T&T's Olympic Javelin gold medallist Keshorn Walcott, will join the Minister of Education, Anthony Garcia, Minister of National Security - the Mayor of Port-of-Spain, Joel Martinez, former Sportsman of the Year, Roger Daniel, T&T Olympic Committee President Brian Lewis along with Port-of-Spain and Environs School Supervisor III- Betty Adams-Skeete and School Supervisor II- Simonette Williams and reigning two-time Soca Monarch Voice, as they lead some seven thousand children around the Queen's Park Savannah.

The Port-of-Spain & Environs Education District Anti-Crime walk - “Walk Against Crime” and “Walk For Sport” - will take place on Wednesday, from the Paddock, Queen's Park Savannah and will end at the Paddock.

Sacred Heart Girl's and Mucurapo Boys Roman Catholic Schools are expected to lead the Walk.

The walk against crime is slated to begin at 9:15 am and the Minister of Education Anthony Garcia is expected to lead the Walk to the Nelson Mandela Park. Some of the local and international sporting heroes have been invited to join the event together with over 7,000 participants from the 81 Primary Schools and 20 Secondary Schools.

The new format for the Walk according to the Chairman of The Port-of-Spain and Environs Sports Council Abeyola Akowe, is to ensure that our students know that there are ways to be successful. There are good ways, legal ways and sport and culture are two of the vehicles towards success in life.

Akowe said, "This walk has the reputation for being the biggest walk against crime in the country, it provided the children with the opportunity to show their concern for the crime wave in T&T. She thanked sponsors BPTT for coming forward and assisting with sponsorship along with Blue Waters, Brian Charles Lara and the Pearl and Bunty Foundation. We expect a bold showing from the Secondary Schools and Colleges in Port of Spain as they have always supported this venture. It is always a sight to see the Queen's Royal College Students marching through the savannah to begin the walk.

Sports personality Kelvin Nancoo said, “This walk is the only way that the children of the Port-of-Spain region could show their reactivity, so the public can know how they feel about crime. They will carry placards, singing and chanting and that is the most important thing for the children socially. The walk against crime is a very important message to children all over Trinidad and Tobago.” Nancoo added that the expected outcome was for the children to understand that through sport and culture, positive things can be done.

“The leadership group knew about it - I am not proud of what's happened -It's not within the spirit of the game. It was the leadership group's idea,” (Steven Smith). Even though Smith was aware that using illegal means to win is against the spirit cricket, the Australian captain was prepared to take the risk to get ahead of South Africa in the 3rd Test match. Cricket has been known as the 'gentleman' sport, however, as it has become deeply commercialised and 'technologicalised' the stakes have increased not only for athletes individually and collectively, but also for coaches, medical personnel, trainers, and even match officials.

So why do athletes seek to cheat? According to Maurice Schweitzer, sport personalities may engage in dishonest acts for several reasons:

*It may be situation. If athletes believe that their act/s will go unnoticed, the temptation to cheat may become the “right” choice as Cameron Bancroft stated “(when) I was sighted on the screen and that resulted in me shoving it (tape) down my trousers.”

*If winning is part of your identity, then the temptations to cheat to stay ahead becomes strong. Smith acknowledged, “We saw this game as such an important game, not that other games aren't important as well, but an opportunity.”

*Some athletes may seek to justify their action as an attempt to level the playing field. So if they believe that other athletes or opponents are engaging in illegal actions, they may resort to similar actions to 'neutralize' the situation.

*Meeting personal goals such as winning titles, medals and ranking positions may serve as an enticement to some athletes engaging in dishonest acts.

*In modern sport, some athletes may be pressured into the temptations of cheating to maintain their celebrity status as the 'best' or being among the best in their sport.

How to deal with cheats? Some of the practical steps available are:

*Promotion of ethical behaviour that is within the laws and spirit of sport.

*Sporting orgnaisations taking immediate action to send a clear signal that unacceptable behaviour will not be tolerated. Cricket Australia quickly had Steven Smith and vice-captain, David Warner stepped down from their leadership position in the middle of the 3rd Test.

The temptations of cheating will always be around given all the stakes that available in modern sport. As such, the powers that be have to be constantly vigilant and take strong action where necessary to deal with the scourge of cheating and dishonesty in sport.

"I don't feel it is necessary to know exactly what I am. The main interest in life and work is to become someone else that you were not in the beginning." Michel Foucault

Anand Rampersad (PhD)

pastiche6@gmail.com

There is a saying that class defies age and week in week out Shazan Babwah continues to show his class as he grabbed a match-haul of 10 wickets to lead Central Sports to a crushing innings win over Victoria United at Felicity yesterday.

Babwah had captured four for 41 in Victoria’s first innings of 139. He then scored 36 as Central Sports declared their first innings at 301/8. He then snared six for 44 in the second innings to bowl out Victoria second time around for just 127 to give his side an innings win. He ended the match with a haul of 10 for 85.

Kerry Holness completed a century for Clarke Road against Queen’s Park II as their encounter at Wilson Road ended in a tame draw. Clarke Road replying to QPCC II first innings score of 284 made 292 all out with Kerry Hollness taking his overnight 76 not out to 116. Sean Siloch made 68 and the evergreen Gregory Mahabir notched 54. Batting a second time QPCC II reached 142/5 when the game was called off as a draw. Joshua Desilva scored 37 not out and Joshua Ramdoo made 42.

West Indies batsman Darren Bravo completed a century for Queen’s Park I, as did Tion Webster, as they got first innings points over Merryboys in the last over of the day in their rain affected encounter in Westmoorings. Bravo 79 unbeaten overnight went on to score 125, while Webster moved from 94 to 106 as Queen’s Park made 366/7 declared. Merryboys were bowled out for 197, but not before Leonardo Julien smashed his second century of the season. The right-handed wicketkeeper/batsman scored an even 100.

