Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698942478526.pdf (Saint Kitts and Nevis)
May 1st, 2018 Volume 1, Issue 1 Ministry of Community Development, Gender Affairs and Social Services COMMUNITY CORNER A Message from the Permanent Secretary (Ag.)

Welcome to the Inaugural we offer and the opportuni- selling services, and social ties available to them.

This protection.

edition of our Newsletter!
Newsletter will help to pro- As the Ministry charged vide that awareness, as well with the responsibility as highlight the good works of providing social safety being completed on a daily nets that help to build basis by the committed resilience, promote inclu- staff in the Ministry in the siveness and gender equal- area of community devel- ity and reduce poverty, it opment, gender, probation is necessary that the public and child protection, coun- be aware of the services We hope you enjoy reading this quarterly publication, and that you look forward to more important updates from the Ministry of Community Development, Social Ser- vices, and Gender Affairs.
Ms. Janelle Lewis, Permanent Secretary (Ag.)

Welcome to our first issue!

Inside: The Newsstand 1-3 House Matters 4 Working Scenes 5-7 School in Session 8-9 Celebrations held for International Women’s Day On de Playground 10-11 Notice Board Contact Us 12 12 IWD Highlights:  March 8th, 2018     Royal St. Kitts Hotel Featured Speaker: Ms. Ingrid Charles- Gumbs Theme: Press for Progress!
Eight (8) Women honoured The significant contribution of women was highlighted during a special breakfast in honour of International Women’s Day (IWD), on March 8th, 2018, at the Royal St. Kitts Hotel.

The event was a partner- ship between the Department of Gender Affairs and the Ross University Edge (Empowerment, Diversity, Growth, Ex- cellence) women’s empowerment Group.
In beautiful surroundings complemented by the presence of hundreds of women, Minister of State, Honourable Wendy Phipps gave opening remarks, urging the gathering that “our role is not just to come and listen to a couple of speeches, but to take note of what is being said and to do some sort of self-examination and find out what can I do individually, collec- tively in terms of community, at the re- gional and international levels, to change the statistic”.
Featured speaker and past Director of Gender Affairs, Ms. Ingrid Charles- Gumbs, reinforced Hon.

Phipps’ Attendees at Women’s Day Breakfast comments and highlighted the theme, Press for Progress, emphasizing that “Pressing for progress suggests intentional action that is absolutely essential to move women from the periphery of political decision making to be represented in proportion to their pres- ence in the population at the decision mak- ing level”.
Along with speeches, an important part of the breakfast was the honouring of eight (8) women for their contribution to various fields.

The 2018 awardees were Ms. Mavis Armstrong (Education), Catherine Pember- ton (Agriculture), Michelle Stokes... (cont’d on next page) Pa ge 2 TH E NE WS S TA N D Volume 1, Issue 1 Celebrations held for IWD (cont’d) ...(Media/Entertainment), Dr. Kathleen Allen- Ferdinand (Medicine), Faith Benjamin (Manufacturing & Industry), Rev.
Janet Paul (Religion), Sonia Henry (Leadership), and Merle Liburd-Browne (Culinary Arts).

Ms. Celia Christopher pro- nounced the celebrations a success, and thanked the De- partment, as well as partners Ross University and First Caribbean International Bank, who donated generous- ly to the event and to the Department’s work.
Head of Gender Affairs, She had high praise in parti- cular for the Ross University Edge women’s empowerment group, who came forward voluntarily to sponsor the breakfast and the venue, and which also presented a cheque of $7141.00 (the profits from the breakfast) to local charitable organization, Ade’s Place of Greenlands.
Family Counsellors Programme to be launched The Counselling Department is pleased to announce a part- nership CFYR with (Community, Family, Youth Resilience programme) and USAID, to initiate the Family Counsellors Programme, which would be facilitated under the Counselling De- partment of the Ministry.
The programme is a spe- cific one carried out in Guyana, St. Lucia and St. Kitts, and is intended to target families, with the aim of strengthening their family cohesiveness, lead- ership structure and prob- lem-solving ability, in or- der to protect youth in these families from engag- ing in destructive behav- iours with their peers and in their communities.

At-risk youth (and consequently, families), would be identi- fied by a specific ... (cont’d on pg.
6) MEND Programme undergoes Evaluation From March 19, a three (3) member team made up of one representative from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and two (2) representatives of Brazilian- based firm PLAN Evaluation, visited the Federation.

