 Welcome to the NTN Nightly. I'm Nisha Charles. This edition stops stories. Saint Lucia is poised to reap increased benefits from the Canadian Farm Workers Program. The Ministry of Health and Wellness is lauded for a successful diabetic retinopathy program. National organizations are urged to make greater use of the Jeff, all that plus the latest in youth development, sports, and the NTN Nouvelle Arcueo. Saint Lucia is poised to reap increased benefits from the Canada Caribbean Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program. Minister for Labour, Hon. Stevenson King is in Barbados this week discussing the program, along with counterpart ministers from the organization of Eastern Caribbean States, the OECS, and officials of the Eastern Caribbean Liaison Service, more from Janelle Nouvelle. The Eastern Caribbean Liaison Service, ECLS, is a unit of the OECS Commission established to administer OECS member states' interests in the Canada Caribbean Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program in Canada. Established in 1966, the SAWP was designed to address short-term labour shortages in the Canadian market. The OECS became an active participant in 1976, and since then, thousands of workers have gained employment under the program. The first meeting of the Council of Ministers of Labour of the OECS was held, with the aim of considering improvements to be made to the organ that plays such a critical role for the OECS member states. Labour Ministers and other government officials of the OECS member states, including Saint Lucia's Minister for Infrastructure, Ports Energy and Labour, Hon. Stevenson King, lauded the program, indicating that it has been very beneficial to their countries. Over the years, it has encouraged farmers to save, it has helped them understand the need for savings, but also it's the end result, the economic benefits afforded to farmers, and that is the farm workers, in that most of the farmers have been able to educate the children, provide healthcare to their families, give support to the extended family, and at the same time, to strengthen their whole economic base. In addition, a number of farmers in recent times have been able to go into their own farm production on return to Saint Lucia. At least there is another form of income taking place in Saint Lucia. So I believe it has been a quite beneficial program to a number of Saint Lucia's. The ECLS works closely with Canadian federal and provincial governments, the Foreign Agricultural Resource Management Services, ministries for Labour in participating OECS member states, and the Canadian High Commission in Trinidad and Tobago. It aims to develop new and or improved relations with third parties to facilitate the flow of technical and other development resources to the organization and its member states, and design foreign policy options for consideration by member states and the organization to name a few. Minister King highlighted the impact on Saint Lucia. Saint Lucia normally sends about 300 workers on average on the program, and if you are able to work without in terms of the economic returns, on average net economic returns to those individuals who participate is anything in the vicinity of about $7-8 million annually, and that is a tremendous contribution to the cross domestic product of Saint Lucia. The Labour Minister explained that the entity has reached a point where institutional strengthening is required to allow it to go into the field in a more dynamic way for the improvement in manpower. He added that although the primary focus of the services on the agricultural sector, it should explore other sector opportunities such as hospitality, health, construction and manufacturing, which according to him is laden with opportunities. All with the objective of reducing even further the levels of unemployment in OECS member states. For the Government Information Service, I am General Norvel. Saint Lucia's Diabetic Retinopathy Program has received positive and resounding feedback over its progress since its implementation in 2017. More on this report from Phenel Neptune. Officials from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, which manages the Queen Elizabeth Trust's Diabetic Retinopathy Program, recently paid a visit to Saint Lucia to meet with the steering committee to make an assessment of the program since its implementation. Technical consultant of the Caribbean Diabetic Retinopathy Program, Dr. Kovo Baskaran says she is very pleased that the Diabetic Retinopathy Program in Saint Lucia has evolved rapidly. She says the dialogue provided them with the opportunity to discuss the next steps for delivering integrated ICA services on Island. As well as meeting the steering committee for the Diabetic Retinopathy Program, we also met with the permanent secretary and the chief medical officer to discuss two aspects. One is that in terms of the program, the Vision 2020 link input continues and we have plans for further training on capacity building, as well as for introducing quality insurance where we make sure that all the screening that is being done of the diabetic retinas stays at the right quality levels. In terms of the discussions with the permanent secretary, we were talking about the need for reviewing the broader ICA strategy for Saint Lucia at Ministry of Health level. Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Sharon Belmar-Georgia says she is very delighted that the meeting granted them the opportunity to chart the way forward for ICA services in Saint Lucia. We were very pleased in terms of where we are at this moment because we've been able to successfully implement the program in a sustainable way and also providing a new service to the public. But in terms of our planning for the way forward, we were quite pleased to know that with the funding moving forward, we will be able to expand the program to include a more holistic ICA program. So we'll be doing an assessment of our iHealth programs, looking at our different gaps for expanding the program. So we are quite excited about that and we will be looking forward to working with them in the coming years. Currently, Saint Lucia has four diabetic retinopathy screening sites and one laser treatment site. Reporting from the Communications Unit of the Ministry of Health and Wellness, I am Fennel Neptune. Businesses within the City of Casstrees are being advised against placing signs on sidewalks, creating a hazard for pedestrians, especially those with disabilities. While these signs are placed daily by business houses to attract customers, the Office of the Mayor has received numerous complaints regarding the placement of those business signs. Casstrees Mayor Peterson Francis says that the signs are not simply an aesthetic concern but also create problems for people with disabilities who must navigate around them. The Office of the Mayor is reminding that under Section 493 of the Criminal Code, Chapter 3.01 of the revised laws of Saint Lucia 2013, a person who places, hangs up or exposes for sale in any city or town, any goods, wares, merchandise, matter or thing, into or over any footway so as to obstruct or inconvenience the passage of any person is liable on summary conviction to a fine of $1,000. National organizations are being called upon to make greater use of the Global Environment Facility Jeff Small Grants program and build capacity. Established in 1992, the Year of the Rear Earth Summit, the Global Environment Facility Jeff Small Grants program embodies the very essence of sustainable development by thinking globally, acting locally, by providing financial and technical support to projects that conserve and restore the environment while enhancing people's well-being and livelihoods. The Small Grants program demonstrates that community action can maintain the fine balance between human needs and environmental imperatives. Globally within the UN the program has invested some $1.76 billion in 124 countries with 23,000 projects In St. Lucia the program has invested 5.7 million US dollars since October of 2012. For the program's national coordinator, Giles Romulus, the rate of absorption of funding in St. Lucia is not good. We could bring more money into St. Lucia. My global manager asked me recently, do you want more money for St. Lucia? What do you think I had to tell her? You can't say you want more money when you have all that money left. I have a lot of money left in my coffers now if I can get 20 proposals and the NSC can convince us when we can approve all of them because we have the money available. But it has to be good creative projects that will create results and as our chair said, results base, measurable results. In 2017 the program approved 17 projects but declined to only 10 projects in 2018. Romulus says one of the reasons for the decline is the pace at which grantees move from planning grants to full grants. But to understand that planning grants are up to 5,000 US dollars, we give our grantees three months to implement or to design their projects. Some of them take six months, some of them take nine months, some of them take more months. So that's one of the reasons. Another major reason is the capacity of our civil society organizations in St. Lucia. The ability to rise to the challenge and even when they cannot rise to identify mentors who can assist them in that journey of to access funds. So we had a decline of 41% in the number of projects we funded between 2017 and 2018. But in spite of these challenges, the program continues to have successes while some regions of the country are struggling to approve projects, others are doing exceptionally well. Sufria for example is absorbing a significant amount of funds. Romulus believes that significant changes will occur in that community over the next few years. With a young group of women called Fruta Genes, we have created what we call a new value chain to enable farmers to sell their fruits instead of cutting the trees to plant dashing. And this investment came on top of what the work that was done by a good friend, Felix Fenister, through Canadian funding. Those young ladies, ladies and gentlemen, have created a little revolution in Sufria. They have two smoothie bars, organic smoothie bars. They started with one. Three weeks ago they went to two. In the last 11 months, the income gross was around 62,000 Eastern Caribbean dollars. Three young ladies fully employed to be doubled by December of this year. And they're talking to us, and I'm talking to them about expanding to castries. From October 2012 to December 2018, the Jeff Small Grants program employed 1,365 people and trained over 6,000 people. This is the NTN Nightly. Rhino Bryan is up next. If you have to do your own spray mix for black sickle-toker treatment, always follow the recommended safety procedures. Always wear protective gear when handling or being exposed to the fungicide or other pesticides. Use only the fungicide recommended by the black sickle-toker management unit when the treatment is due. The required quantity of the particular fungicide recommended must be mixed with spray oil and applied at a rate of 1.5 to 2 gallons per acre. Fungicides which are not recommended or applied at the wrong time or even when the spray treatment is not done