Viewpoint
Nurses’ work shifts
The use of extended work shifts and overtime has escalated as hospitals cope with a shortage of registered nurses (RNs). Little is known, however, about the prevalence of these extended work periods and their effects on patient safety. Logbooks completed by 393 Cayman Islands hospital staff nurses revealed that participants usually worked longer than scheduled and that approximately 40 percent of the 5,317 work shifts they logged exceeded twelve hours.
The risks of making an error were significantly increased when work shifts were longer than twelve hours, when nurses worked overtime, or when they worked more than forty hours per week. Both errors and near errors are more likely to occur when hospital staff nurses work twelve or more hours at a stretch.
Several trends in hospital use and staffing patterns have converged to create potentially hazardous conditions for patient safety. High patient acuity levels, coupled with rapid admission and discharge cycles and a shortage of nurses, pose serious challenges for the delivery of safe and effective nursing care for hospitalized patients. While systematic national data on trends in the number of hours worked per day by nurses are lacking, anecdotal reports suggest that hospital staff nurses are working longer hours with few breaks and often little time for recovery between shifts.
Scheduled shifts may be eight, twelve, or even sixteen hours long and may not follow the traditional pattern of day, evening, and night shifts. Although twelve-hour shifts usually start at 7pm and end at 7am, some start at 3am and end at 3pm. Nurses working on specialized units such as surgery, dialysis, and intensive care are often required to be available to work extra hours (on call), in addition to working their regularly scheduled shifts. Twenty-four-hour shifts are becoming more common, particularly in emergency rooms and on units where nurses self-schedule.
The Cayman Legistative Assembly should restrict the number of hours a nurse may voluntarily work in twenty-four hours or in a seven-day period. The Health Ministry has considered bans on mandatory overtime for nurses and other health care professionals, the PPM government should pass bills prohibiting mandatory overtime for nurses, doctors, paramedics and EMTs. No measure, either proposed or enacted, addresses how long nurses, doctors and paramedics may work voluntarily. The Health Ministry recommends that voluntary overtime also be limited.
The well-documented hazards associated with sleep-deprived resident emergency physicians have influenced changes in house staff rotation policies. In contrast, although shift-working nurses have been the focus of numerous studies, it is not known if the long hours they work have an adverse effect on patient safety in hospitals. The purpose of this is to examine the work patterns of hospital staff nurses, doctors, paramedics and EMTs and to determine if there is a relationship between hours worked and the frequency of errors.
Beyond the classroom
Last week, MinisterTara Rivers was featured on Cayman 27’s The Panel in which she indicated the failure of schools to adequately deal with students’ behavioural issues was a result of poor communication, lack of specialist resources, and accountability. Unsurprisingly, members of the public lashed out at her for her perceived passing of blame upon the education system, yet many failed to find fault in their own blame.
Some even ventured as far to claim it was the fault of a faulty immigration policy that they claimed had imported a culture of delinquency. Everyone, it seems, is willing to pass blame on the perceived cultural changes Cayman has undergone, yet we are reluctant to look closer to home.
For all our pride in our seafaring traditions, we fail to acknowledge that for generations, there has often been a lack of a constant father figure within the home. Prior to the success of the tourism and financial industries of the seventies, most Caymanian men had little choice but to venture to sea to make a living for their families. Whilst admirable, it would be naïve to ignore the number of children born overseas and out of wedlock whilst these men were away.
Even more ironically, for a country with a rather long history and high rate of miscegenation the slander of immigrant ethnic groups is unusually tolerated. However inappropriate to discuss, given our stringent Christian heritage, few can argue that divorced and multiethnic families are hardly a new phenomenon. Despite this fact, many Caymanian adults point to the lack of a father figure and these foreign elements as a significant contribution to the behaviour problems of some modern Caymanian youth.
Statistically, there is a correlation between delinquency, trauma and the lack of a strong family unit . However, further examination of the numbers show that there is an even higher correlation between such behaviour, physical and mental health and socio-economic status. Children who are reared in long-term destitution are far more likely to engage in delinquency.
