground, quick outfield, a paltry total to chase, with explosive batsmen in the shed, this was fertile ground for a quick finish and big momentum. Gambhir, on the other hand, walked out like a desperate nothing-to-lose Tony Montana from Scarface. He had his helmet on, and he asked Royal Challengers to say hello to his little friend: raw pace and upright seam.

At the other end, Umesh was cut straight to point by Mandeep Singh, who had moved ahead of de Villiers in the order. The strategy for de Villiers this season has been to give him no room, doing which Knight Riders conceded two early boundaries, but a sharp bouncer from Coulter-Nile drew the fatal top-edge on the hook from well outside off.

Towards the end of the fourth over, Gambhir was seen gesturing towards fine leg. He wanted one more from Coulter-Nile, who came back and accounted for Jadhav with the first ball of his third over. Gambhir also knew that Gayle was not enjoying the pace, and he kept peppering him with the pace of Umesh.

Gambhir then overlooked Sunil Narine and Kuldeep Yadav, who many might have thought were the key now, with the score 39 for 4 after six overs and with Gayle on 7 off 15. He went to Woakes, who was not going to pitch anything in Gayle’s half, even if it meant bowling a wide. That wide out of the way, perhaps Gayle felt there would be no more short balls in the over, but Woakes still bounced him, handcuffing his attempt at a big shot, and having him caught at wide mid-off. The rest was just a procession.

(ESPNcricinfo)

T&T men’s beach volleyball team of Marlon Phillip and Daneil Williams had to settle for a second straight 11th placed finish when the second stop of the NORCECA Beach Volleyball Circuit at Seven Miles Beach, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, concluded yesterday.

This after the T&T duo outplayed Cayman Islands pair Casey Santamaria and David Wood 21-5, 21-16 in their 11th place play-off.

Earlier in the morning session, USA’s Jon Mesko and Skylar Del Sol defeated Williams and Phillip 21-18, 21-17 in their ninth to 12th place semifinal while El Salvadoreans David Vargas and Carlos Escobar beat Santamaria and Wood 21-12, 21-9 in the other ninth to 12th semifinal.

Coming off an 11th placed finish from 12 teams in the season opening tour series in La Paz, Mexico, two weeks ago, Williams and Phillip went under to Nicaraguans Ruben Mora and Dany Lopez 14-21, 14-21 and were also defeated by first leg winners Karell Pena and Daisel Quesada of Cuba, 14-21, 12-21 before putting up a stronger fight in a loss to Canada’s Maverick Hatch and Garrett May 21-19, 12-21, 11-15 .

However, despite not winning a match in Cayman Islands to date, Williams and Phillip earned T&T a spot at the FIVB World Beach Volleyball Championship by gaining enough spots to cement a top four NORCECA ranking during the cycle along with Canada, Cuba and Guatemala as USA and Mexico were already qualified based on their rankings on the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour.

The national women’s beach volleyball pair La Teisha Joseph and Apphia Glasgow ended a dismal three days of competition with another loss, 12-21, 15-21 to US Virgin Islands Amber Bennett and Melanie Valencia in their 11th place battle.

‘Star’ will be difficult to ‘Catch’ in a nine-runner Maiden Stakes over six furlongs of ‘good to firm’ Pontefract today; this twice-raced, Charles Hills-trained filly improved when runner-up and a beaten favourite over a similar distance at Haydock 213 days ago.

Paul Hanagan has been booked, none better, according to Barry Hills.

‘The legend’ who trained more than 3,000 winners was disappointed when Hanagan got the ‘tin tack’ from a smashing job with Hamdan al Maktoum, during the back-end of last season.

When Paul is given explicit instructions he’ll carry them wouldn’t understand a form book any more than a science magazine but ‘he seldom gets beaten in a finish’ according to Barry who said weeks ago if Hanagan becomes available for horses he’s involved with he’ll be booked.

Thinking back Pat Eddery was similar; didn’t know which end to open a Raceform publication but knew thoroughbreds instinctively and you don’t need this columnist to remind you of the incredible feats of jockeyship by the late, great eleven-times champion. He died in 2015, aged 63, tragic!

Once told Pat a certain horse ‘will not go by!’ and he’d need to wait until the very last stride; ‘thanks, we’ll see how we go’ he shrugged with that lovely, cheeky, mischievous, chuckle smile before going out to win on said, recalcitrant beast, by a short-head.

There’s a lot of expectancy surrounding Star Catch and though Undiscovered Angel has a similar profile and is fancied I’ll be extremely vexed if this isn’t third time lucky.