The purpose of the visit was to meet with Ministry officials, stakeholders and beneficiaries of the MEND (Mold, Em- power, Nurture, and Direct) programme to complete a report on its effectiveness as a social protection strategy designed to reduce poverty.
The M.E.N.D Pro- gramme is the local adapta- tion of the Chilean PUENTE (Bridge) programme which was introduced to the East- ern Caribbean in 2008.

It was believed that a programme that connected the most poor and vulnerable persons to needed information and ser- vices could begin to build capacity and resiliency to combat the shocks of life.
The two and a half (2 1/2) year pilot which ran from September 2012 -March 2015 originally targeted twenty – one (21) households from across three (3) parishes – St. Georges, St. Johns and St. Mary’s.
Along with bi- monthly cash transfers re- deemable via debit cards, the families were provided with information and connections to services around six (6) key pillars of development, name- ly Identification, Health and Wellness, Education and Life Long Learning, Family Dy- namics, Housing and the En- vironment and Employ- ment and Income Genera- tion.

By the close of the programme, nineteen (19) of (21) the households successfully completed the pilot.
twenty-one The evaluation of the pilot phase would be able to provide information and analysis that would be used to explore the applica- bility of the MEND Fami- lies St. Kitts and Nevis modality to the wider social welfare practices.

The first draft of the report is due to the Ministry by Wednesday April 11 2018.
(Ms. Azilla Clarke, Director, Social Protection Im- plementation Unit (SPIU) Dignitaries stand with some of the ‘movers and shakers’ of the IWD Event “At-risk youth...would be identified by a specific assessment tool to determine their eligibility for the programme”.
Honourable Wendy Phipps meets with MEND evaluators, Ms. Lyanna Harricksingh (UNICEF) and Mr. Fabrizio Rigout (PLAN Evaluation) V o l ume 1 , Is s ue 1 THE NEWSSTAND P age 3 St. Paul’s Community Centre “If we are going to see them as perpetrators, we need them to be a part of the solution”.

Social Service Officers move to Community Citizens of St. Kitts will soon be able to access Social Services from their respec- tive communities.

According to Director of Social Services (Ag.


), Ms. Ann Wigley, the Depart- ment’s Social Assistance and Community Development Officers will be working directly from Community Centres across the island, instead of their usual offices on Victoria Road, as of Monday, April 23rd, 2018.

The Community Centres that will be manned are 1) the Newtown Community Centre (serving East Basseterre to Conaree; contact no.

662- 4598), 2) the McKnight Com- munity Centre (serving West Basseterre to Trinity; contact no.
662-9852), 3) the Old Road Community Centre (serving Challengers to Sandy Point/Fig Tree; contact no.

662-7703), 4) the St. Paul’s Community Centre (serving Newton Ground to Christ Church; contact no.

662- 1128), and 5) the Cayon Com- munity Centre (serving Molineux to Canada Estate; contact no.

662-3438).
662-3438).

With this move, persons who wish to apply for the Depart- ment’s Social Service pro- grammes can now visit the cen- tre in their respective zones, and receive assistance from the Of- ficers now based there.

Before visiting, interested appli- cants are asked to call the Social Services Office’s telephone num- ber (467-1314) or their Zone Officer’s contact number to con- firm supporting documents needed for their particular application.

would better assist victims in getting help.


at outreach to the primary schools, due to the traumatic effects of violence on chil- dren and families on a whole.

Plans ahead to tackle Domestic Violence On the heels of a spate of do- mestic violence incidents earli- er this year, Ms. Celia Christo- pher, Head of the Gender Af- fairs Department, advises that there are plans ahead to con- tinue tackling the issue of do- mestic violence in the Federa- tion.
She stated that the recent distressing incidents “have encouraged the Department to step up on the issue of work- ing with men.

If we are going to see them as perpetrators we need them to be a part of the solution.