Thus, it can be ascertained, that ‘bad behaviour’ is not a result of only the lack of traditional two parent home, but can also result from the limited opportunities available to them due to their socio-economic status. Despite this, a combination of personal resilience and the availability of positive alternatives to their current situation have been proven to prevent anti-social behavior and a destructive lifestyle.
What seems to be missing, is the acknowledgement of how we often treat children and the proven negative consequences it has on their development. Recently, a Compass poll found that the vast majority of respondents believed corporal punishment and exclusion were appropriate penalties for misbehavior. Many reason that they were treated as such when they were children, without having any serious repercussions on their development. Never mind the fact that they are the generation that has produced the current ‘troublemakers’ of society, they fail to see that such practices often have counterproductive results.
The use of corporal punishment, quite fittingly to the topic of education, often results in damage to a child’s brain development and a lower IQ. Rather than instilling moral behaviour, children who are physically reprimanded have been found to be more creative in their deception. It can also, more worryingly, make a child prone to aggression. Interestingly, despite the ease in which the proponents of the broken home argument turn to statistics to prove their point, they are far less likely to accept the numbers pointing to their own parenting habits. Rather, they brush it off by saying there is a differentiation between abuse and discipline even though both produce strikingly similar results.
Rivers also touched upon the poor care available for children with mental health issues and disabilities- a problem which Cayman has long grappled with, albeit unwillingly. With the introduction of the draft National Disability Policy, there appears to be a light at the end of the tunnel, yet it still doesn’t begin to address the attitude towards psychological and physical disabilities. Despite being the minority, Caymanians are more than 5 times more likely than non-Caymanians to suffer from a disability. Unsurprisingly, with limited care and treatment, this places a sizeable segment of the population at a great disadvantage and whilst the policy is welcome step, we will be playing catch up for a very long time until attitudes change.
Likewise, public perception of juvenile drug use and its effect of behavior and scholastic achievement is completely out of sync with reality. According to the National Drug Council statistics, more than half of all students surveyed reported no drug use at all. More interestingly, despite the vehement opposition towards cannabis use and its odd juxtaposition to delinquency, use is only 12.8%. Instead, it is alcohol, which is most popularly used (54%), followed by tobacco use (14.4%).
More notably, albeit a marginal difference, females were more likely to report illicit drug use than their male counterparts despite males being more frequently penalized. This in itself could be for a number of reasons due to the fact that, although drug use can be associated with delinquency, such behavior is often the cause of a number of social, cultural and economic factors.
What the above shows is that there is a huge disconnect between what we’re willing to acknowledge is true as opposed to what we believe to be true. The poet Khalil Gibran once said: “Of life’s two chief prizes, beauty and truth, I found the first in a loving heart and the second in a labourer’s hand”.
As a young Caymanian who has struggled with my mental health and substance abuse, I can testify to the validity of this statement. I grew to not fear physical, verbal and psychological attacks from the outside. Instead, I internalized them which, as shown above, can be quite harmful. Whilst my stubbornness has kept me resilient, it was my fortune to have met a number of special people along the way.
Teachers who went above and beyond what people typically expect of them and instead were the parents and friends many of their students didn’t have. Rather than instructing those like myself what they thought to be right, they taught us how to seek out the lives we desired. With patience and care, they taught us how to question the world around us and question ourselves. Such lessons cannot be purchased, nor are they simply born into. I was fortunate to meet such persons – many children never do.
To me, that is the greatest fault in the system. If we are to address the problem of poor academic performance, anti-social behavior and poor mental health, we must sincerely endeavour to seek out the true underlying problems behind the matter. Nor can we continue to expect positive change from our youth when we are keen to label those who make mistakes as undesirables. As opposed to imparting blame, as we are oft prone to do, we would be best to understand that things are not as black and white as they may seem. It may even be harder to accept that for all our efforts, not every child will turn out the way we intend them to.
As we may see from the above, there are a number of factors that may impact the behavior and well-being of a child. Often times, the greatest trauma is hardest to treat, as it requires not only a mere change in policy and funding, but a high level of diligence and care. Each child is unique in their character and circumstance and thus must be nurtured in a holistic sense that caters to their individual needs. Thus, it is not just the system that must change, but rather our entire manner of child rearing.