effectively can cause the fungus to become resistant to the chemical and therefore may no longer control the disease. Oil-fungicide mix which has been stored for too long should not be used to treat black sickle-toker disease If carried out, such treatments may not be effective and can lead to poor control of the disease. Remember, before each chemical treatment for black sickle-toker disease on your farm, first, the oil-fungicide mix must be re-agitated immediately before application. For more information on how to treat and control black sickle-toker on your farm or in your backyard garden, contact the black sickle-toker management unit at 451-5491-4515894 or email bpmu at candw.lc This message is brought to you by the Ministry of Agriculture in collaboration with the International Cooperation and Development Fund of the Republic of China on Taiwan. Welcome back. We join Ryan O'Brien for the latest happenings in youth development and sports. Welcome to your update on happenings in youth development and sports on the NTN Nightly News. I'm Ryan O'Brien. We have more in-depth scores for you today following the first round of matches in the secondary schools on the 15-quicket tournament which started Wednesday at the Balata Plain Field, St. Mary's College, led by a six-quicket haul from Jason Justin, recorded a hard-fought six-run victory over Barbono Secondary, St. Mary's College batting first after being inserted by Barbono Secondary was dismissed for 86 in 15.1 overs with Winner Islands and a 15-player Steven Abraham making 24 and Mikael Jabatis and Clianas Jules 10 each. Falling for Barbono Secondary, Daniel Kennedy back 3 for 21, Tyler Centoma picked up 2 for 7, Tarik Edward 2 for 9 and Jaden Flora 2 for 21. In reply, Barbono Secondary dismissed for 81 in 20.5 overs with Jordan Foshe making 23, Jaden Flora 14 and Daniel Kennedy 10. Falling for St. Mary's College, Jason Justin collecting 6 for 16 and Denzil Fredrick 2 for 15. At the Larissus Plain Field in the Marlborough Valley, Mikael Secondary made light work of Clinton Mason Memorial defeating them by 9 wickets. Clinton Mason Memorial batting first dismissed for 16 in 6.3 overs doing the damage of the ball from Mikael Secondary, Alexis Charles 5 wickets and Kirlen Charles with 4. In reply, Mikael Secondary easily reaching their target finishing on 17 for 1 in 4.5 overs. At the PI Plain Field, Souffre Comprehensive defeated Trouser Secondary by 12 runs Souffre Comprehensive Secondary batting first 137 all out in 25.5 overs with Winnell Islands and a 15 player Kevin Gassi making 47 and Risa Alfred 12. Falling for Trouser Secondary, Nege Eugene had a haul of 5 for 19 and Genevieve John 2 for 42. In reply, Trouser Secondary dismissed for 125 in 24.3 overs with Jamal Lawrence making 30 not out and Jaim sent Amy 11 bowling for Souffre Comprehensive. Zinadmi Regis claimed figures of 4 for 26, John Modest 2 for 31 and Kevin Gassi 2 for 34. The Office of the Youth Empowerment Project is optimistic that with the introduction of its logo, the accomplishments of its mission will be further enhanced. The project held a logo competition as one of its first major action items. The Youth Empowerment Project is focused on mitigating risk factors that trigger criminal and antisocial behavior at the individual, family, community and societal levels. Special emphasis is being placed on young men and vulnerable groups particularly children at risk youth and women. Among the components of the project is an integrated youth code diversion program, school suspension program, community-based policing initiatives, design options for the George F. F. Park in the city of Castries and implementation support. The winning logo will be used as the official logo of the Youth Empowerment Project and that's your update from Youth Development and Sports for today. I'm Ryan O'Brien. Thanks Ryan. The West Indies Rum and Spirits Producers Association held its annual general meeting in St. Lucia with a commitment to strengthen linkages with the vastly expanding tourism sector in the region. The Chairman of WISPA says Rum is the largest agricultural region contributing over $300 million in taxes alone to the regional economy. With foreign exchange earnings over $550 million U.S. dollars a year and tax payments of over $300 million it makes a significant contribution to the regional economy. We created something called the authentic Caribbean Rum family. We have common rules and regulations but that allows diversity amongst producers so when we go overseas and St. Lucia and St. Vincent and Grenada and so on we're part of the WISPA Authentic Caribbean Rum family doors open. Tourism Minister Dominic Fede in pledging government support for a uniquely Caribbean product noted the vast potential of a region which attracts 40 million visitors annually. Tourism is your biggest advertising. 