Incidentally we reckon Hanagan is a cert’ for the jockeys’ championship, and so does Richard Fahey, determined to support his bid for a third title.

As for Charles the jury remains out; he needs to work harder to maintain a sequence of winners during the last week or so. No time, or place, for complacency in this tough environment.

Windsor stages a twilight fixture and Sir Michael Stoute has found an excellent opportunity of Swiftsure in an ‘aged’ Maiden Stakes over ten furlongs under Ted Durcan.

‘Stoutey’ is a supreme master finding slots in 3-y-o handicaps, I’ll bet he’s got something ambitious in mind with this one, for ‘Sure!’

Pontefract:

10.00 Ventura Knight (e.w) • 2.10 Star Catch (nap-e.w)

Windsor: 1.45 Swiftsure.

Corporate donors to the University of the West Indies came in for high praise recently for their continued support of the university.

Chairman of the Campus Council at Cave Hill, Sir Paul Altman, noted that access to funding was critical for the success of students and therefore corporate donors to the university “should be commended for their support of students in trying financial times.”

Sir Paul’s comments came as he addressed the 14th annual Students Awards Ceremony at the Cave Hill campus recently. He said the university’s “faithful donor partners” had demonstrated an understanding of the importance of investing in the region’s most important resource – its people.

Among the donors singled out for its commitment to the campus was regional bank CIBC FirstCaribbean, the largest donor of undergraduate scholarships to the campus. Since 2003 the bank has donated 15 one-year scholarships annually valued at USD$2,500 each, across a number of disciplines.

His comments were echoed by Pro-Vice Chancellor and Principal of Cave Hill, Profession Eudine Barriteau, who also welcomed the private sector and non-governmental organisations’ continued support for the university.

“The lifelines that the scholarships offer enable many students to achieve their goals, which in many cases could not have been realised otherwise. It is the generosity of our benefactors that makes our annual student awards ceremony possible,” the principal said. The bank’s director of Corporate Communications, Debra King, presented this year’s scholarships totaling US$37,500 to 15 outstanding undergraduate students from Barbados, the islands of the Eastern Caribbean, Bahamas, Jamaica, and T&T.

Two medical students, Sherraine Cunningham and Kerneisha Skeete and law student Allisia Williams, were among this year’s scholarship winners.

Other winners of the CIBC FirstCaribbean International Bank Scholarships for the academic year 2016/2017 are: Emma Tuletta (Psychology), Yamir Smith (Medicine), Morganne Kellier (Law), Alexidene Fraser (Law), Samuel Bailey (Law), Estelle Pysadee (Economics and Accounting), Nadine Louis (Medicine), and Eudorra Bertrand (Microbiology).

The Monday Night Theatre Forum with hosts Raymond Choo Kong and Tony Hall will host Trinidad-born actress, dancer, educator, scholar, and author Dr Joanne Kilgour Dowdy on April 24 at the Trinidad Theatre Workshop.

Currently a Professor of Adolescent/Adult Literacy at Kent State University, Kilgour Dowdy is a former student of Holy Name Convent and the Caribbean School of Dance. She was first introduced to local audiences through the popular Twelve and Under talent program and worked with Banyan Television Workshop while in high school, a release said.

She left Trinidad in 1982 to go to the United States, where she studied at the Boston Conservatory of Music, Dance, and Theater and privately with Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott, before moving on to pursue classical theatre at the prestigious Juilliard School in New York from 1983 to 1987.

Kilgour was one of the founding members of Trinidad and Tobago Television Workshop, later known as Banyan TV, where she was a part of ground-breaking work which tried to tell Caribbean audiences their own stories in native voices.

As a professor, her major research interests include documenting the experiences of black women involved in education from adult basic literacy to higher education.

She has written or edited twelve books which span the topics of education, dance, drama, feminism, and culture, including a children’s book about her father, the late Olympian Lennox Kilgour, who won the Bronze Medal in the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. The Juilliard alum is also still heavily involved in dance, theatre and film.

The Monday Night Theatre Forum provides a free and open opportunity to engage in discussions with Joanne Kilgour Dowdy who will be in Trinidad for a brief period. The forum is presented by Playwrights Workshop Trinbago, Raymond Choo Kong Productions, Trinidad Theatre Workshop, Trinidad and Tobago Performing Arts Network, Digital Film Institute and Trinity in Trinidad Global Learning Site.

