 Welcome to the NTN Nightly. I'm Nisha Charles. This edition stops stories. Saint Lucia's Prime Minister puts forward a case for the region's own climate fund. The community of Babono takes a stance against chronic non-communicable diseases. Saint Lucia receives a new cohort of Peace Corps volunteers, all that plus the latest in youth development, sports, and the NTN Nouvelle Arqueo. As climate change continues to negatively impact small island developing states, Saint Lucia's Prime Minister and Chairman of the Caribbean community, Hon. Alan Shastney, continues to lead the charge in building resilience against climate change. The Prime Minister in September will take part in a series of high-level meetings at the 74th UN General Assembly. There, the Hon. Prime Minister will, among other things, make a case for the region's very own climate fund. The Hon. Prime Minister says the region simply cannot wait to access the $100 billion fund, which was agreed upon in Paris in 2015. General Nouvelle has that story. With the prediction of more intense weather systems as a result of climate change, the world must make the necessary adjustments so as to withstand the impacts. Prime Minister of Saint Lucia, the Hon. Alan Shastney explained that the government of Saint Lucia has recognized that change is necessary, including a change in the public's mindset and behavior in the face of climate change. Efforts must also be made to ensure that the country is more resilient, and that will require a change in the way it builds its infrastructure, among other things. While Saint Lucia has been one of the leading countries in climate change, with a number of initiatives such as the 1.5 to stay alive campaign, challenges continue to ride their heads. Hon. Shastney noted that there was to be the establishment of a $100 billion fund, however it never got off the ground. Nobody ever signed off on who was going to contribute what, and with America pulling out of the cop contract or agreement or accord, the likelihood of getting $100 billion diminished significantly. So we have been working collectively to bring to the attention to the international entities that we need to see the OECD change its classification from us, because we cannot borrow development funds because we're all considered to be million income countries. So we're saying in the case of climate change that we should use a vulnerability index to assist us. The Prime Minister added that there must be a review as to the amount of time it takes to draw down on funds made available, as most of them have long project cycles. VC Explained is not ideal for small island developing states as they are faced with hurricanes every year. Hon. Shastney also indicated that a review of the classification of debt is a must. Debt incurred as a result of the country's thirst to build resilience, or to rebuild after a disaster added to national debt is not sustainable and repayment of such debt will require long periods. We've realized in the last heads of government meeting we've put forward that maybe we should create our own foundation. So like the Bill Clinton Foundation have the small island developing states resilience foundation and Ireland and UAE and the Prince Andrew have all been facilitating and working with us to be able to help us create that. So we have a series of meetings coming up in September at the UN in which I'm going to be able to articulate that and get people support. So the goal is to get other agencies to put money for us into this foundation is also we're hoping that the foundation could become what we call a special purpose vehicle which means that the debt that it's going to absorb will be the burden will be put on to the foundation and not to the individual countries. The 74th session of the UN General Assembly is scheduled for the 17th through the 30th of September 2019. During the week of the debate several other high level events will also convene including a climate summit and a one-day UN high level meeting on universal health coverage. For the government information service I have General Norville. The agriculture sector is breathing a sigh of relief following the passage of tropical storm Dorian on Tuesday. Amanda Faye Clark spoke to the Minister of Agriculture Honourable Ezekiel Joseph. For farmers in particular he explains the small stroke of relief does buy some more time to augment hurricane and tropical storm preparations and to fine-tune strategies to protect agribased livelihoods for the remainder of the hurricane season. Coming out of the experience last year tropical storm good I'm sure people farmers would have realized that as a ministry we started with the support of the government of Taiwan a tripling program to create that windbreak in areas that we can establish these windbreaks and we are using three crops that's what we call economic value and not the forest crops that after a half hour you still have to come back and cut it. So that program is going on well and I'm sure like we have in the past and will continue to prepare our service as far as mitigating against flooding during the necessary drainage works especially the major drainage outlets and farms in areas where that is needed. While climate change continues to be singled out as the reason behind the growing frequency of violent storms hitting the Caribbean islands Minister Joseph says farmers and fishers need to remain vigilant. We are happy that we will spread because we can ill afford any tropical storm at this point in time we can ill afford any storm at this time because we the farmers are just recovering from tropical storm good and any negative impact of a storm would really really be discouraging you know and to be even more challenging for us as government as a ministry to go back and encourage these farmers to to establish