The National Men’s Association is well poised to work with Gender Affairs to reach those men out there who are in need of some sort of intervention”.
The Head also noted that the Department would be trying to reach boys at the secondary school level through the Boy’s Mentorship programme, to teach them to respect women and them- selves, and that it was looking Ms. Christopher informed that the Domestic Violence Protocol, which outlines pro- cedures for how agencies are to deal with domestic vio- lence cases, was recently ap- proved by Cabinet, and that it would provide better services for victims of domestic vio- lence.
She also noted that the Ministry would soon be lead- ing the revision of the previ- ous Domestic Violence Leg- islation, which would ‘give teeth’ to the Protocol.
In the near future, the Department also hopes to develop a deep- er relationship with the Spe- cial Victims Unit, the Legal Aid Department and Health Department and other associ- ated NGO’s, to form a ‘functional network’ that Ms. Christopher thanked asso- ciated partners such as Ross University and The Christian Council, and emphasized that the Department would need the full support of the public and government going for- ward.
She noted that one longstanding issue was that of establishing a shelter for the protection of victims, and that they were soliciting contribu- tions from private and govern- mental agencies towards this effort, and that the Ministry also had the partnership from past Directors Ingrid Charles- Gumbs and Etsu Bradshaw- Caines in this regard.

Noting that domestic violence also affects males, Ms. Chris- topher stated that plans would be afoot to focus on abuse against the male gender as well, later this year.
Page 4 HOUSE MATTERS Volu me 1, Issue 1 Heartfelt Condolences to… James ‘Bunny’ Pemberton, on the passing of his son, Kechel Pemberton STAFF MOVEMENTS Welcome to….
Sandy Powell - Liburd Accounts Officer, Finance (transfer) Zahra Jacobs Counsellor, Counselling/Administration (transfer) Jeweleen Manners-Woodley Social Protection Implementation Unit (transfer) UPCOMING CELEBRATIONS 23 May—Frances Ann-Taylor, Social Services 27 May -Venecia Wharton, Social Services 3 June - Janelle Lewis, Administration 3 June - Glentine Wattley-Sutton, Probation & Child Care Services 9 June - Donarette Sharry, Administration 27 June - Jeweleen Manners-Woodley, Social Protection Implementation Unit Enjoy your Special Day!
Volu me 1, Issue 1 WORKING SCENES Pa ge 5 Ms. Christopher poses with IWD Breakfast Award attendees The ‘face’ behind the ‘voice’ of Administration’s Front office - Donarette Sharry Mr. Warner of Gender Affairs - hard at work Picture break!

- Khishma and Judy of PCPS PCPS ladies looking beautiful in blue Taking a break from IWD duties to smile for the camera!
Joy -calm and composed at PCPS Page 6 WORKING SCENES Volu me 1, Issue 1 Ms. Alicia Collins, Community Development Officer, helps to empower youth of her community through a Cooking and Agriculture Skills Camp Minister Phipps stands with representatives of the Ross University Edge group, who presented proceeds of $7141.00 to local charity, Ade’s Place Volu me 1, Issue 1 WORKING SCENES Pa ge 7 Mr. Gerald Connor (PCPS) makes a Departmental presentation of equipment to the Explorers’ Youth group Ensuring the Event runs smoothly — Ministry staff with featured speaker of the IWD’s Breakfast Event, Ms. Ingrid Charles-Gumbs Page 8 SCHOOL IN SESSION Vol ume 1, Iss ue 1 Spotlight on ... Our Home Care Officers Many see these ladies going to and fro, but do not know what they do.
They are our Home Care Officers—and are an important part of making sure the elderly in our communities are well taken care of.

According to Director of the Depart- ment (Ag.

), Ms. Ann Wigley, the Home Care Officers are responsible for visit- ing the homes of persons aged sixty- five (65) and over in the community, to assist them in various ways, such as bathing, grooming, administering medi- cation, grocery shopping, bill paying, and light cleaning.
She noted that there are seventeen (17) Home Care Officers attached to different Zones around the country, and that the Officers would make regular visits to seniors in need in their zones, to help in the above- mentioned areas, or to simply check on them, provide companionship and “someone to talk to”.

The Home Care Officers themselves indicated that they enjoy their jobs and have been working in the Department for long periods; some for over five (5) years, and some for almost twenty (20) years.
However, they noted that being a Home Care Officer is not without chal- lenges.

According to Andria Caines-James, Home Care Officers do not receive enough reward and recognition for the nature of the job they do.

Veronica Hen- drickson agreed, noting that sometimes clients are not cooperative, and that many families do not help with their senior members as they should, but expect the Home Care Officers to ‘do everything’.
Merle Woodley disclosed that they often have to perform their jobs, such as clean- ing, and bathing of clients in very unsani- tary conditions at times, which makes the Officers more prone to illness.

The ladies also lamented that they are sometimes treated badly and accused of wrongdoing by family members and persons in the community, which makes their jobs more stressful than it needs to be.
Despite these challenges, however, the Officers advised that they find ways of coping, so that they could still visit and greet their clients with a smile.

