March 31, 2023 – by Dayle Da Silva

Among those responsible for the newest addition to the school are organizations such as ‘Hands Across the Sea’, the Mustique Charitable Foundation, and a former student of the school – Mrs. Ettie Gill-Skeete, 

The contribution made in the name of Ettie Gill-Skeete ensured that proper shelves and other requisites were provided for the library.

A former student’s support 

Horatio Skeete, who now plies between SVG and the USA, explained during a ceremony held on March 27 to mark the official opening of the library, that his mother – Ettie Gill-Skeete, was a student at the school over 70 years ago, and that during one of his trips home he visited the school and overheard a concern being expressed that the only education institution located at Dorsetshire Hill was to be closed.

On his return home that day, he told his mother of what he had overheard. She directed him to seek more information from the officials at the Ministry of Education and on doing so, he found out that the ministry officials had indeed contemplated shutting down the school but after reflection had decided against doing so.

Upon giving his mother the good news, she there and then remarked that the family ought to do something for the school. 

A few days later, she said to her son that she had some money saved up for her funeral, in addition to the EC$5,000 that she was to collect from the Marriaqua Friendly Society (Bunpan), and that he should minimize her funeral expenses and use the remaining amount as a monetary donation to the DHGS.

Gill-Skeete died a few years later and according son Horatio, it was his duty to inform his siblings that their mom had given away any inheritance money, and explained her wishes. They agreed this was a great gesture, and they visited the school where they were told about the library project.

The library project unfolds

The library project had gotten underway as far back as 2019.

Janice Gilkes, Principal, said that former Principal Patricia James was the one who saw the need for a library, and made the initial effort in this regard.

“Mrs. James identified the space and ensured that the building was renovated for this purpose,” Gilkes explained.

She solicited the assistance of ‘Hands Across the Sea’ who secured books through the Mustique Charitable Organization, the principal added.

Even though a space was created to house the library, Gilkes said that when she took over as principal in 2022, she recognized the need for some work to be done to make the area ready to function as the library.

Contributions towards this end were made through persons like Goland Greaves, and the Skeete family, the latter contributing bookshelves, an air conditioning unit, door, windows and burglar bars.

The area, she contended, now offers a quiet space in which students can enjoy reading and was also a space conducive to learning, studying and working on projects, to which the teachers can direct their students. “The importance of a school library could not be over emphasized,” Gilkes said.

The library was also expected to serve as a resource centre for the Remedial Reading Programme in place at the school.

January 17, 2023

Kingstown, St. Vincent & the Grenadines – World Pediatric Project’s (WPP) General surgery team kicked off the year 2023 with a smooth flowing clinic on Sunday, January 8th at the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital. 31 children inclusive of children from St. Lucia, Dominica, and Grenada were evaluated in clinic and 12 were scheduled for surgery throughout this week. Of the total of patients seen, 8 were regional families including 6 from St. Lucia, 1 from Dominica and 1 from Grenada.

WPP Pediatric General Surgeon Dr. Jeff Lukish was excited to be back with his team and says they are so happy and committed to the work they do, it took no convincing to be here and assist the children, many of whose conditions were worsened by the pandemic break. Dr. Lukish expressed immense gratitude to be able to meet the need, as well as to add a new surgical procedure this year. “Due to the generous donation of new specialized equipment, this year we will be able to address a need surgically we have not been able to in the past,” explains Dr. Lukish. He continues “the first year we saw some children with a very common chest wall deformity, called pectus-excavatum where the child’s chest wall is significantly dented in. This is a severe deformity, which is very stigmatizing for a child, causing them to not want to ever take their shirt off around their peers. We are thrilled to now be able to repair those right here in St. Vincent.” The donation came from a company in Washington D.C., Zimmer Biomed, with further donated instrumentation from Capital US Surgical. The additional traveling team members are anesthesiologist Dr. Tae Kim and OR nurse Sheree Dyer, who will work in collaboration with local surgeon Dr. Jasmine Ellis Davy and team members of the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital.

