 Welcome to Nation Beat. I am General Norville bringing you this brief on the pulse of our nation and highlights around the heart of St. Lucia. The government after-school program generates immense public interest. The journalistic prowess of one of St. Lucia's political giants is hailed and the school's Creole-Lamago Festival in full bloom. The government initiative to expand the after-school program spearheaded by the Ministry of Equity, Social Justice, Empowerment, Youth Development, Sports, Culture and Local Government has generated immense public interest. As we hear from Lisa Joseph, more than 30 enthusiastic and curious parents gathered at the Vidbuter Primary School in Lacklery to discuss the participation of their children in the newly launched National Lottery's Authority after-school program. The initiative which is in its second pilot phase provides participants with homework assistance, life skills training, sports activities and nutrition. Out of the 60 plus primary schools Vidbuter Primary was one of the selected 11 to be part of this pilot phase. There are five after-school centres in the north of the island. The centres are the Lagais Centre, the Vidbuter Primary School Centre, the Marshall Combined School Centre and also the Tenry School Centre. With the fifth one is Millet Centre. My role is to go around the centres on a weekly basis to ensure that the coaches, the staff working at those centres are adequately equipped with all the necessary that they need, the equipment, the materials that they require to ensure that the programme runs successfully. Gilroy Hall, Public Relations Officer for the after-school programme, reminded parents that the success of the programme is dependent on the level of input and support. The parents who signed their children for participation were satisfied that a comprehensive plan had been put together. Tony Neckles is one of them. I'm very interested in this programme because it is a holistic pattern that I want for my daughter. I know that it's necessary for her to build teamwork, to show respect to others, to be courteous and I find that this programme has the necessary ingredients and as well the National Lottery's Authority did the necessary vetting. As we heard in this meeting, they have had lots of interviews with the people so we're not worried about who's around the children. They spoke of insurance, they spoke of time and they also spoke of giving them something to eat after practice. The after-school programme offers not only academic, sporting and life skills training but the psychological well-being of the student is also of paramount concern. Martina Chalry is the social worker assigned to the programme. There are children who are coming from really impoverished homes, there are children coming from a bad environment, there are children who are being raised in domestic violence situations, there are children who have been exposed to violence and we want to make sure that these children who are part of this programme get the kind of assistance that they need to become better citizens, to become well-rounded students and to also develop their sporting prowess. Devid Wute Primary School is one of the centres that has reached its maximum registration of 45 participants. From the Government Information Service, Lisa Joseph reporting. Saint Lucia joined the global community in celebrating International Credit Union Day on the first day 18th October. The day is recognised to reflect upon the Credit Union movement's history, promote its achievements and share member experiences. Zephyne Francis is the President of the Saint Lucia Civil Service Credit Union and the Saint Lucia Credit Union League. In Saint Lucia, we have 16 Credit Unions. Whether we need all of them is relative. The importance is that they serve in a purpose. Credit unions are community-based or occupational and we even have religious credit unions. So it means that we cover a wide spectrum. The Credit Union movement in Saint Lucia now is in excess of 92,000 members. When I say the asset base is not to scare anybody, it's just to see that we are growing rapidly and we are becoming something that people are beginning to watch. Because in Saint Lucia alone, the Credit Union movement have in excess of $876 million. So that says a lot and when people say you have that kind of money, they're going to start checking on you. Francis says Credit Unions were formed out of a means of assisting the underprivileged with their financial issues and that remains true today. Credit Union is a great thing, but we keep the secret to ourselves. We do not bring it out to the public. A lot of the public hear Credit Union. Have an idea but have not fully understand the Credit Union principle. But the Credit Union principle is found on a cooperative principle. And I believe that cooperative is the way to go if you want to grow your economy, if you want to reach the last section of people. So in principle, Credit Unions are doing what we expect them to do, which is helping people in the community to grow. Credit Unions don't just handle savings and loans and deposits. Credit Unions are in the education. They take care of the members, they take care of the members' students, also volunteer. Credit Unions are celebrating 70 years under the theme, find your platinum lining in a Credit Union. The fourth annual George W. Audlam Memorial Lecture celebrated the journalistic prowess of one of St. Lucia's political giants. George Audlam was a multifaceted man who used his razor-wit and creative skills to contribute to the societal change for over three decades. His oratory skills coupled with his aptitude for journalistic writing made him a formidable opponent. George Audlam's nephew, Buffalo Audlam, stated St. Lucia was poorer having lost a man who came from that generation of giants. Most times George Audlam comes to mind, I think of the education factor and I think of the bringing the journey of what made us the society who were in the 50s, 60s and 70s, what made us literary giants, cultural icons. How did we produce these men like George? What is it we're doing as a society to sustain that kind of eloquence, that kind of educational standard, that kind of levity, that today we could say, are we a great nation, you know? This year's presenter was veteran journalist Earl Bousquet. With over 40 years in the field, Bousquet remembered his encounters with George Audlam. More specifically, Bousquet recalled the magnitude with which Audlam's editorial pieces helped to shape the politics of the day and by extension, St. Lucia history. By the time George took over