May 31 - June 6, 2014
NEWS 17
TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS
Dame Marguerite Pindling here for church anniversary BY DAISY HANDFIELD THE WIFE of the Bahamas’ first black premier, Marguerite Pindling, visited the Turks and Caicos Islands this week to celebrate St Monica’s Anglican Church’s 25th anniversary. A women’s luncheon, which hosted by television journalist Diana Swann, was held at the Tropicana Club in the Bight on Sunday (May 25). The event was attended by a host of ladies from across the country, including the Deputy Premier Akierra Missick. Lady Pindling flew down from the Bahamas to serve as a guest speaker for a special celebratory luncheon. When on the podium, she said that she was honoured to recognise the landmark anniversary with the ladies. “As wives, mothers, leaders in the home, in education, religion, and yes, even politics, our greatest testimony is our life’s example as Anglican Church women,” she said. Lady Pindling added that as Christians, they must continue to be the social conscience of their communities and speak out against all forms of injustice and societal ills wherever and whatever they may be. “Gender based violence, gender equality, child abuse, wayward youth and human trafficking are just a few examples.” She said that at home they must use their collective efforts to
Dame Marguerite Pindling celebrates the St Monica’s Anglican Church’s 25th anniversary with women of the TCI
intensify their commitment on a national level to combat the crimewave and the other social disruption, which continues to fracture their peace and harmony and weaken their social fabric. Marguerite Pindling was born to Reuben and Viola McKenzie in the settlement of Long Bay Cays, South Andros, on 26 June 1932. Moving to Nassau in 1946, she lived with her sister Louise and attended the Western Senior School. After leaving school, her first job was with noted photographer Stanley Toogood. Later she worked for Colyn Rees and soon met Lynden Pindling, a London-trained lawyer. Following a courtship of a little over a year, they married on May 5,
1956. Shortly after the wedding, Lynden Pindling was elected to the House of Assembly and would serve until 1997, when he retired after being elected nine consecutive times. In 1967 he became premier and later prime minister, a post he held until 1992. Throughout his term in office, Lady Pindling gave her husband her determined, energetic and loyal support. Besides the devotion she showed to Sir Lynden and his political career, she undertook much charitable work, cared for her children and became a Bahamian icon. She was honoured by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 2007, being named a Dame Commander of the
Marine school awarded $10,000 grant for sea turtle study A $10,000 grant has been given to the School for Field Studies (SFS) in South Caicos to study the effects of climate change on sea turtles. The school’s Centre for Marine Resource Studies was awarded the grant by the Curtis and Edith Munson Foundation. This is the second instalment of a two-year grant that supports the ongoing study of climate change impacts on the nesting turtle population of the TCI. Kathleen Wood, director of the Department of Environmental and Maritime Affairs (DEMA), said: “We are thrilled that SFS has obtained funding to continue the important work they are carrying out. “TCI is currently in the process of implementing new legislation to allow for better management of turtle populations, including protection for breeding adults. “The continued monitoring of nesting areas within TCI for turtle populations is critical to the ongoing sustainable management of these vulnerable populations and to assess the effects that revised legislation will have.” The waters of the TCI support regionally significant foraging aggregations of green (Chelonia mydas) and hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) turtles, and, to a lesser extent, loggerhead turtles (Caretta
The waters of the TCI support significant numbers of green turtles
caretta). Studies have predicted that climate change will have real and direct impacts for sea turtle populations by altering both nesting habitat and sex ratio of hatchlings. In the first year of the grant, staff and students at the SFS Centre for Marine Resource Studies began monitoring nine beaches frequented by nesting turtles and measuring beach profiles to examine changes in erosion and accretion patterns, beach area, and temperature. The two-year grant has benefited the TCI by providing data and
understanding of how global changes affect the local environment. Additionally, the centre is working with island communities to increase their understanding of the environment through the application of science and scientific data analysis, and to help develop communications between local groups, researchers, and policy makers. Continued support for long-term data collection is critically important and beneficial to these stakeholders as they undertake marine turtle management and conservation, said SFS centre director Dr Heidi Hertler. The extension of the grant also allows for US undergraduate students on SFS’s programme in the TCI to continue engaging in fieldbased climate change research. “To many people, climate change is merely an abstraction,” said SFS president Dr James Cramer. “To our students involved in assessing its impact on threatened marine species, climate change is a significant ongoing process with major implications not only for nesting turtles, but for an important ecosystem and its capacity to maintain a level of biodiversity essential for sustaining a rich array of marine life and the people the depend on it. “This is real world science at its best.”
During the luncheon, Lady Pindling converses with Deputy Premier Akierra Missick in the presence of Minister of Health and Human Services, Porsha Stubbs Smith
Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George. The Pindlings had four children -
Obi, Leslie, Michelle and Monique and Dame Marguerite is now a proud grandmother of six.
The Towers of Babel “An ancient city in the land of Shinar in which the building of a tower intended to reach heaven was begun and the confusion of the language of the people took place.” Gen 11:4–9. The Towers of Babel is a collective of voices consisting of various artists prepared to display their exceptional art forms and foster the inner artist in other individuals; providing a venue for the outpouring of their undeniably unique gifts. This group brings to the stage and page productions rarely displayed on stages in the Turks and Caicos Islands melding with some of the most unique artists the country has to offer. For more information email towersofbabel101@gmail.com or visit www.towersofbabel.weebly.com
How long shall I wait for you By Before Sunrise How long shall I wait for you... I will wait as long as your smile softens my heart, As long as just a glimpse of you fills me with hope. How long shall I wait for you... I will wait as long as a stolen touch of your skin makes me feel warm all over, As long as the thought of being in your arms brings me enough peace to make it through even the stormy days... How long shall I wait for you... I will wait as long as we continue to speak a language understood only by us two, As long as the memories are so vivid that they invade my dreams and I awake longing for you. How long shall I wait for you... I will wait as long as it takes for you to realise that my heart belongs to you, As long as it takes for you to clearly see that my name is imprinted on yours. How long shall I wait for you... I will wait for the day when the question of time seems so distant and far away. I will wait for the day when waking up in your arms is as normal as the sunrise and just as beautiful. I will wait for the day when a whisper in my ear is how you share your joys and sorrows with me. I shall wait for the day when pride, distance, fear and failure are but obstacles overcame by our love. How long shall I wait for you? I will wait a lifetime on My Forever...