Deserters: part of the problem
Iread a previous Viewpoint about Cayman Brac's plight and felt compelled to expand on the issue from the perspective of a Caymanian with a long-standing love for the island, and a love and respect for many of the Brackers who have chosen to stay on their beloved island come hell or high water – and between Paloma and the recession, Brackers had big helpings of both.
Loving the Brac and seeing many Brackers struggling through the hard times there is heart-wrenching to me, so I need to share this because I become saddened and distressed whenever I hear or read about the sad economic plightof Cayman Brac. Some Brackers may be offended by what I have to say, but to them I say: If the shoe fits, wear it! Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.
There is a significant cadre of people who sit idly by watching from the comfort of their posh residences and they nary lift a finger to come to the aid of Cayman Brac even though they have the influence and means to effect some changes. Who are these people of whom I speak? Heartless politicians? Nay. Apathetic rich "expats"? Nay. They are Cayman Brackers. And they are part of the problem.
As the economy of Cayman Brackers continues to slide, Brackers who want to achieve the success that is measured by wealth and position continue to do what countless now-successful Brackers have already done in times past: they pack up and leave Cayman Brac to seek their fortune in Grand Cayman, or the USA, or wherever the grass is greener. Makes sense to me. Historically speaking, Brackers are not so foolish as to remain on an economically blighted island and expect to make their fortune. What is distressing is that when they do make their fortune, far too many Brackers just about completely forget from whence they came. I call them "Deserters".
It is shameful that these same now well-off Brackers – men and women who could make a huge difference by investing some of their wealth and making their influence known back in their home island – have chosen to pretty much put home and their own people on low priority. Yet they have the audacity to stick out their chest and proudly proclaim themselves "Brackers"! Empty words! Even emptier souls. They or their parents may be born on Cayman Brac, but they are "Brackers" in name only and poor examples of Brackers at that. Their hearts belong to their big houses, fancy cars, social status, and fat bank accounts.
Some of the well-off Brackers and children of Brackers in Grand Cayman go "home" to visit the Brac now and then and some have modest houses there. But it is pitiful and astonishing how so many of these so-called "Brackers" forget about the plight of their home island until holiday season or long weekends or weddings or graduations or the Agriculture Show. Or funerals. While on the Brac, they join their family and friends in wailing and lamenting how badly the economy of Cayman Brac has slipped and how tough things are on the island.
To you I say: If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem! If every well off and influential Bracker in Grand Cayman and the USA were to have brought just some of their resources and influence and talents and business acumen to bear in bolstering "their" island, the Brac would now be a lush and flourishing Shangri-La; Cayman Brac would be the jewel of the Cayman Islands.
But, sadly, once the wedding is over, once the Agriculture show has ended, once the long holiday weekend draws to a close, the Deserters get on the plane and when back to their Grand life, they forget about the plight of their family and friends back home. If you are a Bracker and have a close family member or friend who fits the description of a Deserter, I would make them hang their heads in shame every time I see them. I hope the term "Deserter" sticks and becomes a meme; it fits so well.
For all the combined wealth andinfluence Brackers are said to have in the Cayman Islands, from what I understand, it is a rather young female expat who is now investing millions on the island. And yeah, Brackers, there is the potential that she will have a whole lot of influence on your island. Probably already does. Of course government will bend their ears her way. That is the way things roll. But don't go bashing her! Nature abhors a vacuum. She is doing what some of the more well-off Brackers should have done long ago but did not. She is writing cheques, investing in the island lavishly. Doubtless her investment dollars will bring hermuch say-so in shaping the future of the island. More so perhaps than any one Cayman Bracker. She saw potential that far-too-many stick-out-chest Deserters were either too myopic, too lazy, or too comfy in their Grand lifestyle to give a hoot about.
Brackers: please don't groan and complain and snivel and whinge and moan when you finally perceive you are loosing control of your beloved island and it is being overrun with foreign influences. It's too late then anyway. Someone has to take control. Your people never did. In the absence of Brackers with foresight to invest there, it was inevitable that someone would start buying land and writing cheques to develop the island. Be mindful: with money comes influence. That is the way the world works. Cayman Brac may be a wonderful place but it is not immune to the workings of money and politics.