WPP General surgery mission, January 2023 © Asberth News Network

This first mission is very special for several families particularly, those who had challenges getting here due to travel woes. One family from St. Lucia situation was so desperate, they paid a fishing boat some $2500 to get to St. Vincent for lifesaving medical intervention for their child. A few other families spoke of the challenges getting flights to SVG to receive the well-needed medical attention. Executive Director for WPP Caribbean Lauren McIntosh-Shallow says they are excited for the year ahead, and thanked Mustique Charitable Foundation who she says has made it possible for Vincentian Children to afford care and surgeries. She adds that the regional families have encountered a bit of a challenge so it really is a collaborative effort to make it possible. She said “for the upcoming year there will be a lot happening not only for SVG but regionally.” She adds “in the upcoming months there will more teams visiting, including speech therapy later this month, a cardiology diagnostic team, and a multi-disciplinary ophthalmology and plastic surgery team in February. McIntosh-Shallow adds that WPP plans to unveil and roll out a number of diagnostic clinics in neighboring islands in the new year. “This will facilitate and ease the process for many of our regional families, allowing quicker triage and identification of surgical patients. From there, qualified cases will either come to St. Vincent and the Grenadines for the surgery or be referred outside the country for more complicated cases.”

The next upcoming WPP team will be speech therapy slated for Jan 28th to Feb 1st. Individuals interested in supporting the work of WPP can contact the local office at 784-451-2989.

January 17, 2023

The World Paediatric (WPP) has kickstarted 2023 with a general surgery mission.

A release from the WPP said 31 children were seen during a clinic on Sunday, January 8, and 12 were scheduled for surgery during the week following.

Of the total number of patients seen, six were from St Lucia, one came from Dominica and one was from Grenada; the others were from St Vincent and the Grenadines.

WPP Paediatric general surgeon, Dr. Jeff Lukish said he was excited to be back with his team and they are happy and committed to the work they do.

He added that it took no convincing to be here and assist the children, many of whose conditions were worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic break.

He expressed immense gratitude to be able to meet the need, as well as to add a new surgical procedure this year due to the donation of some new, specialised equipment.

“The first year we saw some children with a very common chest wall deformity, called pectus-excavatum where the child’s chest wall is significantly dented in. This is a severe deformity, which is very stigmatizing for a child, causing them to not want to ever take their shirt off around their peers,” the general surgeon said.

“We are thrilled to now be able to repair those right here in St. Vincent”. The donation came from a company in Washington D.C., Zimmer Biomed, with further donated instrumentation from Capital US Surgical. The additional travelling team members on this first mission comprised anaesthesiologist, Dr. Tae Kim, and OR nurse, Sheree Dyer, who worked in collaboration with local surgeon, Dr. Jasmine Ellis- Davy and team members of the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital.

The WPP said this first mission was very special for several families particularly those who had travel challenges. The situation of one family from Saint Lucia was so desperate, that they paid a fishing boat $2500 to get to mainland, St. Vincent for lifesaving medical intervention for their child.

A few other families spoke of the challenges getting flights to SVG to receive the well-needed medical attention. Executive director for WPP Caribbean, Lauren McIntosh-Shallow said they are excited for the year ahead, and thanked the Mustique Charitable Foundation who she said has made it possible for Vincentian children to afford care and surgeries. She said that the regional families have encountered a bit of a challenge, so it really is a collaborative effort to make it possible.

Other missions expected during this year will include teams for speech therapy later this month, a cardiology diagnostic team, and a multi-disciplinary ophthalmology and plastic surgery team in February.

McIntosh said the WPP also plans to unveil and roll out a number of diagnostic clinics in neighbouring islands this year.

“This will facilitate and ease the process for many of our regional families, allowing quicker triage and identification of surgical patients. From there, qualified cases will either come to St. Vincent and the Grenadines for the surgery or be referred outside the country for more complicated cases,” she explained.

The speech therapy Mission is slated for January, 28 to Feb 1.

December 18, 2022

WPP’s laparoscopic surgical mission in St. Vincent (SVG) concluded with combined training for surgeons in SVG and the region.

The training included both practical and theoretical components, such as testing out new technology that would be utilised in surgeries.