Down South, leg-spinner Imran Khan finished off PowerGen with a match haul of 13/88 runs as leaders Comets won by an innings and 81 runs.

Comets replying to PowerGen first innings score of 136 made 352 for eight declared with Guyanese Christopher Barnwell hitting 125, Vikash Mohan 54 and Stephen Katwaroo 56 not out. Batting a second time PowerGen fell to the magic of Khan as he added 7/56 to his first innings 6/32 and they were bowled out for 135 to lose by an innings.

YESTERDAY'S RESULTS

T&TCB PREMIERSHIP I

At Wilson Rd: QPCC II 284 (Nicholas Alexis 92, Jonathan Augustus 49, Joshua Ramdeo 55, Kerwyn Sirju 5/95) & 142/5 (Joshua Desilva 37no, Joshua Ramdoo 42, Dejourn Charles 3/17) vs Clarke Road 292 all out (Kerry Holness 117, Sean Siloch 68, Gregory Mahabir 54, Darren Deonarine 5/71). Match drawn.

At Syne Village: PowerGen 136 all out (Akiel Cooper 31, Aaron Jones 25, Teshawn Castro 19, Imran Khan 6/32, Justin Joseph 2/32) & 135 all out (Akiel Cooper 46, Teshawn Castro 28, Ewart Nicholson 28, Imran Khan 7/56) vs Comets 352/8 dec (Christopher Barnwell 125, Vikash Mohan 54, Stephen Katwaroo 56 no, Varoun Samaroo 3/47) Comets won by an innings an 81 runs.

At Felicity: Victoria 139 all out (Sherwin Ganga 46, Shazan Babwah 4/41, Kissoondath Magram 2/34, Vishan Jaggesssar 2/22) & 127 all out (Sherwin Ganga 29, Shazan Babwah 6/44, Christopher Vincent 3/29) vs Central Sports 301/8 dec (Kamil Pooran 81, Keddy Lesporis 67, Adrian Ali 44, Shazan Babwah 36, V Rampersad 4/93, Garey Mathurin 2/64, Farrel Jugmohan 2/64). Central Sports won by an inns and 35 runs.

At St. Anthony’s: QPCC I 366/7 dec (Tion Webster 106, Darren Bravo 125, Justin Guillen 50) vs Merryboys 197 all out (Leonardo Julien 100). Match drawn.

Frustrated with rising crime in the southern city, members of the San Fernando Business Association have pledged financial assistance to the T&T Police Service to purchase more cameras for the city.

Speaking at a meeting at the Arcade Food court on High Street on Saturday, president of the San Fernando Business Association Daphne Bartlett said business owners were very concerned about the brazen robberies, purse snatching and pick-pocketing occurring on the main shopping streets of the city.

Bartlett said the daring heist at RT Jewellers on High Street had left many people traumatised, some of whom were calling for the return of joint army/police patrols.

She also said that a CCTV camera placed at Mon Chagrin Street had reduced criminal activities in that area. Bartlett said she had checked the prices of security cameras and was willing to join with other business owners to purchase additional surveillance cameras which can be placed at strategic locations on Lower and Upper High Streets. Mucurapo Street, Lord Street, Harris Promenade, St James Street and on Coffee Street.

She also called for a police post to be set up at Kings Wharf. Owner of Vinod Jewellers, Vinod Mishra also called for the police booth to be returned at the top of High Street.

Another business owner, Adam Hosein, said that joint army/police patrols would go a long way in reducing crime.

Managing Director of Visioneer Construction Arden O’Garrow complained that the police have not been working with the business owners. He said recently he called the police to complain that residents had blocked off a section of St James Street to allow children to play on the road but no one ever responded. He also said he was mistreated by police at the San Fernando Police Station.

In response, Assistant Commissioner of Police (South) Harry Baldeo assured the business owners that he will make recommendations to acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams for joint army/patrols to resume. He urged the business owners to contact the police if they needed assistance to transport large sums of money. Baldeo also urged the business owners to remain vigilant and to assist the police with crime fighting. However, he denied that crime was on the rise in the southern city.

Assistant Supt Peter Ramdeen said there was a 21 per cent decrease in serious crimes in the city. For 2018, Ramdeen said there were 15 murders in San Fernando compared to 17 for the same period last year. He said there were 21 woundings compared to 19 in 2017, 13 rapes, compared to 19, two kidnappings, compared to five last year, 31 break-ins, compared to 39, 76 robberies compared to 93 last year, 16 incidents of fraud, compared to 26 last year, 26 general larceny, compared to 49 last year, 23 vehicles were stolen compared to 29 last year and three incidents of larceny in a dwelling house, compared to eight last year. He also said there were 45 firearm offences.

Supt Yuseff Gaffar called on the business owners to meet regularly with the police at the fortnightly station council meeting.

Deputy Mayor Vidya Mungal-Bissessar said the Corporation was moving apace to open the Municipal police headquarters at Kings Wharf.

The body of an unidentified man was found in Couva yesterday.

A photo was shared on social media showing the victim’s head almost severed from the body.

According to a police report, at about 8 am a passerby notified police officers that they found a body of a man lying face up at the side of the road at Exchange Branch Road.

The man was dressed in a pair of long blue jeans, a light blue vest and a plaid blue, white and khaki coloured short-sleeved shirt.

Police found several spent 9 mm casings near the body.

A party of police officers from the Central Division’s Task Force, Couva CID and Couva Police Station responded to the scene.

The body was viewed by a District Medical Officer and removed to the Forensic Science Centre, St James where an autopsy will be done once the body is identified.

Police are asking members of the public who can assist in identifying the body to come forward. They can contact 636-2333. The killing took the number of people 133.