Brackers: Don't let it be a surprise that present and future foreign investors' concepts of how they want the island to develop is at odds with yours. That too is inevitable: they are not Brackers. To the Deserters who don't put out any meaningful effort to bolster Cayman Brac now but are thinking about retiring back to the Brac: don't be too shocked if you hardly recognise your home island when that time comes.
I see the writing on the wall. Cayman Brac as we have known it is done! A new day has dawned. Don't get blinded staring at the sun. Brackers, had their chance to make Cayman Brac into something they could be proud of, but now it is obvious that they really did not want it. This saddens me greatly. When Brackers are finally on the outside looking in and relegated to feeling like second class citizens on their own island, maybe they can take some small comfort that at least someone from somewhere saw potential on Cayman Brac and seized profitable opportunities that the Deserters turned their backs to.
In conclusion, Brackers: the next time you want to complain to someone about the plight of your island and opine what can be done about it, call up a well-off Deserter friend or relative and remind them that their continued apathy and desertion of Cayman Brac count among the reasons Cayman Brac is dying on its feet. Hmmm? Maybe it is fitting that funerals are a big draw in bringing the Deserters back to the island.
Failure to lead on education
Everyone says it: ‘the children are our future’, ‘education is the “key”’, ‘better to teach a man how to fish than to feed him’, etc. It all boils down to the same widely accepted set of conclusions: that education is arguable the most important aspect of a society’s development, success and progression. That education is the best value-for-money investment a country could make towards reduced poverty and enriched livelihoods of its people; that education is one of the easiest ways to target the issue of unemployment.
But the constant failure of the Cayman Islands to address its deficiencies in the country’s education system is not just ironic and worrying in the above context, it's completely baffling.
Politician after politician has made strong campaign promises to fix the education system in the Cayman Islands only to leave office with that system being perceived as worse off than they found it.
Why?
For sure, no one should underestimate the extent of work required to address education in this country. Finance, the role and quality of teachers, parents, curriculum and a range of other factors all impact the extent to which this country will ever experience ‘success’ in our education system.
But we should expect to see an improvement. At a minimum we should expect to see a clear effort to make positive changes towards our ultimate goal. And we absolutely must expect honesty when politicians promise positive changes. (That may be somewhat naïve but we should still expect it.)
Politicians continue to fail to lead on education because they refuse to do the simple things or answer a few key questions:
- What are the skills being demanded now in the Cayman Islands labour market, and what are the ones projected in the future?
- How is our current curriculum catering to that current and future need?
- When was the last time we carried out an assessment of the extent to which our education system was delivering what we need it to deliver?
- Why is the system so intensely politicized, either by the intrusion of politicians or parents?
- Why do we have strategy after strategy being 'fine-tuned' by successive administrations to no true end/result?
- What are our leaders doing to make us all believe (so intensely) that education is not truly a priority of the government?
It may take forever to get answers to such questions. In the meantime the people can conclude from widely accepted anecdotal evidence that:
- The quality of high school graduates, particularly from the public schools, falls far short of that being demanded by the private sector.
- The government then 'helps' to take up the slack by employing some of these students.
- UCCI, the local government owned community college, is barely respected in the private sector, with possibly a few exceptions.
- There are almost 20,000 work permit holders and while many of these are low skilled workers, there are likely several thousand middle to high wage earning jobs that Caymanians would have access to if they were better prepared by our education system.
- The substandard education continues to impact our democracy because far too many voters continue to be too easily manipulated by politicians who get through their election campaigns with almost no discussion on policy or what they will do to address the country’s issues.
- Behavioural issues which have existed in the schools for the best part of two decades have only gotten worse with each new political administration.
- The government has made a significant investment into the physical facilities in the public sector education system. It now needs to urgently make a similar investment into the quality of the teachers and the actual curriculum (by answering some of the questions listed above), so that the former investment is not a complete waste of public funds.
Our leaders, it seems, spend an inordinate amount of time researching options and having back to back meetings. We would like for them to make the assessment, speak with the stakeholders and make decisions on what actions to take. Then take those actions with urgency.
Are we all just being too naïve in expecting that? Or are they failing us?