the crusader, he had long developed writing skills that equaled his oratorial and performing genius. He had long been writing and performing while studying the skills of the world's best writers, playwrights and poets, and had already developed that ability to transmit local messages through their words. But George would also marry the words of Shakespeare and short of the lyrics of Cessenne Descartes, any of her songs with a ring of Ramo Poliwans, your mentality and the commonality in equal ability to transmit messages in language, sound and performance. George would often invoke cruel perverbs in his columns to translate the words of the feathered pens in the language of the market steps. That was George, the writer and publisher. Audlam was known through St. Lucia as Brother George, hailed as one of the Caribbean region's greatest orators. He was able to capture his audience at home and on the world stage when he served as St. Lucia's permanent representative to the United Nations. As the owner of the crusader, a left wing publication, Audlam challenged the government of the day on its policies and programs in witty, satirical prose, as well as traditional writing forms. From the government information service, I am Jacques Kingston Compton. This is Nation Beat, stay with us. Small household electrical appliances when faulty can give rise to big problems. If you have just purchased a small appliance from a store and you are concerned about the safety of the item on appliances been at home for some time subjected to wear and tear from regular usage. Have it tested by St. Lucia Bureau of Standards. It is better to be safe than sorry. For more information, contact the St. Lucia Bureau of Standards at 456-0546 or email SLBS at candw.lc or visit the website at www.slbs.org.lc St. Lucia Bureau of Standards, making quality and standards our way of life. Welcome back. Celebrations for La Margaret were in full bloom Wednesday with the staging of the school's Creole La Margaret Festival. The Ministry of Equity, Social Justice and Powerment of Development Sports, Culture and the Local Government in collaboration with the Cultural Development Foundation, CDF and the Folk Research Center FRC held the 2018 School Creole Festival on Wednesday, October 17th at the St. Joseph, the Worker Church, Grosely. Acting Prime Minister and Parliamentary Representative for Grosely, Honourable Leonard Montoot applauded the participating schools for their involvement and encouraged the youth to keep the Creole Flower Festivals alive. Let me congratulate all of the teachers and the officials who have worked with the students to put this together. When I see what happened here today, I know that our culture is in good hands and our flower festivals have a safe future. I want to encourage you, the students, to enjoy these moments. When you reflect on your school life, these are the moments that you will treasure and you will cherish. I hope that after you have graduated from the schools that you now attend, that will not be the end of your involvement in the Flower Festivals. This is our culture and we have to keep it alive. The festivity was followed by an award ceremony to honour one of St. Lucia's leading Creole School activists. Her name is Miss Loubain. She is the principal of the Marsha Primary School. The participating schools came from Grosely Infant, Primary and Secondary School, Marsha Primary, Tastry's Comprehensive, Cicero, Odsa, Balata, R.C. Boy's Infant, Donata, Lady Gordon, Ave Maria, Tirochet, Carmen Henry, Kair and Sir Ira Seaman Secondary School. Senator the Honourable Fortuna Bellaro stated that she was impressed at the manner in which the youth was able to play the different roles within the different groups. It's good to see that the young ones are so taken up in terms of understanding what is happening within the setting, the way they sang the songs, the way they participated, the way they executed their roles. I think that's significant and even in terms of taking instructions, these are some of the things that we saw in the setting this morning. And it's very important for us to celebrate as a people and to know how to celebrate and to know how to solve our problems. And through these initiatives, through these programmes, like now my great La Rose, we learned to appreciate the value of resolving conflict amicably. And I think a lot of that came through in the presentations this morning. Reporting from the Ministry of Equity, Social Justice, Empowerment and Development, Sports, Culture and the Local Government, I am Jevre Marie. The health of its employees proves to be a major priority to Wasco. We have more from Jacques Henson Compton. The Water and Sewage Company, Incorporated, or Wasco, hosts a health fair for its staff and environs this week in an effort to promote healthier lifestyles. The fair's purpose is to encourage attendants to undergo regular medical examinations. Blood pressure, prostate and vision tests were offered free of charge. Communications and Marketing Officer at Wasco, Sherri-Ann Gayard-Williams, illustrates the importance of regular medical examinations. A lot of the time, workers are very busy, their schedules are very hectic. And yes, we know that we need to make time to go to the doctor, but some people, because of their schedules, are not able to do so. So we are taking the initiative and bringing those services to them and making it more easily accessible. Gayard-Williams says this year's fair has seen improvements from the previous year. We have partnered with the Ministry of Education. We have the St. Lucia Fire Service. We also have the St. Lucia Red Cross Society who are collaborating with us on this initiative, on this effort. In addition to the healthcare services that are available to the employees today, we also have a SOCA exercise session that will be held to close off this whole initiative that will be held later this afternoon. We also have some training on CPR, emergency response, first aid. We also have basic fire training that we will be offering to the staff. So all of this is in an effort to keep people informed, to help people stay healthy, and to keep them active. Participants of the fair also received valuable information on various health topics such as cancer. Reporting from the Government Information Service, I am Jacques Kingston Compton. That's Nation Beat. Join us next time on NTN at 7.30pm with a repeat at 7.30am and on this station as we feel the pulse and heart of our community. You can also catch up with us anytime on the St. Lucia Government Facebook page or YouTube channel. I am Janelle Norville.