As Officer Janice Bailey put it, “It doesn’t make sense to get frustrated.

I just put a song in my Officers (from left to right) Janice Bailey, Carmel Johashen, Carren Hicks, ,Veronica Hendrickson, Freedom Wilkes, Kalvern Mike, Andria Caines-James, Merle Woodley, and Venecia Wharton heart”.
All of the Officers agreed that the ap- preciation they get from the elderly persons themselves, such as a smile and a “God Bless You”, and the fact that the seniors look forward to their visits, make them feel very happy and pur- poseful.

They noted that their job was a “very important one” and that, sadly, some elderly persons would simply “not be taken care of’”, if they did not exist.

They emphasized the need for families to take care of their loved ones, no matter the age.
Family counsellors programme to be launched….

(cont’d) ...assessment tool to determine their eligibility to the programme.

The programme will see intensive, fo- cused, and structured interventions with the families for a six (6) month period, after which the family would ‘graduate’, and then another cohort of families would join the programme for another six (6) month period.
The main source of referrals to the pro- come primarily gramme would through students identified in the schools, specifically by the guidance counsellors, but a smaller number would be identified through other agencies and institutions that come in contact with youth.

In order to meet the objectives of the programme, eight (8) persons have been identified and trained in the specifics of the pro- gramme delivery and will soon be fully employed to commence work.
In Guy- ana and St. Lucia, the programme will commence fully in May of this year, and we in St. Kitts intend to be ready to launch at that time too.

At present, the CFYR/USAID team is doing the initial work in this regard, namely edu- cating and getting permission from families to participate.
In order to facilitate the Family Counsel- lors programme, the intention is for the Counselling Department to relocate from its present premises in Greenlands, to a space in Wades Garden (where the old SKI Academy used to be housed), more suited to accommodate the additional per- sons who would be needed to carry out the programme.

Please feel free to ask us more about the programme as you may see the need.
(Ms. Michele Delacoudray-Blake, Director, Counselling Centre) Vol ume 1, Iss ue 1 SCHOOL IN SESSION Pa ge 9 Gender Equality is a Man’s Issue too!!!

From the Department of Gender Affairs Men’s Desk (467-1397) Male inclusion in the gender mainstreaming process has increasingly been documented as vital to the success of main- streaming efforts.

It is well understood that the achievement of gender equality is not possible without the active involve- ment and support of men.
Men must be reached and included so that interventions for women and girls are not derailed by male resistance.

Too often sidelined as a women’s issue, gender mainstreaming and gender equality stagnate as peripheral issues with con- siderable lip service but little tangible movement.

We still fail to understand men’s roles and responsibilities in working toward a gender equitable world.

We fail to grasp their reluctance to become involved.
We fail to analyze how masculini- ty limits and inhibits male participation.

Additionally, we fail to articulate the negative effects on men of perpetuating a gender unequal world and the potential positive ramifications—for men—of gender equality.

We need to develop approaches and strategies for male inclusion in the gender equality process.

We need to deepen our understanding of the resistance encountered, document what works and develop tools for field-based use.
We need to bring men and boys front and center, in line and in place with women and girls, in the promotion of gender mainstreaming and in the march for gender equality.

We need to stress that promoting gender equality is not about granting privileges to women while disempowering men.

It is about creating integrated approaches that benefit all.

It is about creating a more socially just world.

Gender equality is a man’s issue too!

by Mr. Dion Browne, Gender Field Officer DID YOU KNOW?
Child neglect is the failure of a parent, guardian or other caretaker to sufficiently provide for the care of the child's basic needs.
Child neglect may be:  Physical – such as not providing food, shel- ter or supervision  Medical – such as not providing medical or mental health treatment  Educational – such as a failure to educate the child or attend to special needs  Emotional – such as failure to provide psy- chological care or permitting the child to use alcohol or other drugs CHILD NEGLECT Child neglect is a complex issue, as different cultures have different standards by which they view child ne- glect.
For example, a religious belief may prevent a parent from obtaining medical care for their child.

Pov- erty is also a major concern in child neglect and it may be the case that an above situation can occur due to poverty rather than child neglect.

