Happy 56th Independence Barbados

happy INDEPEN DENCE NOVEMBER, 2022

FIRST YEAR AS A REPUBLIC

These Fields & Hills

These Fields & Hills “These fields and hills beyond recall are now our very own…”

A birth usually brings great joy, celebration and optimism. Those who bear witness to the happy event, whether present or afar, visualise a bright and promising future for the newborn, even if they harbour well-founded concerns and anxieties about its wellbeing in the years to come.

The birth of a nation is no different. On 30th November 1966, the newly independent Barbados took its first tentative steps into the world, citizens were bursting with abundant hope for blessings of prosperity, stability and harmony, though conscious of the potential for challenges and obstacles along the way.

On this day as we celebrate its birth, we can point to its many social ills, the current crime wave, the short-comings in our infrastructure, the buckling and impeded education system, our institutions, our faltering work ethic, disregard, in some places, of the environment, etc. – but on the other side of the national balance sheet, we must give ourselves positive grades as being a people, with a confident pride in ourselves. We, the nationals of this country, confidently believe that we are as good as the world’s best – and in many spheres, we have proven that we are.

In one of the most celebrated statements made by our father of

independence and national hero, the Right Excellent Errol Barrow, “We will not regard any great power as necessarily right in a given dispute unless we are convinced of this, yet at the same time we will not view the great powers with perennial suspicion merely on account of their size, their wealth, or their nuclear potential. We will be friends of all, satellites of none.”

Our national hero was clear in his determination of Barbados: we are nobody’s boss and nobody is our boss. Inherent in that is that the success of our ongoing Independence and now Republic venture lies solely on our doorsteps. We often look at developed countries and covet their progress and successes without considering their history, hardship and challenges in arriving at their present status. They did not mature overnight, and neither will we. If we are to reach their stage of development, we have to be prepared to learn from our mistakes.

We are at an appropriate juncture to take a collective deep breath and imagine what thanksgiving future independences should pay tribute to. Let us look at ourselves more reflectively.

At this juncture of national maturity let us repurpose the independence spirit to

fashion the country in ways that meet the challenges and changes for a different time.

As we celebrate our 56th anniversary, let us make every effort to tap into the dedication, aspiration and civic mindedness exercised so boldly by the witnesses to our nation’s birth, to rekindle the fires of hope and prayer that burned brightly in the hearts of every citizen on the eve of our Independence.

When we at ADVO envisioned this independence feature, the theme ‘These Fields & Hills’ came to mind. We believe it encompasses not only ownership and self governance but industry which underpins our ambitions; highlights achievements and plants the seed for new inspirations yet to be formed.

The team at ADVO extends best wishes for a safe and happy Independence Day to every member of the national community.

Happy Birthday!

Our National P ledge

MIA AMOR MOTTLEY PRIME MINISTER OF BARBADOS SINCE 2018

DAVID JOHN HOWARD THOMPSON PRIME MINISTER OF BARBADOS (2008–2010)

SIR HAROLD BERNARD ST. JOHN PRIME MINISTER OF BARBADOS (1985–1986))

FREUNDEL JEROME STUART PRIME MINISTER OF BARBADOS (2010–2018)

OWEN SEYMOUR ARTHUR PRIME MINISTER OF BARBADOS (1994–2008)

SIR LLOYD ERSKINE SANDIFORD PRIME MINISTER OF BARBADOS (1987–1994)

ERROL WALTON JON MICHAEL GEOFFREY BARROW MANNINGHAM "TOM" PRIME MINISTER OF ADAMS PRIME MINISTER OF BARBADOS (1966–1976) & BARBADOS (1976–1985) (1986 - 1987) NOVEMBER 6 ADVOMAG.COM

PRIME MINISTERS OF BARBADOS Barbados is fortunate to have been led by eight astute politicians during its first 56 years of nationhood.

They have all brought different styles and characteristics to the job but share certain commonalities such as discipline, courage, intelligence, trustworthiness and humanness.

Errol Walton Barrow The first Prime Minister of Barbados and acclaimed the Father of Independence was the son of the late Reverend Reginald and Ruth Barrow (née O’Neal). He was born into a family of political and civic activists that included his uncle Dr Charles Duncan O’Neal, founder of the Democratic League and one of the island’s National Heroes.

Barrow, an island Scholar in 1939, and a World War II Royal Air Force navigation officer studied law and was called to the Bar in Barbados in 1950.