In a separate shooting incident, at about 9 pm Garvin Leacock, 29, and Nolan Roach, 39, were both shot and wounded in a drive-by shooting which took place in Gonzales, on Saturday.

Both men are warded in stable condition at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital. Police are yet to determine a motive for that shooting.

Investigations are continuing.

Chaguanas Mayor Gopaul Boodhan says he intends to stamp out illegal drag racing in the borough after receiving complaints that the stretch of roadway on the northern side of the Ministry of Agriculture head office and along Connector Road, Charlieville are being used as drag strips at nights.

“This cannot be tolerated and it’s illegal, I am asking for people to refrain from this activity or feel the full brunt of the law. There are too many accidents and road deaths across T&T,” Boodhan said during an interview at the Borough head office on Friday.

He called on the relevant authorities to move in and stop the illegal racing activity before someone gets hurt.

Boodhan said the new drag strip is usually used after midnight.

He said he had also received numerous complaints from burgesses about the high level of illegal immigrants invading the borough. He said this has caused a major security and social concern.

Stephen King, CEO, Ixanos, is advising T&T nationals to be cautious while they use Facebook and other forms of social media.

“No users are protected with respect to Facebook. If you look at the terms and conditions of use, users of Facebook have given up a lot of their rights, privacy included. If people are worried about privacy, Facebook is the last thing they should be using,” he said.

King said he has examined Facebook’s terms and conditions as his company has done several mobile applications.

“At Ixanos we have realised how much people have given away. We try to limit what our applications actually utilise on the phones,” he said.

King’s comments came as Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg apologised for weaknesses in the social network’s policies that enabled an App to gain access to the personal information of 50 million users without their consent. He outlined steps to protect user data and said companies have a responsibility to act.

This is the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica privacy debacle over reports it swiped the data of more than 50 million Facebook users to sway elections.

In what has become one of the worst backlashes Facebook has ever seen, politicians in the US and Britain have called for Zuckerberg to explain its data practices in detail. State attorneys general in Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey have opened investigations into the Cambridge mess. And some have rallied to a movement that urges people to delete their Facebook accounts entirely.

King’s company, Ixanos, states on its website that it is a local company which strives to provide professional technology engineering and software services and apply new technology, knowledge and expertise to build the business, utility and industry infrastructure of T&T.

He said the user term and conditions of Facebook are wide open.

“People have given permission for Facebook to practically do anything. On top of that, people put their own personal information on the website. They have left themselves wide open so that the system can in fact utilise their phone, their contacts, their pictures, even who they call. People have already given up their rights as soon as they have put on messenger,” he said.

He said local small business are limited in how they can protect their businesses.

King urged social media users to protect themselves from online “predators.”

“These predators can quickly find out where I live, where you live. It is not difficult to find on Facebook where people’s children go to school and who their friends are. That would not take you an hour to do.

People do not think about predators at all until it happens,” he said.

In yesterday’s edition of the Sunday Guardian, we carried a heartfelt story by a grieving mother asking for a more sympathetic policy towards parents who have a very sick or dying child in hospital care.

Public hospitals face a daily challenge, trying to find a balance between their limited resources and best practice. Some will argue that between spending resources on that or more operations, the choice is obvious.

However, often the issues have little to do with resources and a lot more to do with poor training or poor attitude by staff. Facilities can also be improved, as not all paediatric units have the conditions to allow parents to stay with their children.

Above all, our public health system has to make sure all professionals and all policies focus on each individual treated and their families as unique human beings, not just another group of people passing through their doors.

Only if and when we reach that point, we will be able to proudly say we have the first class health system we all deserve.

Cybercrime Bill

This newspaper shares many of the concerns voiced once again by the Media Association of T&T regarding the current draft of the Cybercrime Bill.

The government is right to look at how our legislation can keep up with the digital transformation of our daily lives. In reality, this is long overdue.

However, accidentally or not, the draft legislation as is, risks encroaching on fundamental matters of press freedom and freedom of speech in general. We urge Parliament to continue to listen to the experts, including MATT representatives, so that a legitimate attempt to modernise the law does not become a tool to suppress the critical need of ethical journalistic endeavours to hold individuals and institutions to account.

Nou ka pale Patwa

You do not have to go far back in the family history to find relatives who would have been familiar with Trinidad’s variant of Creole or Patois language, this uniquely Caribbean mix of French, Spanish and Portuguese brought by the colonial powers, African languages brought by the slaves and the languages spoken by the indigenous population.

It is a pity that its widespread use has since gone, with just a few pockets of spoken Patois in communities like Paramin. More can be done to preserve this language and we praise the Caribbean Yard Campus for its efforts to teach Patois to the current and future generations.

There seems to be a hype in the society at present, and an emphasis on inclusion of children with special needs, as seen by the many workshops being advertised on the subject.

I hope that this will continue, and not fizzle out as many such worthwhile projects have done!

But this push for inclusivity is not new.

As far back as the post-independence period in the 1960’s in Trinidad and Tobago, policies were drafted to address the inequalities that are inherent in education, especially with those children perceived to be at risk of failing academically due to visual, cognitive, physical, learning, emotional and behavioural disabilities. However, little structural change has taken place in our schools.

In T&T, educational policy seems to be now more closely linked to economic needs and productivity gains.

One of the clearest indicators on this country’s policy and practice has been the cuts in government’s allocations to the social and education services, which are possibly perceived as not contributing directly to the economic growth of the society.

The emphasis on individuality and difference in education is viewed as one of the guiding principles in “social order” restructuring in societies today.

This approach advocates that schools accommodate all kinds of children, no matter their emotional, physical, linguistic, social and intellectual conditions.

For this to happen “there must be a change in the society’s values, priorities and policies that support and perpetuate practices of exclusion and discrimination.” (Barton).