Child neglect and abuse are often defined together in the law, but essentially, child abuse occurs due to harm- ful actions while child neglect occurs due to inactions.
(Source: www.healthyplace.com) Page 10 ON DE PLAYGROUND Volu me 1, Issue 1 Moments of Inspiration Marriage is not 50-50, divorce is 50-50.; Marriage has to be 100-100.
It isn’t dividing every- thing in half, but giving everything you’ve got!” (DavisWills.org) Contributed by Tashine ‘Joy’ Henville-Stevens Pumpkin & Potato Pie Recipe 1 lb (500 g) pumpkin 1 lb (500 g) potato 2 oz (50 g) margarine 1 egg 1 tsp (5 ml) lemon juice 1 large onion 1 sprig celery 1 tsp (5 ml) salt 1 cup (250 ml) milk or water Wash and peel pumpkin and potato.

Cut both into 1/4 inch (1/2 cm) slices.

Grease pie dish with 1/2 mar- garine.

Mince onion and celery.


Arrange a layer of potato in bottom of dish then a layer of pumpkin.

Sprin- kle some of the minced seasoning and a little salt.

Repeat this until all is used, finishing with a layer of pota- toes.

Beat egg and milk with lemon juice, pour into the dish.

Melt the remainder of the margarine and pour over the mixture.

Using a fork, prick holes through the mixture, allowing the fork to touch the bottom of the dish each time.

Leave for 3-5 minutes.


Bake until brown in a moderately hot oven for 30 minutes.
Contributed by Tashine ‘Joy’ Henville-Stevens THE NE WSSTAND ON DE PLAYGROUND Pa ge 11 Simple Tomato Basil Salad Recipe - tomatoes (cherry, heirloom, grape) – 1/2 lemon (juice) – 1 tablespoon olive oil – 1/4 teaspoon black pepper – 1/4 teaspoon sea salt – 1 tablespoon aged balsamic – 5-8 basil leaves (I used Italian basil) – 1 tablespoon chopped parsley Wash, core (remove the stems) and chop the tomatoes into irregular pieces, to give the salad some texture and contrast.
In a large bowl, combine the salt, black pepper, lemon juice, parsley and olive oil (whisk), then add the tomato and mix gently.

You can always add 1 clove of crushed garlic for more flavor if you like.

If you’re doing a massive salad, you can double up on the dressing.

Try to get small basil leaves as I like keeping them whole.

Or you can always gently fold them and cut (try not to crush them as they bruise easily).
When you’re ready to serve, place in a serving bowl, top with the basil and drizzle on the balsamic.

Another option if you don’t want to use balsamic, is reduced pomegranate juice (like a pomegranate balsamic).

You may finish with additional sea salt.

If you want to add cucumber, watercress, red onion and/or sweet peppers, you can certainly do so.
Contributed by Paulette Adams CULTURAL RIDDLES “Fowl wha sleep ah roost nuh hard to ketch” “Cockroach no got no call inna fowl house” (Do you know what these sayings/riddles mean?

The first staff mem- ber to correctly interpret either one of these riddles, gets a prize!
Call 467-1523 or email jeweleenwoodley.govkn@gmail.com) Riddles & concept contributed by Lyncia Dore & Patrice Carey Upcoming Events May 13th - June 17th - Family Month Activities (Social Services/Community Development) May 31st - Governor’s Day for Centenarians (Social Services) June (entire month) - Child Month activities (Early Childhood Education) The Ministry of Community Development, Gender Affairs and Social Services will develop and implement culturally sensitive customer service initiatives, by using evidence-based data to guide strategic decision- making in order to advocate for human and child rights and integrate gender mainstreaming, family wellness and creative enterprise, to enhance the development of an inclusive society.
CONTACT: The Ministry of Community Development, Gender Affairs and Social Services Victoria Road Basseterre St. Kitts Telephone number: (869) 467-1020/ Fax number: (869) 466-1552 Email: deptsdcga@yahoo.com Departments Administration - 467-1020 Social Services & Community Development - 467-1314 Probation & Child Protection Services (PCPS) - 467-1311 Social Protection Implementation Unit (SPIU) - 467-1523 Gender Affairs - 467-1397 Finance - 467-1276 Counselling Centre - 465-5000 New Horizons Rehabilitation Centre - 662-5624 Community Corner is a publication of the Ministry of Community Development, Gender Affairs and Social Services.
It is compiled by the Social Protection Implementation Unit and will be circulated quarterly to staff and other stakeholders in social services.

To contribute, please contact Ms. Jeweleen Woodley at jeweleenwoodley.govkn@gmail.com