He joined the Barbados Labour Party soon after returning to the island but broke ranks and with a few other colleagues formed the Democratic labour party in 1955 and by 1961 was Premier.

He led the country into independence in 1966 and his tenure was marked by a significant transformation in education, health, social security, light manufacturing and regional cooperation that included the formation of the Caribbean Free Trade Area (CARIFTA) the forerunner to the Caribbean Community.

After his party’s defeat in 1976 Barrow registered a unique achievement in local politics when he returned to office in 1986 at the age of 66 he became Barbados’ only political leader to lead his party back

to the office after 10 years in the wilderness.

It was in that campaign for re-election that he gave in Independence Square one of his memorable “Mirror Image” speech, in which he rhetorically asked Barbadians what kind of future they saw for themselves when they looked in the mirror.

Jon Michael Geoffrey Manningham ‘Tom’ Adams This country’s second Prime Minister Jon Michael Geoffrey Manningham “Tom “ Adams was the only son of Grantley Adams ( a lawyer, Premier of Barbados and the first and only Prime Minister of the Federation of the British West Indies ) and Grace née Thorne.

A Barbados Scholarship winner he studied at the University of Oxford graduating with a Master’s Degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics, He studied law and was called to the British Bar in 1965 and worked for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) before returning home, He was elected to Parliament in 1966, became Opposition leader in 1971 and Prime Minister five years later.

His Barbados Labour Party capitalized on the electorate’s desire for a change in government following a rise in unemployment, inflation and charges of maladministration against the Dems.

Adams led the BLP to victory again in 1981 but the period following was marked by a series of economic and political challenges.

The country entered an International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme and there was the US-led invasion of Grenada following the overthrow and murder of Prime Minister Maurice Bishop. This inspired him to form a Regional Security System.

He loved watching and reading about cricket and was also passionate about gardening and philately.

Adams died suddenly in 1985 at the age of 53 but his legacy lives on with the Central Bank Complex bearing his name. He was one

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE 7 ADVOMAG.COM

of the key drivers of Barbados’ efforts John was nominated to the to become an international financial Senate before being re-elected centre. to the House of Assembly in 1991 where he served until his retirement in 2003.

Sir Harold Bernard St John Sir Harold is credited with pushing the services sectors, Sir Harold St John served as tourism in particular and the the country’s third Prime Minister off-shore financial business. having succeeded Tom Adams on He was knighted in 1994 for his untimely death in 1985. his outstanding service to the “Bree” St John as he was country. He died on February affectionately known studied law 29, 2004. in England before returning home in the early 1950s to build his legal Sir Erskine Lloyd career.

Sandiford He had a see-saw political career starting In 1964, two years before Sir Lloyd Sandiford was an independence, when he served as erudite politician who served an Opposition representative in the as the island’s fourth Prime first Senate of Barbados (1964-1966) Minister of Barbados from which had replaced the Legislative June 1 to September 7, 1994.

Council.

He did his undergraduate He won his first attempt to studies at the Mona campus, represent Christ Church running in Jamaica and received on a Barbados Labour Party (BLP) his Master’s degree in ticket and becoming the senior economics and social studies member in what was then a double- at Manchester University, member constituency. His leadership England. potential was recognised by the In 1967, one year after BLP and in late 1970, he took over independence, he was the party’s leadership following the appointed to the Senate by the resignation of Sir Grantley Adams.

Democratic Labour Party and But in the1971 general election, served in the Cabinet. In the both he personally and his party 1971 election won a seat in the were defeated causing him to step House of Assembly. aside for Tom Adams.

His relentless push to Five years later he returned and establish the Barbados was successful at the polls as the Community College remains BLP won the election He became his crowning achievement Deputy Prime Minister in the new since it was done against much BLP administration a position he opposition and criticism. retained after the 1981 re-election.

A later decision to build the In 1986 St John was again defeated Sherbourne Conference centre at the polls and his party was rooted met with much hostility and leading to him stepping aside for was condemned by opponents Henry (later Sir Henry) Forde, St as a white elephant before it

NOVEMBER 8 ADVOMAG.COM

was completed. Today it bears his name.

When the DLP won the 1986 general election Prime Minister Errol Barrow named him as his deputy and he stepped into the top position following Barrow’s sudden death in 1987.

Sandiford’s time at the helm of government was a tumultuous period culminating with a number of his own parliamentarians turning against him. He survived a no-confidence motion brought against him in 1994 by the Opposition that was supported by some of his team.