Visiting surgeons from St. Kitts and St. Lucia, as well as five local surgeons, were present.

According to World Pediatric Project CEO Vafa Akhavan, “there is an unbelievable ecology that aids WPP, and funders are a very important component of this ecosystem.”

This expedition has been sponsored by the Mustique Charitable Foundation, one of WPP’s top donors.

WPP, according to Akhavan, is extremely grateful for its support and efforts throughout the years.

Credit: St. Vincent Times

December 18, 2022

Kingstown, St. Vincent & the Grenadines – World Pediatric Project (WPP) continues to evolve and create long term solutions to pediatric health care needs in St. Vincent and the region. This as a specialist team led by Dr. David Lanning is currently hosting one of its largest trainings for the year, including 5 local and 2 regional surgeons in the areas of general surgery, obstetrics, gynecology, neurosurgery and urology.

This team is a special mission contingent of highly qualified medical personnel from the US and across the Eastern Caribbean, including surgeons from St. Kitts, St. Lucia, and Dominica. It is led by pediatric general surgeon Dr. David Lanning, and supported by fellow pediatric surgeon Dr. Claudio Oiticica and surgical assistant Cindy Sheppard, both facilitators for the training portion.

Credit: Asberth News Network

Dean of the SVGCCu2019s DTE, Marise Butler, implored awardees to use the funds as they are intended and also used her inaugural address as Dean to thank The Mustique Charitable Foundation for its continued support to the Division of Teacher Education. Over the years the MCF has also contributed financially to students of the SVGCCu2019s Division of Technical & Vocational Education.

The local team is made up of WPP’s partner pediatrician and pediatric surgeon, Dr. Jasmine Ellis-Davy, local anesthesiologists, and recovery room nurses.

Also accompanying the team is CEO of World Pediatric Project, Vafa Akhavan. The dual mission comprises of both laparoscopic surgeries with pre-selected patients, and the aforementioned training component. Also part of this year’s team is the piloting of VUZIX Smart Glasses, a newly-emerged technological solution to including virtual participants in surgery.

The team commenced on December 11th, 2022 and will run through to December 14th, 2022. The surgeries and aftercare are held at the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital while the simulation exercises and theoretical component will be held at the Ministry of Health Wellness and the Environment Conference Room.

A total of eight surgical patients are scheduled for procedures during the week. Seven surgeons will engage in laparoscopic training, five from SVG, one from St. Kitts and one from St. Lucia. Dr. Ellis shares “we are excited to amplify these services at our local Milton Cato Memorial Hospital. This group focuses on expanding the capacities of our surgeons and accommodating more surgeries with shorter hospital time, less pain medication and anesthesia.”

World Pediatric Project CEO Vafa Akhavan reports “there is an incredible ecosystem that helps WPP, from equipment manufacturers and suppliers, to the companies that make the screws and the plates, to the very essential part of this ecosystem that are funders. Mustique Charitable Foundation, one of WPP’s largest donors, has sponsored this particular mission and WPP is tremendously appreciative of their support and contributions over the years, especially to the children of SVG.” He adds that it is important to understand it’s not just the doctors and technology that make these missions possible but also the citizens, their hospitality and kindness, from ground transport to hotel staff.

World Pediatric Project is resolute in the mission of ensuring brighter futures through expanded health services and treatment for our children. Local funding partners such as Mustique Charitable Foundation and the Maria Holder Memorial Trust support WPP in identifying innovative ways to reach more families and transform more lives. Due to the efficient use of funds and strong relationships with such important supporters, WPP has been able to provide pediatric specialty care to over 3,000 children in just St. Vincent alone the last two decades.

Remarkably, 93% of each dollar received from contributors is used for program-related work. WPP will continue to meet the needs of our children in 2023 and beyond. The next surgical team, led by pediatric surgeon Dr. Jeffrey Lukish, is slated for January 2023 at the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital.

World Pediatric Project continues to prioritize the medical needs of Vincentian children and to enhance the lives of their families, ensuring no child is left behind. The work of the WPP and its impact can be followed at www.worldpediatricproject.org.