40 million people that will come to the Caribbean this year it's free advertising for you. Caribbean trade ministers have pledged support in making the Caribbean Rum industry more competitive internationally. Originally it battles the smuggling of counterfeit rums. Margaret Morplazy, managing director of St. Lucia Distillers says the AGM discussed issues relating to standards and rules of origins noting that a Caribbean Rum must be distilled and blended in the Caribbean. This is one of the big areas that we don't have people importing and then compiling and creating products so we've been looking at those rules and standards for Rum that we can all adhere to and live by. The West Indies Rum and Spirit Producers Association comprises Rum producers from 15 Caribbean countries. From the government information service I am Anisia Antoine reporting. And stay with the NTN Nightly Up next, Primus Hutchinson is here with the NTN Nouvelle Arquio. Was that an earthquake? No. What do you do if there's an earthquake? Drop cover and hold on. Where does that mean? You drop to the ground take cover underneath a sturdy table or disk and hold on for shaking stops. Where does no table or desk? Stay away from the walls, windows and doors. Use your hands to cover your head and face and crouch in a corner of the building. What if you're outside? What's an open space away from buildings, trees, street lights and utility wires? Drop to your knees protect your head with your arms and wait for the shaking to stop. Be careful with everything that's going on and be prepared to change the situation if necessary. Don't forget to protect your head with your arms, doors, windows, and other equipment. Don't forget to protect your head with your arms, protect your head with your arms, protect your head with your arms, protect your head with your arms. Stay away from the walls, don't move. Welcome back. We join Primas Hutchinson for the NTN Nouvelle-Arcquillon. There are agencies that government implement to govern the EGBO principle among the government authorities. That is called Integrity Commission in English. I have made a call to all officers to declare everything well and that is what I have accomplished for the past year. That is to do and then law this law that has demanded the public officers to declare everything well that they have accomplished. Laws are to accommodate all the people involved in public service. That is to declare everything well. Every year. If the agency is well, then the financial law has been said for 12 months to start on January 1st. If the public officers are not obeyed by the agency and are not allowed to sign a papers, then you should have a report to direct public authorities to the public for a reasonable amount of money. That is to address public cases that the government has to pay for the necessary action. To condemn a person who is guilty, I wish $6,000 had a prison to settle in, and I also find myself condemned for no prison to pay a large amount of money. To commemorate me for encouraging people to read, I would like to thank the Ministry of Education, Collaboration, and the Executive Parliament for Babonot on our musical Joseph. I would like to thank Samson Charles and Balata for the victory. I would also like to thank Jameen Seraphine for the request and for the contribution he made. I would also like to thank Jameen Seraphine for the contribution he made. I would like to thank the Ministry of Education for the achievement of this initiative. I would like to thank the Ministry of Education for the commitment they made to teach Babonot to continue his activities. I would also like to thank the Ministry of Education for his efforts and for the efforts they made to help students in the university to participate. It is also important to work together to make it a reality. We also have the same website, the same paper, the same media, etc. to make the students more capable to learn and learn at the same time. I hope that this competition will help you find a place where you can live, study, and have a good time. We have a wide range of facilities to make investments that have been established since the year 1992 to assist in a financial and technical way for any project that has been done to protect the environment in the country. Not even for a short time because it is important to improve the people's lives. We also have a program to help us establish a way to balance people's lives with what is important to preserve the environment. For this reason, I invested in a business that costs around $6-7,000. This is the current city of Karebla, with 124 countries and 23,000 projects. Since October 2012, I invested $7,000 in the market. This is the first time I have invested in a program like this that can help us establish a way to balance people's lives with what is important to us. Since 2017, I have invested $7,000 in the market. Since 2018, I have invested $7,000 in the market. After two weeks of planning, I will be having a total financial assistance. Once the program continues to succeed, I will continue to spend $7,000 on the services that we will only have to pay inopsis. I will be investing to start a good financial assistance project so that we can meet the needs of the most experienced in the city. This is October 2012 or December 2018. There is also the year 1314, and there are currently over 6,000 people. We need to make the new year more important, and we need to keep our invitation. I would also like to say that we need to make the new year more important. We need to have a good ending next week. Here's a look at what's happening to us weather-wise. Winds will be blowing from the east near 16 miles per hour or 26 km per hour. The Atlantic High Pressure System will maintain a moderate easterly windflow across the eastern Caribbean region over the next few days. Low-level clouds moving along the windflow will bring some brief showers over the Leicester Antilles during the next 24 hours. The tide for castries was high at 2.33pm and will be low again at 7.37pm. The tide for V4 Bay was high at 3.40pm and will be low again at 9.04pm. The seas slide to moderate with waves 3 to 5 feet or 0.9 to 1.5 meters. The sun will rise Friday at 5.36am. And that brings us to the end of the NTN Nightly. Join us next time at 7.00pm with a repeat at 7.00am. You can also catch up with us anytime on the St. Lucia Government Facebook page or YouTube channel. I'm Lucia Charles.