Sandiford called elections two years before they were constitutionally due, but lost to the BLP led by Owen Arthur.

He remained in parliament until 1999 and taught economics and Caribbean Politics at the BCC. Sir Lloyd who served as Barbados’ first resident ambassador in Beijing, China from 2010-2013 was knighted for his service to the country.

Owen Seymour Arthur Owen Seymour Arthur is a Barbadian politician who was Prime Minister of Barbados from 7 September 1994 to 16 January 2008. To date, he is the longestserving Barbadian Prime Minister.

He was the Leader of the Opposition in Barbados from 2010 to 2013 and he died in July 2020 age of 70.

He led the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) to victory in the 1994 general election and won general elections again in 1999 and 2003. In the 2008 general election, his party

was defeated and Arthur stepped down as party leader but remained the Member of Parliament for St Peter. He subsequently returned to lead the BLP in 2010, but he was replaced as party leader after the BLP lost the 2013 general election.

In July 2014, Arthur resigned from the BLP and continued to serve in the House of Assembly as an independent.

He did not seek re-election in the 24 May 2018 General Election.

Arthur is the story of the boy from the village who made good of his educational opportunities and rose to the top political post on the island. He was educated at All Saints Boys’ School, the Coleridge and Parry School and Harrison College before doing his undergraduate and postgraduate studies in economics at the University of the West Indies.

David John Howard Thompson David John Howard Thompson was the sixth Prime Minister of Barbados from January 2008 until his death from pancreatic cancer on October 23, 2010.

He was born on Christmas Day 1961 in Britain but came to Barbados as a child.

Thompson completed his secondary schooling at Combermere, securing a Barbados Exhibition in 1979 and subsequently studied law at the University of the West Indies graduating with honours in 1984.

He excelled in the cut and thrust of debate and public speaking and catapulted the youth arm of the Democratic Labour Party into the national limelight between 1980

-82.

Following Prime Minister Errol Barrow’s untimely death in 1987, he successfully contested the by-election in St. John which he represented until his own death.

Mr Thompson’s first Cabinet appointment was in 1991 when he was made Minister of Community Development and Culture. From 1992 to 1993, he was switched to the Ministry of Finance as Minister of State, and between 1993 and 1994 he assumed full responsibility for that Ministry.

After his party’s defeat in th2 1994 polls, he became Leader of the Opposition but stepped aside until he was re-appointed in 2006 when he set about putting his stamp on the DLP. His efforts turned around the fortunes of the DLP and it regained office in January 2008 when it won 20 of the 30 parliamentary seats.

His ”Families First” programme, initially focused on his St. John constituency was aimed at re-establishing and re-asserting the family unit as the paramount unit in the overall development of communities.

Freundel Jerome Stuart Freundel Jerome Stuart became the seventh Prime Minister of Barbados when he succeeded David Thompson, who died in office.

From an ordinary working-class background, Stuart studied for and obtained a B.A. honours degree in Political Science and History from the Cave Hill

Campus of the University of the West Indies in 1975. He subsequently did his legal studies and was called to the Barbados Bar in 1984.

He joined the Democratic Labour Party in 1970 and entered elective politics in 1994, in the St. Philip South Constituency when he was successful and remained in Parliament until 1999. He lost that seat in the elections of that year switched riding, and returned to Parliament after the 2008 general elections, which saw the Democratic Labour Party recapturing the reins of government and his being appointed Attorney general and Deputy Prime Minister.

Prior to that, he served in the Upper House (Senate) from 2003 to 2007.

He led the DLP to a narrow victory in the 2013 general elections but was at the helm when it suffered a humiliating 30-0 defeat in May 2018.

Stuart who has a flair with words was severely criticized following his defeat for not engaging with the public in a consistent manner even as the country faced consistent downgrades by the international rating agencies.

Mia Amor Mottley Mia Amor Mottley has registered a number of firsts in her political life - first female leader of the Barbados Labour Party and the Opposition; first female Attorney General and youngest ever Queen’s Counsel in Barbados and the first person to lead a party to win all elected seats in Parliament, not once but twice.

On 25 May 2018, Mottley become the eighth Prime Minister of Barbados and the first woman to hold the post.

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE 9 ADVOMAG.COM

Mottley was born on October 1, 1965, and is a lawyer by profession having been called to the Bar of England and Wales and admitted to practice in Barbados in 1987.