Brac & Mild
East-West Arterial
We should take it with pride that our beautiful isles continue to attract countless visitors and investors like Arnold Palmer to our shores. However, we find it to be counter-intuitive for any development to occur in which a fortunate few would profit at the expense of our protected lands. Nor does it say much of our commitment to our islands when such proposals are being touted on the heels of the passage of the National Conservation Law (NCL).
The Law was designed to prevent such avoidable and irreversible damage. As highlighted in the recent Tenth Environmental Audit Committee Report from the UK, such poor planning and ecological mismanagement reflects poorly upon our governance and us as a people.
Given that the proposed northern East-West extension will impact upon some of the last surviving primary dry forest in the Caribbean, the burden of loss will weigh unfairly not only upon the National Trust, but on our collective natural heritage.
The ecological integrity of our islands is tantamount to the preservation of our livelihood. As a group, we advocate for the sustainable development of the country. It is our firm belief that our wellbeing as a society relies upon our ability to maintain a balance between our shared social, economic, and ecological needs. Our support for the passage of the decade-old NCL was intended to ensure a national commitment to environmental responsibility.
Global efforts to effect such change continue to demonstrate that development can occur with these principles in mind and we applaud the government in ensuring its passage.
However, a number of questions have yet to be answered. Should we not, for one, prioritise the Shetty route to ensure speedy access to these new health facilities as opposed to a development that is still an uncertainty? Are two additional roads really necessary for the Eastern districts? Further, the current proposed route would cut through wetland; Have we assessed the cost to fill that land?
We understand that the National Trust’s proposed alternate route south of the Mastic would avoid wetlands and thus reduce costs. It is the responsibility of the CIG to mitigate any unnecessary expense.
Before any sudden and significant decisions are taken about major infrastructural projects, we think that it would be wise for us to develop an integrated national infrastructure, transportation, and development plan. This would allow us to prioritise and rationalize our infrastructural investments over the next 10 to 25 years. Rather than continuing on the current impromptu method of development based primarily upon the interests of private investors, we should be investing strategically in projects that will serve our foreseeable needs and desires as a whole.
Greed, desperation, and anxiety cannot be the prime motivators in this matter, or any other that will impact upon our islands. Indeed, such recklessness has contributed to our current economic woes. As such, we urge that we take this opportunity to demonstrate to ourselves, and others, that we are capable of building a Cayman that sustains our wealth, identity and beauty.
For more information on the environmental NGO Sustainable Cayman, visit its Facebook page.
Hear No Evil, See No Evil
Well I would probably be termed a “conspiracy” theorist or just one of the “crazy ones”; but it is high time people begin to wake up and smell the defilement that is taking place in ourearthly air. We in the Cayman Islands supposedly pride ourselves by being a “God-fearing” country and we have made gambling illegal (because this is apparently against righteousness?) and of course there are no adult toy shops, strip joints and anything else that in some way would defile our “God-fearingness”…
It is with this context in mind that I dare to challenge the music that is played on our radio stations (and of course, around the world); with all songs now in some way encouraging the young people to “dance, party, drink and smoke” like they just don’t care, or better yet as if they are going to “die young” as so affectionately stated in the song by famous singer “Ke$ha”; it begs to question, what’s the point of the gambling ban? And as parents trying to establish values and morals into our children, how can having our children hear and sing these songs be responsible parenting?
One can clearly see that the music of our times has absolutely NOTHING to do with we, the peoples’, entertainment. The Bible (and I am in no way a Bible-thumper, but it is truly a wonderful book with many common sense principles) mentions over 1100 times the importance of dance and song. For pete’s sake, John the Baptist was beheaded because a woman danced the king into great delight in order to ‘win’ John’s head! That must have been some great dancing!
Dance has been a HUGE part of every society since humans grew legs, it has also been associated with invoking demons or giving praise, depending of course on the dancer’s preference in worship.
As for song (the influencer of dance), music has been said to “calm the angry beast” or, a song stained with negativity can quite easily do the opposite. Music has been used for everything from assisting in child and adult therapy, calming a fussy infant and in various tests on violent criminals, mind control, satanic rituals, historic witchery and so on – it all of course depends on the music’s message and rhythm and the writers’/singers’/listeners’ purpose for the song.