In 2007, the Ministry of Education‘s Student Support Services Division (SSSD) outlined how T&T would create an inclusive system of education that would provide seamless support for Trinbagonians from early childhood to post-secondary education.

Of particular concern were those students who had learning challenges associated with cognitive or sensory impairments, visual, psychological, behavioural and/or other challenges.

The Ministry’s focus was to remove or minimise barriers to learning caused by inaccessible pedagogy, inappropriate expectations or environments with physical barriers. Talk yuh talk! My concern is that education is not only about making schools available for all children to have access to them. Education has to be seen as being proactive in identifying the obstacles and barriers which learners (and their families) with difficulties may face.

These obstacles are sometimes unqualified teachers, a lack of infrastructure, unsympathetic stakeholders who only see the economic costs of education and /or resistant-to-change principals, teachers and heads of administration.

This country has consistently failed to develop programmes that respond to and respect the differences of children with special needs, in a way that would include, rather than strategically exclude them from mainstream schooling.

But any change in education is a political issue. Only a government, by its policy changes, by its action and its leadership, and by legislation, can bring about the necessary changes in our schools.

However, as can be clearly seen, power relationships continue to be the underlying determinant of any change within the educational system generally, and of schools which fully adhere to the concepts of inclusion of this group of learners, in particular.

Dr Margaret Nakhid-Chatoor

I once wrote an article on Finns travelling by boat to Estonia to escape alcohol consumption restrictions. It was a university assignment. I’ve never been to either place and most of my research was done online.

Believe it or not, this was the only mental reference I had to Estonia until a few weeks ago. I don’t think that would surprise many Caribbean people but, as a journalist, I was embarrassed because what I learnt about the Baltic nation, I think, everyone in the world should know. But more than that, as a Caribbean person, I’m encouraged by the example of a small and new nation looking for a way out of poverty—The Estonian Example.

Have you ever used Skype? Well, Skype is just one of hundreds of technological tools that Estonia has offered to the world in the last two decades. But it hasn’t been by chance. Estonia’s thriving online technology and innovation is the result of a consistent and sustained policy-led approach to development. Twenty-five years ago, when an obscure tool called the internet began to be popular, Estonia was searching for a way to shed its communist past as part of the USSR and feed its 1.3 million people. With no obvious natural resources, thinkers turned their attention to the new tool of technology.

The leader of this movement was Toomas Henrik Ilves who later became Estonia’s President. Ilves’ approach was simple: either the online innovation happens here, or it happens elsewhere. And it did happen there. At the heart of Estonia’s innovation, job creation and human development is an online system that allows Estonians to easily interact with the state and other agencies without leaving home.

Ninety-nine per cent of Estonia’s public services are available online, including voting and residency applications. It’s possible to become a resident of Estonia without ever touching the soil.

The basis of this is a unique digital identity for all Estonians. In other words, all nationals live in physical space, as well as in cyberspace. All records are also stored securely online and a platform called X Road manages the secure transfer of data from one place to the other, as long as it is approved by the citizen who owns the data.

So, say you visit a new doctor and she wants to see what medication you’ve taken over the last five years, that data can be transferred from public hospital and pharmacy files to the private doctor’s office with the click of a button. And you can rest assured that the doctor only accesses the information you want her to see. Since it was established in 2001, the highly secure system has worked well and made life much easier for Estonians.

Here in the Caribbean, things are very different. Last month I visited the public hospital for a medical. Over four hours in the same hospital and I was asked for my biographical information no less than four times.

Shouldn’t the systems in this one institution be linked? Wouldn’t that make life easier for us? Now imagine if we could trust the state to manage our data and link all institutions: hospital visits, passport appointments and even death and birth registry wouldn’t require long lines and packed manila envelopes.

So, why do the inefficiencies remain? A recent conversation among Caribbean leaders and former President Ilves provided some answers. The Inter-American Development Bank is partnering with regional governments as they use the tools of technology to transform their societies. Executive members of the IDB also participated in the discussion where it was found that the political will must be in place to initiate a change as big as this. Not only is it a huge investment for any state, it requires leaders in the region to make decisions that may, at first, be unpopular. During the discussion, President Ilves recalled the interest groups who opposed Estonia’s digital thrust, but who now claim the benefits.

For Estonia, those benefits have included more revenue due to increased efficiency in tax collection; less corruption as all public records are openly available; a safer state as crime detection is aided by access to information; and the overall ease of doing business with the state. Here in the region, Jamaica is leading the way in the creation of unique digital identities for all citizens. The parliament recently passed the National Identification and Registration Act. It’s a move that Prime Minister Andrew Holness admits has cost a few political points but he maintains the system will be especially important to improving crime detection rates on the island. He says “each citizen should be known to the state so that we can properly plan and provide.”

The other main issue for Caribbean implementation is trust. Citizens need to be assured that their information is secure. But with documents leaking here and there, it’s not surprising that people are mistrustful of government institutions. Yet, it can be argued that the state already has access to citizens’ confidential information. However, up to now, in many instances, the information has been stored in paper format, with archaic organisation and without connectivity among institutions. Given these circumstances, there might be an even greater risk of breaches of confidentiality.

So, what is the solution? According to Ilves, the solution is simply to show people that it makes their lives easier. No one likes standing in line or undetected crime and if citizens see that their daily lives can be improved, bit by bit, they will buy in. There must also be a consistent communications strategy, to reassure populations that this is a move in the right direction. Transparency in the process doesn’t hurt either; say what you’re doing and how you’re doing it.

Up to this point, it all seemed like a choice: leave things the way they are or go the way of Estonia. It is not, though. The global pace of digital advancement requires states to use the tools of technology to combat issues that plague them. In the case of the Caribbean, our response to natural disasters has proven to be a major problem. It can be argued that we must design our own solutions to these problems. Crime and violence, corruption and low productivity are also issues for our territories. We won’t be able to confront these and other problems unless we innovate in a highly competitive environment, one in which just being a citizen doesn’t require hours waiting in line.