Mottley is the granddaughter of the late Ernest Deighton Mottley who was the first Mayor of Bridgetown.

When she entered elective politics in 1991 when running on a Barbados Labour Party (BLP) ticket in St. Michael North East she was narrowly defeated and subsequently sat in the Senate as one of two Opposition representatives.

After the party’s victory in 1994, she was appointed Minister of Education, Youth Affairs and Culture and elevated to Attorney General and Minister of Home Affairs in 2001 while becoming Deputy Prime Minister two years later.

With her side being defeated in the January 2008 elections she became the Opposition Leader but the appointment was revoked In 2010 following a shift in support of five of her Parliamentary colleagues to former Prime Minister Owen Arthur. But she regained the position after the party suffered a second defeat in 2013.

NOVEMBER 10 ADVOMAG.COM

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY

Warmly Celebrating the

56TH ANNIVERSARY OF INDEPENDENCE of Barbados

May the China-Barbados friendship last forever!

From the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Barbados

Interview with Ernesta Greaves

Bath, St. John Photo Credit : Watergate Media

NOVEMBER 14 ADVOMAG.COM

Glimpses of Barbados’ Tilly lamp

Porcelain basin, hewed with potty or ‘Poe’

Antique couch would be found in most front houses

Monkey used for storing water

Antique lamp (type unknown)

’ Social Hisotry Antique rocking chair

Rediffusion the only source for news back in the day with the monkey and lamps

Home sweet home lamp

An aluminum tub and jucking board for washing clothes. The tub was also used for taking a bath

A 1757 map of Barbados show districts and population by parish

Antique rocking chair

Happy Independence Barbados!

Fujitsu is proud to join with the Government and People of Barbados as we celebrate the rich history and culture of the island on this momentous occasion.

We look forward to building new possibilities with you, creating a more sustainable world where anyone can advance their dream.

Fairchild Street Bus terminal was renamed and is now the Granville Williams Bus Terminal.

D

one at the beginning of October 2022, the tribute, in honour of the late Spiritual Baptist Church leader, Archbishop Granville Williams who often held meetings in that location, was an attempt to recognise the cultural and spiritual contributions that he made to the island.

The unveiling of the plaque was done by Deputy Prime Minister Santia Bradshaw, In her address in Golden Square Freedom Minister with responsibility for Culture, Dr Park, Deputy Prime Minister Santia Shantal Munro-Knight, and MP for The City, Bradshaw, said that it was one way the Corey Lane.

Government was attempting “to redress some Through the years the Sons of God Apolostic of the imbalances in the presentation and the interpretation of the value of our heritage, to Church performing the stations of cross through communities in the city, became synonymous reflect on our true diversity”. with the celebration of Easter, and in 1978 in Barbados has a UNESCO World Heritage recognition of the impact which Granville was designation, “but it is hard to find visible having across communities, the then Minister evidence of the contribution of the enslaved of Culture, Sir Louis Tull, invited the Spiritual people or of their descendants”. She added Baptist Church to participate in the opening of that the ceremony was a fitting tribute to the Crop Over Festival. a son of the soil as Barbados charts a new course as a Republic.

“We moved Lord Nelson… The renaming of the bus terminal is part of this move to address the imbalance and to put in place more symbols representative of our shared heritage.”

It was here that the movement was also invited to play a role in the Crop Over festival.

The renaming was the fulfillment of a promise

by Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley made at the removal of the statue of Lord Nelson in 2019.

There is currently an ongoing competition to allow Barbadians to determine what would be put in the place where Lord Nelson statue stood.

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE 21 ADVOMAG.COM

Golden Square Freedom Park

T

he historic Golden Square Freedom Park was officially opened Saturday afternoon in November a few days before Barbados became a Republic.

In a colourful, cultural, celebratory two-hour ceremony, the two-acre Freedom Park was officially opened by Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley.

Located in the heart of Bridgetown, it is where the Right Excellent Clement Payne delivered one of his most important public speeches in 1937.

The National Hero was said to have held meetings to encourage poor and disadvantaged Bajans to demand better working and living conditions.

The National Hero, Payne, is quoted in one of his speeches saying “I am going to make this spot the mecca of organisation on this island. Bad things have been said about Golden Square, but I have found my services better appreciated here than elsewhere in this island.”

Payne was deported from Barbados in 1937 and it was followed by a historic four days of rioting where a number of people were killed and injured.