re-establish the fields. Minister Joseph said the agriculture ministry is working on putting an insurance scheme in place the details of which needs fine-tuning hurricane insurance for the sector is a sure fire way to provide an additional layer of protection for agri livelihoods. The whole aspect of insurance plays a critical role and we cannot overemphasize the need for insurance. I had a meeting on foods day last week with Mars which was a very good meeting when I had the opportunity to discuss and to encourage the farmers to look at insurance I was told that there seems to be some review of the of the policy which we believe is good in in the sense that they had need to look at how they can reduce on the trigger because the trigger is 65 miles per hour and 65 miles per hour is high and when you express last year we did not we did not experience six five miles per hour but farmers would have to understand if there's any reduction in the trigger there will be an increase in the premium but it's something that we have to continue discussing with the respective insurance companies and see what are the possibilities and how we can at least provide that level of safety net because like I said whilst the insurance can ever give you 100 percent of what you lost but with government support and insurance it can assist our farmers in getting back on their feet as quickly as possible. In the meantime agricultural officials will continue its work on implementing the action plan for growing the sector from the Ministry of Agriculture I am Amanda Fee Clark reporting. Chronic non-communicable diseases have for many years wreaked havoc among families worldwide snatching the lives of the young and old in an untimely pattern with St. Lucia being no exception. Cancer, diabetes and hypertension are among the silent killers that threaten the island's productivity. The community of Babano has decided to fight back by challenging its residents and the wider St. Lucia community to make positive lifestyle changes to live better, fitter and healthier. More in this report from Glenn Simon. Even when I was so tired I was giving up and I will not give up. I must continue to the end and thank God I made it such great. This feeling of accomplishment was shared by many walkers who completed the Adyua's Babano Challenge fun walk. Now into its fourth year, the walk challenges its participants to make the lifestyle changes necessary to combat the devastating effects of chronic non-communicable diseases. The Babano Challenge fun walk and health fair is an initiative of the Babano Good Shepherd Catholic Church whose parish priest is Father Celestin Noakwo. It's basically to create awareness about physical fitness to incorporate both bodies spirit and soul together so that a whole person can be complete. Endossing the Babano Challenge over the years are none other than the most decorated sportswoman of the year Laverne Spencer and sportsman of the year Albert Reynolds, both of whom are from the community of Babano. Just walking for fun and for health is very important and the fact that they have like you know the health screening and the health fair and just you know local foods and everything I think it's just a great atmosphere for everybody to be here. So it's a challenge to test yourself to see where you are and where you can be and where you hope to be in within the following year. This year's walk starts off at the Babano school ground to Ballata, Union, Mondudon, Pokaj, T-Rochet, Hill 20 and back to Babano which is the reverse of last year's routes. From record people have been so excited about it and in fact they've been asking when is it coming up, when is it coming up because they love our routes because our routes are very unique. Here are what some walkers had to say about the Babano Challenge over the years. It is a good physical activity, it's not a line for sure. It's a good fitness workout, a few heels, few slopes, you know good pace. What I like about this walk, the route they changed was good, it was really challenging. A little bit of uphill, it's good for you. This is a real challenge, I have been to the walk from VG to Pigeon Point and this one is much more challenging than it. Committee member Janus Sonson indicated that a signature part of the event is the health fair and health education component particularly for the young and young at heart. I just want to encourage all the young persons to take part in the walk because health is important and we have a lot of younger persons getting diseases such as strokes, aneurysms, heart disease and all of that. Sonson said other elements of the event include a Creole breakfast, soccer size, prizes and medals for participants, a raffle, a prize for the best design t-shirt with a Creole theme among other activities. We want you to come on to this walk because it's fun, it's exciting, it's a great family activity and an activity that you can do with your friends. Community member Gail Yonka agrees. It could be hard, you may want to give up, but just persevere and you can do it. If I can do it, they can do it too. The Barber No Challenge is scheduled for Monday, October 7th, 2019. Barber No Challenge 2019. As St. Lucia celebrates breastfeeding month, the Ministry of Health and Wellness is seeking to help create an environment that supports breastfeeding. Ministry of Health officials say that while they continue to play their part in promoting breastfeeding, studies show that St. Lucia's rates of breastfeeding remain low. I think we are well aware that breastfeeding promotes a healthy baby. And even more precisely, breastfeeding decreases the episodes of respiratory conditions, conditions such as arthritis media, bowel problems. So as you can see, it does promote a healthy individual. Also, it is interesting to also note that breastfeeding can