Golda Lee-Bruce is the Deputy Head of News at CNC3. She was recently asked by the IDB to moderate a discussion of regional leaders on the digital transformation of Caribbean societies.

She doesn’t think of it as being promiscuous, fornicating or degrading, but rather Jessica Joe, as she is preferred to be called, takes her unconventional job of being a full-time sex consultant very serious. And by sex consultant, we are not speaking of a sex therapist. But we understand by Jessica’s explanation the job entails actual physical and intimate contact with clients.

Jessica who described herself as a specialist at sex said she has studied various cultures of sex so that she can tailor her expertise to clients.

“I study my client and then I create a personalised programme for each client. The programme runs over a six to seven weeks period and involves actual sexual contact in which I actively spend bedroom time with the client,” she reveals to the T&T Guardian.

Jessica comes highly recommended in her profession (by client referrals only) and has a very large clientele of mostly married folks who pay top dollar for her service, anywhere between ten to US$15,000.

Her function basically is to help re-heat things up in the bedroom between lovers or spouses whose sex lives have gone dead and in some cases to show couples who are lost “the way.”

She also does some pre-wedding consultations for engaged couples and has accompanied, by request only, a few clients on their honeymoon night.

Outside the bedroom Jessica says she coaches clients on building healthy and strong relationships through various forms of communication.

“My service is not just about the sex, it is a full package. You can get sex anywhere but what happens when there is no sex, is what’s more important. It is the bond that they form from understanding and respecting each other and spending quality time with each other that makes the sex so great,” Jessica says.

She continues: “They have to remember that they are a team, so I place a lot of emphasis in getting rid of the “I and me” mentality and we focus very much on the “us and we,” when it comes to career, sex, recreation, spirituality…you know stuff like that.”

For Jessica, this is no job of a “whore,” she clarifies immediately when asked if she considered how people may view her work.

Sitting in the living room of her admirable Trinidad-based home as she resides abroad, she tells us: “I’m not standing on the corner of the street and getting paid to please some random guy. No this is an actual business helps people save their relationships and marriages.

“You see these here, she says pointing at an array of pictures that strategically adorns the wall behind her desk in the study.

“These are the pictures of couples who were about to get a divorce, who were about to throw away years of marriage; who were about to cause heartache to their children.

“These couples you see with these smiles are my former clients whom I have helped and are today stronger than ever. I get mails from them all the time,” Jessica says with a smile that spoke of inward satisfaction.

“So no, I am not ashamed of my job and certainly I cannot be labeled anything other than a working professional,” Jessica argues.

She says like any legitimate business, she has full-time employees who receive benefits they’re entitled to, and yes, she pays taxes.

On the latter, she would not expound except to say, “When I tell you I pay taxes….I pay taxes, that’s all you need to know.”

Jessica, now 36, is degreed having majored in economics. The former worker in the financial sector who is now actively pursuing her masters in economics and finance left her regular nine to five hustle at the age of 27 and spent two years travelling.

It was during that time that she met with a young Belgium national who she became very good friends with and who is today, her business partner.

“I was very impressed with her level of success at such a young age. She was also very educated. One day we got to talking and she told me what she did for a living and I have to be honest, at first I turned my nose up at it, but then the more I hung out with her and became privy to the inner-workings of her job, the less I viewed it as a scorn,” Jessica explains.

“The way I worked it out in my mind. We as women may not be working whores, but in this modern time where no value is placed on relationship, we find ourselves and our bodies being used by these men we call boyfriends who never really commit. I figured if my body was going to be used at all, let it be used to do something I have control over and something I can gain from. And the best part of this for me is that I get to see people’s lives mended.”

Interested to find out just what are the measures of precaution in place as the business involves sexual contact, we asked Jessica how are clients and herself safeguarded against STIs.

To this she responds: “When I told you this is a legitimate business, I meant it. We are very safety oriented. All of our clients, both partners, go through routine and continuous testing, something. Also anyone who is consulting including myself, we are not allowed at any time to practice unprotected sex with clients. I have been doing this for nearly eight years, if at anytime I thought it was not safe for me to do this job I would have quitted a long time ago.”

We were interested to know since part of her service involves sex what of the safety part of it. To this concern Jessica says: “When I told you this is a legitimate business, I meant it.

“We do not play with that, all of our clients, both partners, go through routine and continuous testing, something like how it’s done at fertility clinics regarding sperm donors.

“And I, or anyone who is consulting, we are not allowed at any time to practice unprotected sex with clients. I have been doing this for nearly eight years, if at anytime I thought it was not safe for me to do this job I would have quitted a long time ago,” she says shrugging her shoulders.

So where does life lead for Jessica in the near future? The former south-Trinidad native believes if she finds her own prince charming one day and he is serious and wants to start a family she might hang up her hat.

But until then, the three client portfolios before her is what she is focused on to get back to work when she returns to her grind in Northern Europe

HARARE—Favourites West Indies failed in their bid to put the finishing touches on an otherwise successful campaign as memeses Afghanistan trounced them by seven wickets yesterday to lift the ICC World Cup Qualifiers trophy.

Hoping for revenge in the final at Harare Sports Club after two losses in the competition to the Asian side, West Indies never mounted a serious challenge, dismissed for 204 and then watching as Afghanistan strolled to their target with nearly 10 overs remaining.

Opting to bat first, the Caribbean side were coasting at 73 for two in the 18th over before slumping to lose their last eight wickets for 131 runs.

All-rounder Rovman Powell top-scored with 44, left-hander Shimron Hetmyer chipped in with 38 while Evin Lewis got 27 and Ashley Nurse struck an unbeaten 26 towards the end.