However, it is reported that this event caused action, as investigations were carried out on the

conditions in the British Caribbean colonies including Barbados and many of Payne’s suggestions were said to be implemented.

Freedom Park has a number of features which include the Builders of Barbados Wall where surnames of people who live and/or lived on the island are inscribed. There is Memorial Wall which has items used during the 1930s, the Shards of Life and large Clay boulders to depict the 1937 Riots.

Located throughout the park are also historical facts that are written on plaques.

There are also road tennis courts present, to honour the indigenous sport of Barbados along with places where board games can be played.

Also present at the opening of Golden Square Freedom Park were president elect and former Governor General Dame Sandra Mason, Chief Justice Sir Patterson Cheltenham, Opposition Leader Bishop Joseph Atherley, and Members of Cabinet.

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE 23 ADVOMAG.COM

FOR SALE

Welches Heights St Thomas 5 bed 4 bath, 7,527 sq ft $998,000

The Garden St James Family home 6 bed/4bath on 25,000 sq ft $1.6M

Wanstead, St. Michael 3 bed 2 bath 7,780 sq ft approx $400,000 negotiable

Mullins Terrace St Peter Property: Three townhouses US$525,000 - US 545,000

Breezy Hill St. Philip 3 bed 2 bath with 2 bed apt 6,007 sq ft $310,000 negotiable

caribbeanpropertiesltd@gmail.com All enquiries to (246) 253 6319/ 280-0023 or (246) 247 4469

All-two - both Chune - a song Behind god’s back - far distance usually in the country or rural area Crappo - frog Back chat - a disrespectful reply Bawl out - shoot or curse

All ah wanna - everyone in the group Below - to the left or right of a property

Big rock - to stand up someone Cat boil - a sty under the eye lid

Mob-a-ton - an excessive amount

Blista blind - to curse someone Duppy ghost/spirit

Fall away - to lose weight

Happy 56 Years of Independence

We join with all of Barbados as we Celebrate 56 years of Independence 1966-2022 Member associations Barbados Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association Barbados Egg & Poultry Producers Association Barbados Sheep Farmers Inc Barbados Cotton Growers Association Barbados Bee Keepers Association Floral Producers & Exporters Barbados Inc Association of Women in Agriculture

THE BARBADOS AGRICULTURAL SCOCIETY The Grotto, Beckles Road, St Michael ‘Promoting national food security and Bajan food culture’ Tel: 436-6681/83/84 Fax 246 435-0651 Email: bdosagriculturalsociety@ caribsurf.com

History’s page Olympic Committees inaugural Caribbean Games and Barbados sent a team which included swimming, judo, track and field Barbados sent a large contingent and Netball. to the 2022 Commonwealth Games Jonathan in Birmingham England. It included Jones sets three a Cycling team, Triathlon, cricket, gymnastics, Judo, table tennis, boxing, national records badminton, swimming, squash, netball Men’s 400m national and Athletics. This made it one of holder and the largest contingents for a major record Commonwealth bronze multisport games that Barbados has medal winner Jonathan ever sent.

They were 42 females and 23 males Jones has had a successful athletes on the squad to compete across season. Making the world final in the 12 disciplines represented and when Championship Eugene Oregon and then the officials, coaches and managers were placing third in the 400m with a time of 44.89 secs at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

He started off his season running the longer event of the 600 yard and the 800m. He then replaced the 400m national record which he had held after it had stood for 23 years to set a new mark of 44.43 secs at a Big 12 Conference in Texas.

His time at the Big 12 Indoor championships in the 600 yard of 1:06.68 added the tally came up to 99 members minutes is also a national record. on the team.

He also broke the oldest It was the first time for female cricket and Barbados opened with a surprising Barbados record which was victory led by their captain and West the 800m that had stood since Indies captain Hayley Matthews in the 1976. Jones ran 1:45.83 minutes to replace the old mark of set T20 format.

It was athletics which returned by Orlando Greene of 1:46.24. with the best results with a gold silver The record breaking time came and bronze thanks to Sada WIlliams at the Clyde Littlefield Texas (400m), Shane Brathwaite (110m H) Relays in March.

Barbados Largest contingent for 2022 Commonwealth games

World Championship and Commonwealth medals

and Jonathan Jones (400m).

This year there was also the Caribbean Association of National

S a d a Williams the senior w o m e n’s 400m national record holder competed at three (3) major championships and won a medal at all three in 2022.