More Info

The Monday Night Theatre Forum takes place at the Trinidad Theatre Workshop, Corner Jerningham Avenue and Norfolk Street, Belmont,on Monday 24th April, beginning at 7 pm. For further information, call 351-6293 or visit facebook.com/mondaynighttheatreforum/

“This time we want to deal with the inner woman. We want to help her find herself again, who she is, her capabilities, her passions. And more importantly, we want to help her understand why she may have made poor choices in her life, so that she can embrace her future as a wise and circumspect woman.” — Sasha Romano

“I can hear the roar of women’s silence,” said Thomas Sankara, the former President of Burkina Faso.

It is this roar that singer, songwriter and activist Sasha Romano wants to cultivate with the launch of her self-funded NGO, Women Empowerment Centre—Women of the Word in Zion’s Army (Wowza) on June 3 at the Living Word Christian Centre in San Fernando.

But the 36-year-old mother of one says the roar is not about marching around with placards and shouting about what women want.

“No, not this time. This time we want to deal with the inner woman. We want to help her find herself again, who she is, her capabilities, her passions. And more importantly, we want to help her understand why she may have made poor choices in her life, so that she can embrace her future as a wise and circumspect woman.”

She said too many times we focus on building the outward woman when that will only be a mask and it’s what’s inside that needs the attention and is desperate for healing.

“No amount of labels, titles, education, degrees, et cetera, can heal you. Nor can it take away what’s going on inside. The best you always shines from inside out.”

Romano, who speaks proudly of being a born-again Christian, explained the initiative began a few years ago when she would meet with other women for intercessory prayer. It was being delivered from the life she once lived. She developed a passion and drive to see others freed from whatever held them in bondage.

However, setbacks came, but in hindsight, for perhaps good reason, Ro­mano said. This year, she said, everything came full circle. She spoke of her inner searching as she watched the crime situation grow in the country, now not only affecting gang members but also children, upstanding citizens, and even the sudden out lash to women. It all led Romano to tell herself: “Enough is enough.”

She began by first creating a homework centre for children operated out of her home, where she provides a safe space for care while learning. From the centre she says she also leads her 14 students in the word of God, en­suring their foundations are built on sturdy ground with what she describes as sound principles.

Wowza’s mission in­cludes the repair of re­lationships between women and men, es­pecially in light of the many domestic violence cases in which women have lost their lives. Ro­mano said some­thing has clearly gone wrong in the way that m e n and women re­late to each other.

“I would express the truth of men being our com­plement and not our opponent. For far too long a divide has been evident be­tween man and woman. It is biblical for man and woman to work together and co-exist. And one of my aims is to bridge that obvious gap through prayer and supplication that brings revelation and the answers we need to solve problems,” said Romano.

She reiterated the importance of women knowing themselves from an inward place which then creates the outward shell that at­tracts the right things.

“We know about the law of energy and it was first said in the Bible that whatsoever a man thinks in his heart of himself, then so shall he be. There are many broken women dealing with all kinds of unimaginable things, and there is a constant void that needs to be filled, and most times, because of how we see ourselves and think of ourselves as women, we attract what we do not need. That has to change, ” Romano said.

“Before we can even think about relationships and marriage, healing must take place; otherwise, even if the right attraction comes, we can cause it much hurt and pain. And then the cycle continues, as hurting people hurt people. There is need for wholeness. If that does not happen, then it is easy to fall away again. This is no run-of-the-mill type women’s centre... Wowza is treating with your ‘inside you’. That is where we are going to do all the work. As the Spirit leads, the reconstructing, reconfiguration and restoration of the soul (mind) will take place.”

• For more information on Wowza, call 327-1032 or email sasha.romano@gmail.com

A Prison first. Poetry and voices from inside the Port-of-Spain prison will travel far and wide on April 26 when local celebrities join incarcerated men for the first ever Facebook Live-streamed event from the prison. Voices From Inside, T&T, is part of the 2017 NGC Bocas Lit Fest.

A release said Machel Montano, Kees Dieffenthaler and Anya Ayoung Chee will be led by US writer, professor and activist Dr Baz Dreisinger in a series of readings from Incarceration Nations: A Journey to Justice in Prisons Around the World, her incisive, inspiring, critically acclaimed book about global mass incarceration.

Three winners of the My Life NGC Bocas Prison Poetry competition will join the cast of this novel event to read their star poems, alongside other incarcerated men who have found voice in writing poetry while on remand or serving long sentences, two of them already with collections to their names.