Sixteen-year-old off-spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman was again brilliant with the new ball, taking four for 43 while seamer Gulbadin Naib picked up two for 28.

Man-of-the-Match Mohammad Shahzad then took the game from the Windies with a typically aggressive 84 off 93 balls, as Aghanistan dominated the early stages of the innings to put the result beyond doubt.

Rahmat Shah weighed in with 51 while Mohammed Nabi arrived with victory already in sight to blast a cameo unbeaten 27, ending the contest in style with three successive sixes down the ground off part-time off-spinner Chris Gayle.

The victory completed a fairy-tale turnaround for the Phil Simmons-coached side who had barely squeezed into the second stage of the tournament after winning just a single match in the preliminaries.

Man-of-the-Series award a ‘painful reminder’

Meanwhile, Heartbroken allrounder Sikandar Raza used his platform while accepting his Man-of-the-Series award yesterday and said the honour is a “painful reminder” of how Zimbabwe could not make it to the 2019 World Cup, which will feature 10 teams compared to 14 teams of the 2015 event.

After accepting the award at the post-match presentation, one that included ICC chief executive David Richardson, following Afghanistan’s win over West Indies in the final, Raza poured out his emotions while also throwing his support behind the Associates teams.

“Certainly, not happy at all,” Raza said in response to commentator Pommie Mbangwa asking if he was “happy” with the award. “I think this trophy will serve as a painful reminder of the dreams that we had and we couldn’t get it done. This trophy will also serve as a reminder for the 15 million dreams that we crushed.

“When I started playing cricket, I thought it was to unite countries, players of different background coming together to play this beautiful sport. Unfortunately, you’ll see that’s not going to happen in next year’s World Cup. It’s certainly quite a tough pill to swallow.”

After winning two of their four matches in the Super Sixes stage of the tournament, Zimbabwe had to win what turned out to be their last match, against UAE, to seal a World Cup berth along with West Indies.

They restricted UAE to 235 for 7 in 47.5 overs but a rain interruption revised Zimbabwe’s target to 230 from only 40 overs. Zimbabwe came agonisingly close to lose by only three runs.

Rather than reflect on his own performances during the tournament, which included 319 runs at 53.17, a team-best 15 wickets at 17.60 and three Man-of-the-Match awards, Raza went on to praise the hard work of some of the Associate teams and captains who also bowed out of the tournament.

SCOREBOARD

Afghanistan vs West Indies
– ICC final
WEST INDIES Innings
C Gayle c Ashraf b Ur Rahman 10
E Lewis c wkp Shahzad b G. Naib 27
S Hope lbw b Khan 23
M Samuels c Shah b G. Naib 17
S Hetmyer c Shahzad b Ashraf 38
J Holder run out 0
R Powell b Mujeeb Ur Rahman 44
C Brathwaite c Stanikzai b Zadran 14
A Nurse not out 26
K Paul lbw b Ur Rahman 0
K Roach b Ur Rahman 0
Extras: (lb2, w3) 5
TOTAL: (all out, 46.5 overs) 204
Fall of wickets: 1-16,
2-50, 3-73, 4-99,
5-101, 6-138, 7-163,
8-204, 9-204, 10-204.
Bowling: Zadran 7-0-26-1,
Ur Rahman 9.5-0-43-4,
Naib 5-0-8-2,
M. Nabi 9-1-37-0,
Ashraf 7-0-26-1,
Khan 9-0-42-1.
AFGHANISTAN Innings
M. Shahzad c Holder b Gayle 84
G. Naib c Gayle b Paul 14
R. Shah st Hope b Gayle 51
S. Shenwari not out 20
M. Nabi not out 27
Extras: (lb2, w8) 10
TOTAL: (3 wkts, 40.4 overs) 206
Fall of wickets: 1-58, 2-148, 3-170.
Did not bat: Asghar Stanikzai,
Najibullah Zadran, Rashid Khan,
Sharafuddin Ashraf,
Dawlat Zadran, Mujeeb Ur Rahman.
Bowling: Roach 5-0-24-0,
Holder 6-0-45-0,
Brathwaite 6-0-37-0,
Paul 8-0-29-1,
Nurse 10-2-31-0,
Gayle 5.4-0-38-2.
Result: Afghanistan won by seven wickets.
Series: Afghanistan win ICC World Cup Qualifiers.
Man-of-the-Match: Mohammad Shahzad.
Man-of-the-Series: Sikandar Raza.
Toss: West Indies.
Umpires: M Gough, S Fry; TV – P Wilson. (CMC)

LOOK LOY: MERLE a.k.a Teacher Merle died on March 21,2018 at age 92. Daughter of Hudley and Lena Bonair (deceased). Mother of Dr. Victor Look Loy, Lurline Nancoo (deceased), and Leslyn Jordan. Sister of Enrique Bonair and Hyacinth Bonair-Agard (deceased). Mother-in-law of Deanna Look Loy, Keston Nancoo and Arnold Jordan. Grandmother of Susan Bothwell, Dr. Luana Look Loy, Danielle Dyson, Stephan Nancoo, Mark Nancoo and Javed Ellis. Great grandmother of 10. She was the cousin of Evelyn James, Walter Pollonais, the Bonair family. Aunt of many. Friend of Yvonne Greene, and Ray Lashley. Funeral service for the late Merle Look Loy takes place at 10:00am on Thursday 29th March, 2018 at the AGAPE Bible Ministries, Riverside Road, Curepe. Enquiries, Lee’s Funeral Directors, 50 EMR, St Augustine, 663-1010.

Jason Holder, the Windies skipper, was chosen to lead the ICC World Cup Qualifiers team of the tournament, yesterday. The team consists of players from the Windies, Scotland, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan and Ireland.