contribute to a child's intelligence, the child's IQ up until 30 years. The theme for this year's observance is empower mothers, enable breastfeeding. You'll hear about mothers who have two babies and the one that is breastfed exclusively, they will testify that this baby is usually healthier and has less visits to the hospital or to the doctor than the one that is not breastfed. And we can get mothers who can testify to that. So we are not just here just to talk and say, okay, breastfeeding is basic, but it has proven over and over again and research continues to show how beneficial breastfeeding is to the baby. And that was Public Health Nursing Supervisor Persha Ajoda. A new cohort of Peace Corps volunteers has officially been sworn in St. Lucia. The volunteers form part of the 91st group of Peace Corps trainees in the Eastern Caribbean. Anise Antoine has that story. A new cohort of Peace Corps volunteers has officially been sworn in. The 11 volunteers form part of the 91st group of Peace Corps trainees in the Eastern Caribbean. The group will help fulfill the overarching goal of the Peace Corps Caribbean, achieving world peace and friendships. Associate Peace Corps Director Shaman Jules noted that over 1000 Peace Corps volunteers have served in St. Lucia since the collaboration in 1961. We are delighted that this new group, these 11 trainees, accepted our invitation to serve here in St. Lucia and to continue the legacy, the partnership between Peace Corps and the people of St. Lucia. And they are here to serve in the capacity of literacy support volunteers. They will be working under the umbrella of the project that we are currently implementing on Island, a primary English literacy project. The trainees resided with host families in the community of Babono while they underwent training and began settling into St. Lucia culture. The volunteers gave a demonstration of what they have learned from the St. Lucia Creole culture. Peace Corps and the Ministry of Education in St. Lucia for as much as possible so that we can serve in a system of education and in a program there for development in the world. We are a group of people who are different from each other, but we are all here and we are here to support the world and to make contribution in the TEA. The Peace Corps swearing in ceremony was held at the Coco Pam Conference Room on Friday, August 23rd 2019. From the Government Information Service, I am Anisia Antoine reporting. And this is the NTN Nightly. Ryan O'Brien is up next. This list can contribute in a small amount of gas in the space. With TPI, we can try to do everything we can to ensure that we lower the amount of gas we serve to prevent the TEA from getting hotter. And the need to lower the amount of gas we serve is mitigation. For me, it has changed. It has changed the name of the entire world of the TEA, including gas, oil, excrements, sugar, and the cause of the TEA to get hotter. This is what we can do to make sure that we adapt. We can do everything we can to prepare and recover for these negative consequences because of climate change. We all know that. For example, we can ensure that we protect all that we plant. We can also ensure that natural life can bring us more damage as cyclones and goblins. We can build a channel for people who need it. And we can do everything we can to change the climate. We can find more information in our national government adaptation plan, and we can do the same things to protect the cold and all our cyclists. Welcome back. We join Ryan O'Brien for the latest happenings in youth development and sports. Thanks, Michelle. Welcome everyone to your update from Youth Development and Sports on the NTN Nightly News. I'm Ryan O'Brien. Minister responsible for education, innovation, gender relations, and sustainable development, the Honourable Dr. Gail Rigabet is keenly anticipating the inauguration of the Saint Lucia Sports Academy to be located on the site of what was formerly the Grossely Secondary School. Dr. Rigabet was a guest on NTN's live discussion and phone-in programme in focus on Thursday and gave some background on the concept of the sports academy. With respect to sports, that ambition dovetailed beautifully with a Prime Minister and this administration's vision to reshape, to refocus, and reposition the sporting sector in total. And that holistic ambition, when beyond rehabilitating fields, goes beyond building new sporting facilities, but very importantly includes providing professional training for our young athletes. That is where we came in as the Ministry of Education. The Sports Academy will be receiving its first batch of students during the upcoming school year. Football coach at the Boys Training Centre, Alvin Xavier, is elated by the performance and social skills exhibited by members of the BTC football team during a recent tour of Grenada, where they competed in the Caribbean Charity Shield Football Tournament. The St. Lucian's reached the semi-finals stage of the tournament before being knocked out. Coming here, it wasn't about winning or losing, but basically the experience, gaining the experience so that they could be better in whatever they take on, not being with their family, being away from home, having to face adversity and still to, you know, hold up their self. Xavier said the performance was that much more pleasing, as it was the first time the wards had left the shores of St. Lucia to compete at this level. For me, any game I play I want to win, but overlooking the entire mission of this tour, we have already won. We have already won because I've been telling the boys it's about the experience, making mistakes, learning from it, getting up just in yourself. And being a better person. Well, of course, we know there are behavioral issues, but we had a plan from the onset that we'll be having