Posts in category Special Features

PhD in hand: She’s now Dr. Sabrina Jafralie Egbert Gaye That night, Saturday June 10, the hall was packed with relatives and friends, together with students, mentees and co-workers, all there to celebrate the achievements of a woman who chose education as a pathway to impact the lives of others and to build communities. It was a night of salutations to Dr. Sabrina Jafralie. And words of commendation were in free flow as one by one those who were touched by her contributions and impressed by her achievements and commitment acknowledged her. Included was a line-up of students who came …

By: Shekela Mitchell Best “I have a dream.” Those were the words of the great Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. preaching to a society where diversity wasn’t embraced nor appreciated. Nowadays, it’s hard to honestly say his dream has truly become a reality; however, for those who attended Coronation Elementary School’s Multicultural Day on June 8th, perhaps we all received a delightful taste. This was far more than your typical multicultural celebration. It was an eclectic and captivating event celebrating a variety of cultures in a gratifying energy that was simply intoxicating. The event included lunch, entertainment, raffle tickets for …

“If you tried to give rock and roll another name, you might call it Chuck Berry” – John Lennon (The Beatles) “The first time I heard “Johnny B. Goode”, I knew what I wanted to do (for a living)” – Keith Richards  (The Rolling Stones) “You’re good son, but Chuck is the king of rock and roll” (Mother of Jerry Lee Lewis) Chuck Berry 1926 – 2017 The universal king and architect of rock and roll, Chuck Berry, died of natural causes at his home in Wentzville, Missouri, on Mar. 18. He was 90 years-old. Berry was known for crafting …

Customers benefit from up to 45% savings on online purchases of food and household items RedBarrel, an e-commerce business powered by Digicel, announced a new free delivery service for food and household items purchased online by customers in the Haitian diaspora for their loved ones back home in Haiti. RedBarrel’s free delivery service is made possible through a partnership with Jaco Transfer, Haiti’s leading online supermarket and can be accessed at https://jacotransfer.redbarrel.com/. The partnership will also see customers benefiting from a savings of up to 45% on their purchases of food, electronics and household as well as construction items via …

First Mutually owned bank in J’ca Contact Staff On February 1, Jamaica attained a historic first with the opening of the country’s first mutually owned commercial bank. The new institution, the JN Bank, which is a subsidiary of the Jamaica National Building Society (JNBS) is mutually owned by the more than 20,000 borrowers and savers that constitute the institution’s clientele. On February 4, the launch of the bank was celebrated in Canada by the staff of the Jamaica National Representative Office at its Toronto office. Jerrold Johnson, chief representative officer told those gathered that  “The Canada Representative Office is excited …

#SheDidThatProm is looking for a few good high school graduating students:  Deadline is March 1 Contact Staff It’s a new year, and before you blink it will be graduation season. And #SheDidThatProm will be there once again for the fourth year to take care of two high school grads, meaning all expenses paid for the prom. And the founders of this annual initiative, Katrina Nurse and Tamraa Greenidge, are back for the fourth year to make the dreams of two lucky teenagers – a young lady and gentleman – in the community come true by giving them an all-expenses paid …

It’s agreed that it does not happen regularly enough   but when it does it’s nothing but fun.   The CONTACT family got together and spent an evening enjoying each other’s company. It was agreed that that the food was great but the talk might have been a little better. Duke Eatmon enthralled all with his knowledge of the music industry and Yvonne Sam drew from her insights as a long-serving nurse and educator to offer an enlightening and impromptu sex education lesson. All was well appreciated by Wendy, Gemma, Judy, Novel and Avril, Desmona and Tony, Don and Nicole, Kogi, Junior …

Present day Barbadians are the proud inheritors of the legacy of freedom struggles, and the activism and unarticulated dreams of countless persons of many past     STANLEY BROOKS Ph.D. The nation of Barbados has been in the news quite frequently this year because of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of gaining its independence on 30 November 1966. Festivities were launched in Barbados since January 2016 by the country’s Prime Minister, the Honourable Freundel Stuart. The celebration of an event like the golden jubilee of the birth of nationhood is indeed momentous. On Saturday, 15 October, over 400 Barbadians and …

Blacks fighting for King and country by J. Leblanc Many Black soldiers and sailors have fought and died on behalf of Canada in many military conflicts. Richard Pierpoint was one of them. He fought with Butler’s Rangers and later with The Colored Corp in the war of 1812. In 1857, William Hall received the Victoria Cross, the British Empire’s highest award for Military Valor at the Siege of Lucknow. The Victoria Pioneer Rifle Corps, also known as The African Rifles, was the first officially authorized militia in western Canada. The onset of World War 1 brought out a sense of …

By Ariel Hinkson The Halloween Tree Written by Ray Bradury Adapted and Directed by Amanda Kellock The Halloween Tree marks artistic director Mike Payette’s first collaboration with Geordie Productions. The fluidity of the play is a direct representation of the extensive and hard work put into the production over a 4-week period. Directed and adapted by Amanda Kellock, the theatre production of Ray Bradbury’s The Halloween Tree, has been years in the making. It began as a school project at John Abbott College, then made its way to theatre workshops about 4 years ago. Today, thanks to a group of …