Holder showed his class and quality by taking 15 wickets and accumulating 219 runs in the tournament. He also led the Windies side admirably, steering them to the final of the tournament versus Afghanistan which won the final on Sunday by seven wickets.

Holder’s teammate Evin Lewis (316 runs in the tournament), will open the batting. Kyle Coetzer (276 runs), the aggressive batsman and Scotland’s captain, is the other opener. Brendan Taylor, the veteran Zimbabwe batsman, led the batting charts with 457 runs, and will slot in at No 3 position. He also effected 10 dismissals and will don the wicketkeeping duties. Marlon Samuels (304 runs), the bedrock of Windies’ batting line-up, will take the No 4 position in the batting order. Mohammad Nabi, with 291 runs and 12 scalps, takes the No 5 slot. Meanwhile, Sikandar Raza, who was adjudged the Player of the tournament, for bagging 15 scalps and 319 runs, slots in at No 6 position.

Najibullah Zadran, with 254 runs to his name in the tournament, takes the next position in the batting order. Holder will lead the side and bat at No 8. Meanwhile, Mujeeb ur Rahman (17 wickets), the joint leading wicket-taker of the tournament, is the specialist spinner in the side. Ireland pacer Boyd Rankin (15 wickets) impressed with his pace and bounce, and will spearhead the attack. Safyaan Sharif (17 wickets), the Scotland quick bowler, will be his pace colleague. Rashid Khan, who scaled the summit of ODI rankings for bowlers last month, will be the 12th man.

The side was selected by a jury consisting Ian Bishop, Pommie Mbangwa, Lisa Sthalekar, Ian Callender (correspondent, Belfast Telegraph) and Liam Brickhill (correspondent, ICC Digital). (Source © Cricbuzz)

TEAM OF THE TOURNAMENT

Evin Lewis (Windies), Kyle Coetzer (Scotland), Brendan Taylor (Zimbabwe) (wk), Marlon Samuels (Windies), Mohammad Nabi (Afghanistan), Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe), Najibullah Zadran (Afghanistan), Jason Holder (Windies) (c), Safyaan Sharif (Scotland), Boyd Rankin (Ireland), Mujeeb Rahman (Afghanistan), Rashid Khan (Afghanistan) (12th).

LONDON – West Indies players experienced minimal movement in the latest ICC One-Day International rankings, despite the side’s relative success in World Cup Qualifiers which wrapped up Sunday in Zimbabwe.

Veteran right-hander Marlon Samuels jumped two places in the batting rankings to 49th, after scoring 231 runs from his seven one-dayers in the tournament and 304 runs overall.

His unbeaten 73 against the Netherlands in the preliminaries came in a fixture designated List A.

Samuels is the highest-ranked Windies batsman, with the pair of Shai Hope and Evin Lewis the next best at 53rd and 54th respectively.

Hope ended the qualifying tournament with 233 runs while opener Lewis scored 231 runs.

Talismanic opener Chris Gayle, who started the tournament 72nd, dropped five places after scoring his 23rd ODI hundred against United Arab Emirates but then struggling for runs.

Scotland captain Kyle Coetzer is the highest-ranked batsman who participated in the qualifiers at 22nd.

In the bowling, meanwhile, Holder gained one place to sit 23rd in the rankings to be the highest-placed Caribbean player.

The 26-year-old pacer was outstanding with 15 wickets to lead his side’s bowling, and remains the only Windies players in the top 50.

India stroke-maker Virat Kohli leads the batting rankings while teammate Jasprit Bumrah tops the bowling aspect.

West Indies finished second in the qualifiers, losing to Afghanistan in the final in Harare. (CMC)

If you are passionate about sport, children and youth then you must attend two upcoming events, one tomorrow and the other scheduled for April 12, the Lex Sportiva—Beyond the Game—a sport law workshop to be hosted by the University of the West Indies, Faculty of Law, St Augustine Campus. The main facilitator for the sport law workshop will be Ian Blackshaw, an International Sports Lawyer, Contributing Editor of the International Sports Law Journal.

Given the ongoing contentious environment within T&T’s sport, Professor Rose Marie Bette Antoine, Dean of the Faculty of Law UWI St Augustine must be commended for this initiative which is timely.

Every National Sport Organisation and National Governing Body will be well advised to sign up early.

One can also anticipate the Sport Company of T&T and Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs will endeavour to encourage sport stakeholders to attend.

Moving sport in T&T forward requires all of us involved to embrace continuing education and improvement and the upcoming sport law workshop is a golden opportunity to engage in addressing some of the most pressing issues that are giving sport a bad name.

Sports Law isn’t to be feared but it should be embraced.

Meanwhile, tomorrow, the Walk Against Crime around the Queens Park Savannah is a Port-of-Spain & Environs Education District anti crime walk if supported as it ought to be with 81 primary schools and 20 secondary schools that will take part together with the public to send a strong message that we are all concerned.

The object of the walk is to encourage students to embrace sport and culture as a means of fostering positive life choices.

Given the high crime rate creating an atmosphere of fear in the country this event present the ideal opportunity for our students to display their concern.

Bullying in schools, domestic violence are all troubling the nation and have a direct impact on children and youth.

The anti-crime walk can as well be called a Let’s stop the violence walk. How can we surmount the current travails facing our nation?

By encouraging our children and youth to let their voices be heard, speak up and speak out.

The future of our nation’s future minds, hearts and souls are in the schools.

There will be a lot to talk about in the coming weeks and as usual time is really flying, three months of the year have already gone. So much has happened and there is still nine months of the year still to come.

Happy Easter and Spiritual Baptist Liberation Day.