meetings from morning and evenings to keep them on the toes, to keep reminding them of what is required of them, what needs to be to be achieving in such tournaments. We have an agenda, we had a mandate, and so we have to stick to it. So we know sometimes they're not as focused as they should be, so we will always have little meetings to bring back that focus. The team from the Boys Training Center competed at the under 17 category during the tournament. And that's your update from your development and sports for today on the NTN Nightly News. I'm Ryan O'Brien. Thanks, Ryan. The Department of Health and Wellness wishes to inform the public that the Morsi and Tirochet Cash Trees Wellness Centers have been closed for retrofitting works under the smart healthcare facilities project geared towards safer, greener, and more sustainable facilities. Residents of Morsi and Tirochet Cash Trees are kindly asked to access healthcare services at any other wellness centers in close proximity. The Archipelago and Labry Wellness Centers will also be closed by the end of the first week in September to undergo similar retrofitting works. As of Monday, August 26, 2019, the Bexon Wellness Center has been reopened for healthcare services to residents of the community. The Department of Health and Wellness wishes to thank the general public, especially those from the affected areas, for their continued cooperation during the smart healthcare facilities project. And stay with the NTN Nightly. Up next, Primers Hutchinson is here with the NTN Nouvelle Aquillon. I am a child. I am HIV positive. I am a Muslim. I'm a journalist. I am gay. I'm a political activist. I'm differently abled. I am Chinese. And me, I'm a little plus size. The first step toward change is awareness. The second step is acceptance of individuality and differences within all of us. A message brought to you by the Department of Health and Wellness. Welcome back. We join Primers Hutchinson for the NTN Nouvelle Aquillon. Monsieur Tarnichia, Monsieur Madame du Patement de l'universal saabilité, with the formation of the Government of the City of St. G.I.S., the National Television of the NTN, and with the Nouvelle Aquillon, with the Prime Minister Hutchinson. First Minister, Alain Chassny, said that I am a lot chef of the curriculum. I am very proud of the great cooperation that is taking place in the City of Cichlondorien. I am the Executive Executive Director General for the Association Hotel and Café Touristique in Karebla. Congratulations Prime Minister. I am a lot chef of the curriculum. I am the official tourist of the city of St. G.I.S. to see the Cichlondorien once again in this period. I also complement you with the effort that has been made by the public to see the City of St. G.I.S in the City of Pita-Giè, which has been supported by the world. I also complement you with the effort that has been made by Prime Minister Babadu, who has been very good at the service of the City of Pita-Giè. So, the great service of communication is effective. I also complement you with the effort of the Association Hotel I still have a stable way of doing it. I would like to ask the tourist authorities to advise the other leaders of the government to continue to make good progress in preparation for the disaster that is going to happen in the country like this. The music festival Roots and Soul is going to be held on Sunday, like Pugin Island and Gohan Celebration and Appreciation for the Patron. The world is going to be on the ground. On Sunday, we are going to hold the Dennis Spectac Festival. We are going to perform Gohan Artists. Apart from that, we are going to have the Artists. We are going to have the International Artists. We are going to have the Patron and feel. We are going to have these groups. We are going to hold the UB40 International Reggae. We organize events in Aleusia. We can hold events, festivals and concerts. We are going to hold various events, events in Aleusia. We do a lot of auto-touristic activities that are organised to try to act as a threat. He did a research on the use of a plane, which helped to understand the words of one who assisted the spectacle, which was the character of the character of Rosca Coy, who in the end existed as a recipient, and helped to encourage people to visit the festival and participate in the spectacle Rosca and Soul. These artists, who supported the international community, we have a lot of people who are doing their job. I would like to say thank you to all of you who have participated in this project. The program was organized by the University of Karnataka University of Karnataka University. We are very happy to be able to share this opportunity with you all. and we will be able to see a lot of new things in life. That's why we have a lot of new initiatives. Merci Opil Primus. And here's a look at what's happening to us weatherwise. Fair to occasionally cloudy skies with a few scattered showers. Moisture and instability in the low levels of the atmosphere over the region will cause a few showers over the lesser Antilles during the next 24 hours. A weak tropical wave located over the central tropical Atlantic is moving westward near 10 miles per hour or 17 kilometres per hour. This wave is expected to affect the region on Saturday. Another tropical wave located over the far eastern tropical Atlantic is moving westward near 15 miles per hour or 24 kilometres per hour. Tides forecastries have a high at 3.28pm, low at 8.27pm. Tides for view for bay high at 4.35pm, low at 9.54pm. Seas slight with waves 2 to 4 feet or 0.6 to 1.2 meters. The sun will rise Friday at 5.52am. And that brings us to the end of the MTN Nightly. Join us next time at 7pm with a repeat at 7am. You can also catch up with us anytime on the San Lucia Government Facebook page or YouTube channel. I'm Nisha Tross.