Also included in the programme are poems published in Wishing for Wings, the hugely successful account of the YTC inmates studying English for CXC under Debbie Jacob. The much lauded prison band Outfit International will provide the music. Viewers can follow the event as it happens by going to facebook.com/bocaslitfest

The special event, aimed at giving voice to the voiceless, faceless people who live in prisons, also highlights the redemptive power of the arts and the benefits of a humane approach to justice that aims to repair instead of enact revenge.

Soca icon Machel Montano believes, “self-expression through the written and spoken word can be both therapeutic and transformative. It is an honor to join Bocas and Dr Dreisinger and support this powerful initiative, alongside Kees and Anya. I look forward to lending my voice to this platform showcasing the voices that too often go unheard.”

Dr Dreisinger points out that, “The issues of mass incarceration and prisons as a response to crime are at the forefront of discourse right now, in the US and around the world.” She added, “The understanding exists that justice systems, and prisons in particular, are at the core of a society and one really cannot know a country until one has been inside its prisons, as Mandela famously cited.”

Voices From Inside T&T is the second of a global series of Facebook Live-Streamed readings from inside prisons, highlighting the plight of those behind bars. The first one was held in Pennsylvania’s Graterford Correctional Facility, where readers included celebrities such as rappers Prodigy and Freeway and actor Malik Yoba.

Crime and punishment is the subject of one of the four hard-hitting Human Rights panel discussions in the 2017 NGC Bocas Lit Fest at the National Library. On April 30 from 11am, authors Baz Dreisinger and Debbie Jacob will join Justice Gillian Lucky to explore the thorny issue of T&T’s criminal justice system, chaired by Francesca Hawkins.

The official hashtag for the behind-bars reading is #VoicesTT. In the lead-up on the event on Wednesday, both Ayoung-Chee and Dreisinger will be tweeting basic information about T&T’s, and the Caribbean’s prison system.

US-based Trinidadian author Nathalie Taghaboni, right, recently returned home to launch her latest book, Side By Side We Stand. The book is the third in the Savanoy trilogy, a story centred on the ups and downs of a prominent middle class family in Trinidad. Other books in the trilogy are Across From Lapeyrouse and Santimanitay.

The launch took place at the Big Black Box, Murray Street, Woodbrook, on Sunday and featured readings by Sharon Boodoosingh, Franka Philip and Yvonne Bobb-Smith. Taghaboni, who is known on social media by the sobriquet “Queen Macoomeh”, took questions from the audience about her journey as a writer and about some of the characters in the novels. She revealed that she is currently writing a new novel, Dark Night and Lace.

Taghaboni will also discuss her writing at the Bocas Lit Fest in a session titled Family Ties on April 28, at Nalis from 3pm.

ARTHUR THEODORA nee Lewis of Pelican Extension Road Morvant died on Wednesday 19th April, 2017. Wife of Ernest Arthur (deceased). Mother of Gem, Kyron (deceased), Knolly, Kent, Steve, Judith (deceased), Grace and Bunny (deceased). Grandmother of Gail, Nicole,Michelle, Carla, Candice, Damien, Brent, Claude, Wyman, Creston, Tanisha, Nyasha, Cara, Celeste, Justin, Gemel, Luke, Marka, Zola, Nyako, Tecora, Adama and others.

Great Grandmother of twenty. Great Great Grand-mother of five. Aunt of Daphne (deceased) Great Aunt of Eileen and Glen. Cousin of the James, the Yorkes and the Bests. Friend of Joyce Arthur and others. Member of the Holy Trinity Cathedral Mothers' Union.

Funeral on Wednesday 26th April, 2017 at 9:30am at the HOLY TRINITY CATHEDRAL Port of Spain and thence to the Woodbrook Cemetery, Mucurapo Road, Woodbrook Inquires 624-4636Death

JOHNSON: Sheila Eileen leftus on Saturday 22nd April2017. Wife of Arthur Canzie Johnson (deceased). Mother of Andrew (Maura), Arlette (Desmond Jutla and Hayden Paul) and Anton (Jody). Grandmother of Adrian Johnson, Asia Jutla, Anya and Aiden Johnson. Greatgrand-mother of Jayda and Julian. Sister of Ronald Ghent.

Funeral service for the late Sheila Johnson takes place at10:00 a.m. on Friday 28th April 2017 at R.M. de Souza Memorial Chapel, Diego Mar-tin. Private Cremation. For enquiries please contact R. M.de Souza Memorial Chapel Limited at 223-2007/637-2009.