The 2021 Barbados Olympic Association female athlete of the year and People choice recipient has followed from her 2021 season with a sensational performance in 2022.

After enrolling at UTech in Jamaica Kingston and joining the MVP Track Club, where she trains under the guidance of coach Stephen Francis in 2018, Williams has gone on to live up to her potential shown when she was a teenager.

The Olympic semi-finalist at the Tokyo 2020 Games, set a new national record in the 2022 World Championship in Oregon where she finished third and replaced the old record of 50.11 secs with a new mark of 49.75 secs.

When she ran

Sada Williams shines in 2022 with

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE 27 ADVOMAG.COM

246

ATHLETES

history’s page below 50 secs she was floored initially laying on the ground but the next time she was standing.

She went on to win the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 49.90 secs, and two weeks later she won silver in 49.86 secs at the NACAC Championships in the Bahamas behind the World Champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo.

She finished the 2022 season having run below 50 seconds four times and was honoured on her return to Barbados.

Williams also donated her medals to the Barbados Olympic Association to be placed in their museum.

Cycling on the rise The Barbados Cycling community have been celebrating all year as their riders have been making their presence felt on the international circuit.

Track cyclist Jamol Eastmond, Edwin Sutherland and Amber Joseph have been reaching the top three steps at regular intervals.

Road Cyclist Joshua Kelly who competed in the Pan American Championships road race with Jacob Kelly and Greg Vanderpool.

Eastmond won the Scratch race and

elimination at the Caribbean Track Cycling Championships in Trinidad while finishing second in the Madison event with Sutherland.

Joseph won a gold medal in the scratch race and two silver medals (the Omnium and the points race) at Pan American Cycling Championships in September.

Our National Dish Ingredients : Okras 3/4 Corn meal 1/4 cup Fish (fillet) Onion 1 Tomato Herbs (thyme) Pepper Lime Salt Butter (mello kreem) Method In a small saucepan place one and one half cups of water, add a little salt put on stove to boil.

Wash the okras, Dice grate or cut and set aside Cut the onion and half a tomato and set aside Place fish in a cup of water adding lime juice and salt, set aside.

As the water boils add okras cooking under moderate heat and uncovered. Cook till soft then lower heat Fish Rinse the fish and in a frying pan add water, place the fish first, then on top cover with onions, tomato, herbs. Add butter, squeeze the juice from the lime over and add pepper (black pepper or fresh pepper) Cook under moderate heat, covered until cooked Cou Cou In a small bowl place the corn meal, add water to liquify, about a 1/4 cup Stain the water separating the okras Return the liquid into the saucepan add the cornmeal stirring until the mixture starts to thicken As it has thickened add the okras stirring until smooth and without lumps

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE 31 ADVOMAG.COM

Cou cou

A Bajan national dish Today we celebrate our island’s 56th Anniversary of Independence and the 1st year as a republic.

Advo magazine shares one of the national dishes, Cou Cou. For persons 40 years and older they would have many memories of this dish which was cooked by Mummy or Granny. They will also recall that during their childhood, Cou Cou was primarily a Saturday meal. As a child from watching its the preparation the tasked seemed laborious, with Gran or Mum standing over the pot using a Cou Cou stick, a flat wooden stick, to mix the corn meal and okras together until all lumps were removed and the meal has come together and was smooth and mellow.

As you think about those days, you would remember what fish or meat was served with this meal. It was one of these fish, pork, salt fish, mackerel, liver, called in Bajan vernacular, ‘hard slip’. One critical thing about this dish is that it must be served with ‘nuff, nuff ’ (meaning a lot) of gravy, the Cou Cou must be ‘swimming’, lol.

The cooking of this dish has waned in recent times to the extent that many young people rarely eat or even like Cou Cou now. Some say it has been replaced by macaroni pie.

For all those who are willing to try it, today we share with you the process and method for preparing our unique meal.

NOVEMBER 32 ADVOMAG.COM

WITH EXPECTATIONS GREAT: THE FUTURE OF HEALTH CARE IN SMALL ISLAND DEVELOPING STATES

T

he entire globe has been hostage to a pandemic of gargantuan extremes.

From the largest nations to the smallest island, we all bore witness to what an infinitesimal virus can do to a population and its resources. But if there is a positive this pandemic can point to, is that it became a mother of invention and adaptation in the medical field. It brought into crisp focus how vulnerable a species we are, but it also ushered an accelerated collision between medicine and technology to effect a reasonable solution and a road map away from masks and lockdowns.