Elizabeth Arthur breathes fashion. Surrounded by much of it as a child, this former resident of Scarborough, Tobago, and mother of one has simply blazed her own trail in the world of fashion, gracing major fashion events across America with her envied swimwear line tagged Kimimi Swimwear. Always with a Caribbean touch, the 42-yearold says her brand was made for every woman desiring of feeling sexy to embrace their flaws and just feel good about themselves. Here, she chats with the T&T Guardian as she gets ready to showcase her collection at the April 26 Fashion Coda 2018 annual event in Tobago.

She reveals how it all began and where this swimwear fashion designer plans on going. Q: How did you get into designing?

Was it a natural knack that you had or a long-time aspiration? A: In my family I was always the go-to girl for any fashion advice. With that being the case my love for clothes and styling my close friends and family members was perfect to explore my passion.

Where did you receive your formal training?

I worked with my brother, Lawrence, for 12 years. He worked for Calvin Klein, Jockey, Rocawear, Apple Bottoms then he created his own brand weight clothing where I worked for him.

Why did you migrate and before you migrated, what was your involvement in the local fashion industry?

I was travelling to the US since I was nine-years-old. Due to the migration of my grandmother in 1973, my family had the opportunity to visit the US in the 1980’s. I migrated in 1992.

You are described as a swimwear designer. Why swimwear? And do you design otherwise?

Going to the beach as a child and young adult, I always saw women of all shapes and sizes.

But what I also noticed is the women that did not have the perfect body would wear a swimsuit, but wear a shirt as a cover-up, trying to hide their flaws or even some shorts. I wanted to create swimwear for women of all body types so they can feel confident on the beach.

Swimsuits are my main focus at this time.

As a Caribbean-born designer, how does the Caribbean aesthetic influence your work?

Being in the Caribbean I always had a love of butterflies. They were so colourful and beautiful.

I always thought of butterflies as being similar to a woman. Like butterflies we are all different and beautiful in our own way.

What doors have you been able to open being a designer?

I’ve had the opportunity to show at LA fashion week, St Barth the Hamptons. I was also featured in Social Life Magazines 2016 and 2017. Not only will I showcase at Tobago Fashion Coda, I will also be featured in Miami Swim Week in July and also St Barth the Hamptons for Social Life Magazine. And I was also previously featured in online articles from Hello Beautiful, www.hellobeautiful.com and Fashion Manuscript of Fashion Institute of Technology.

Can you talk about sharing the runway with esteemed international designers?

And let us know where the swimwear brand has showed and the response.

Being around other designers has been a great experience. I’ve showed at both New York and Los Angeles’ fashion week. My story is one that I find is easy for consumers and supporters to gravitate to and love; not only am I designing to further express my enthusiasm for fashion but also because of my overall understanding of a female’s body.

How is your swimwear different from other high fashioned swimwear? What would make someone go for the Kimimi brand over another? And tell us what’s the story behind the name Kimimi?

Kimimi swimwear’s mission is to transform each individual that wears the pieces from ordinary to extraordinary. Kimimi (Sioux translation for a butterfly) was created to express a woman’s beauty. We are all different and beautiful in our own way. Kimimi Swimwear exemplifies and accentuates feminine beauty.

It combines colours, styles and patterns inspired by the natural beauty of a butterfly.

You will be presenting a collection at the 2018 Fashion Coda carded for April 26 at the Magdalena Grand in Tobago. What can fashion enthusiasts expect?

I would like my story to be told on the runway.

How have you been giving back to the island of Tobago through your profession and career as a somewhat mainstream designer in your own right, with Caribbean roots?

As a former student of Signal Hill Secondary School, I created the Elizabeth Arthur Design Challenge. The challenge is for every student to create an item to add to my collection from which I would select a winner, who will be featured at Fashion Coda, as well as on my website.

The photographic publication Exotic Waterfalls of Trinidad and Tobago highlights over 30 waterfalls, 25 in Trinidad and nine in Tobago, from a hiker’s perspective. The photographs were taken by Mario Russell and published by Island Hikers.

Russell said the inspiration for the book was an effort to show the beauty of the twin-island nation to those who might not know that aspect of T&T.

“A lot of people are unable to hike to these places and see the true beauty of T&T, we have a lot of beauty in the country and we may not be aware that these things exist.”

In addition to the photograph of each waterfall, Russell included a location, the time to get to each location and the degree of difficulty of the hike needed to access the waterfall. He also advised as to which locations may require a guide to access, as some of them cannot be found on a map.

Russell said he came to know the waterfalls over his 25 years of hiking both in the Northern Range of Trinidad and in Tobago. He said most of the hikes were done as part of the Island Hikers Hiking Club as well as with Sacketeers Hiking Club.

He added that the history of hiking in T&T started with groups doing scientific studies, the best example being the Field Naturalists’ Club, which has now been in existence for more than 125 years.

“I think hiking is the most popular participating event than probably any other sport,” said Russell. “A lot of young people are starting to hike and people are not aware of it but at least on the weekend you may get at least 300 or 400 people participating in hikes all over the place, so it’s becoming very popular especially in the dry season.

“It’s probably the only public sport that everybody could partake in at some level because there are different variations of hikes. People use the opportunity with different hiking clubs to go see the different waterfalls to relax and to bathe.

“Hiking clubs also know how to respect the environment and keep the place clean, although I can’t speak for the casual visitor.”

Russell said he sees the book not only as a national product but as something which can be used to market this country to tourists, possibly as part of a larger push toward ecotourism.

“People will buy it to take away to showcase that we have this in our country, especially around Carnival time. We haven’t put a lot of attention on developing and managing an ecotourism product as part of what the country has to offer and this is why I am creating awareness through this book.”

More info

The Exotic Waterfalls of Trinidad & Tobago is available from RIK Stores, Cleve’s One-stop, D Trini Shops, Horizon Framing & Decor, Kari’s Kraft Piarco Airport, Asa Wright Nature Centre and the Paper Based Bookshop at the Normandie Hotel.