On the occasion of Barbados’ 56 anniversary of independence and the first year of being a Republic, in this tiny island we fondly call ‘Bim’, and to a wider diaspora of developing Caribbean nations, what can we reasonably expect the future of medicine and health care over the next 10 to 15 years to look like.

To be clear, there are many innovations and discoveries that are theoretical and only available in the most technologically advanced hospitals in first world countries. What this article will attempt to crystallize are the advances that will filter down first and have the most significant effect on our daily living as it relates to access to medical care through this

new convergence of health and technology.

Robert Ford, the CEO of Abbott Pharmaceutical industries said earlier this year; The fundamental promise of technology is that it allows us to live a better life. This is where health and technology come together with incredible power. Cutting edge science is paving the way for new treatments that we could barely imagine just a few years ago.

Slowly but surely, doctors will realize the interconnectivity of organ systems on the cellular level and realize the crucible of ill health resides in the individual cell itself and its organelle components, more specifically the mitochondria. They will realize that the preservation of a healthy functional mitochondrial population, from your mid 30s onwards, in addition to being more acutely aware of one’s gut Biome (intestinal bacterial flora) status is critical, while at the same time stressing strategies to reducing the presence of chronic inflammation.

This switch in focus to cellular health and maintaining optimal blood flow, will become the basis of reducing non communicable diseases and extending one’s lifespan.

At the individual level, consumers will become

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE 33 ADVOMAG.COM

increasingly connected to the expanding network of apps, devices, and services to better expand and manage their health actively. Consumers will take a more active role in their health at home. People will self-monitor their own heart rate, blood pressure, blood sugar and dietary habits with the revolution in wearable technology in association with the growth of the Internet. Such wearable devices are already on the commercial market and provide additional data such as sleep quality and duration, the likelihood of an infection or ovulation, based on minute changes in body temperature. In addition to carrying technologies externally they will also likely see patients wearing them internally too via the use of sensors called smart bodies.

nanotechnology, certain drugs would either not be absorbed or, alternatively, would be naturally excreted. It is anticipated that the use of nanomaterials for diagnostics and drug delivery will play a much larger role than they currently do.

Future physicians, even here in the Caribbean, will likely be manipulating cells at the molecular level, and this will further tap into opportunities for a personalized approach to medicine. When it comes to stem cell medicine the technology is still in its infancy, but it is predicted to play an important role in the future of medicine. In the realm of organ transplantation, the advent of 3-D bioprinting with Meanwhile, at the clinic level, the utilization of stem cell we are likely to see the utilization of technology could entail the the medically informed ‘chat box’, manufacturer of new biologproviding patients with informa- ical materials. Human organs tion and directives. These wearable will be grown in the laboratory and implantable technologies can and the need for organ donabe designed to monitor the param- tion will be negated. eters of various diseases. They are likely to make a significant contriWhat’s likely to have the bution in the transfer of data to a most immediate effect is an remote center, directing the patient increasing reliance on teleto take specific actions based on in- health. The patient will becoming data or automatically per- come comfortable with talking form a function based on that data. to a virtual physician on a screen instead of relying on Nanomedicine and Stem Cell a living breathing healthcare Technology professional before them. The individual will become more Nanomedicine is the medical increasingly connected to the application of nanotechnology for expanding network of inforexample the use and application of mation with improved access materials with sizes in the nanome- to, and control over his own ter range. As medicine evolves, the patient records. What this will use of nanomaterials or nanoparti- translate into is more health cles to transport and target drugs equity through technology. into the body. Without the use of The health care disparities be-

NOVEMBER 34 ADVOMAG.COM

tween the haves and have nots will blur, as the sharing in the common language between providers and patients matures.

The future of health care in small island developing states, however, will not be linear. In other words, there will be periods of static plateau followed by multiple, significant exponential spurts in medical technology and its delivery. It will require a populace willing to accept change and forward seeking governments eager to gain an alternative advantage with both communicable and noncommunicable diseases.

References: Nicola Williams PhD University of Leeds.

Michael Notarbartolo IR biotech

Dr. Derek B. Thorpe Dr. Thorpe is a nuclear medicine and functional medicine physician with post graduate degrees from Cornell School of Medicine and the University of Florida. He mentors clients through the ketogenic diet and treats pain and injury throughoptimisation of blood flow. mongo505@hotmail.com | (246) 244-9555

Advo Montage