Love songs are played at romantic dinners to “set the mood”, dance music is played to make people dance and slow, sad music is played at funerals, etc, etc, etc. So if music is a tool to advance and pass on a message to a large crowd, and if it is a tool that has been proven to have the capability of instilling a message, then why is todays music packaged and marketed towards young people with contents containing over-sexuality, suicide, murder, drugs, alcohol, youthful death, Satanism, mind control, demonic possession and the list of negative musical structure goes, on and on and on!
And then of course, repetition of certain lines can invoke particular “power” to what is being said because of how our brains process information. We repeat things to ourselves when we want to remember them, we always seem to remember the chorus of a song but not the rest of it and so on. Religions use music as a way to get a “message” across and a way to bring new followers into their religion – so why would music not be a good way to detract followers AWAY from a religion or spirituality as a whole by putting emphasis on materialism?
Today’s music and music videos are laden with God-defiling messages, with everything from upside down crosses to 8 person orgies in a church complete with a stain glass window of Jesus. The music awards these days take it upon themselves to have whole choirs singing corrupted versions of classical hymns and dressing people for mass while performing on-stage sacrifices to … God? I don’t think so. I know atheists with more respect for religion than what is being shown publicly to millions.
Whether a person is spiritual or religious, we are all taught (or used to be taught) to respect each other, each other’s beliefs and other’s opinions, but I am shocked that any public television station, or worst yet a body of thousands of producers and participants would allow such satanic dramatization to take place on an open stage broadcast to millions around the world. Of course the music industry isn’t the only place, but even the Super Bowl has been turned into a great big tribute to darkness of whatever kind they attempt to portray.
If any of us sat long enough to compare a 1999 music video to a 2013 music video it would be clear as day that the happy, sunny, bright side of publicly broadcast entertainment has become a thing of the past, but what has it been replaced by? Is it necessary for all music these days to be so “dark” and negative? Where are the people who would normally cry out against such sexually explicit scenes on their TV? And what exactly is happening to the young people who are exposed to this stuff?
The moral of the story is, do not make your busy technology-filled lives leave you too occupied to know what your children are hearing, do not be too distracted in traffic to not realize that the song being played on the radio is blazing dangerous messages to your child in the back seat, do NOT be so naïve as to think that music is “just a song, just a beat, just a rhythm” music has been a POWERFUL tool since humans could sing and tap their feet, it has been used for many, many important things, songs are written and chosen ALWAYS with a purpose and ALWAYS to contain meaning…
Just sayin’…
Problems in our schools
Please allow me to air my concerns on a recent article entitled “Teachers in despair over kids”. As a Caymanian parent I have two boy children who have gone through our government schools. One graduated from John Gray High School and has been very successful, recently graduating with a Masters Degree. This particular child was well mannered and in the top 10% while attending, however, my main angst at the time was with the unfairness with which matters were treated.
No matter who the perpetrator was of any misbehavior, a child was not able to retaliate and if he/she did they were treated/punished the same. The victim didn’t have a voice. Unfairness seemed to be the theme.
The other boy went through Red Bay Primary School, and surprisingly he was bullied by his teacher more than he was bullied by his peers! He graduated from primary school in despair and rather despondent. He no longer wanted to attend school because he was treated so badly by this teacher. When I asked him why, didn’t he tell me about what was happening to him for two years. He said that he thought that that was the way school was suppose to be. He was afraid that if he told me that the teacher would react to him in class in a malicious manner, which happened before to him and he had also seen it happen to others in his class. In fact, it was another child who told his parent how badly the teacher was treating his friend, my son, and in turn I was told by the parent.
I decided afterwards to make a report of this issue to someone/anyone in the Education Department. I went up the chain of command only for “the buck” to passed on to another. The only person I did not speak with was the minister of education at that time, as I quickly realized that there was no recourse for me as a parent.
No one wanted to take responsibility. No one wanted to hear my concern.
So who is to blame for our current situation that is obviously no top secret? It is not just one person. Raising and schooling a child is a concerted effort and involvesmany people, as I see it.
First, it is me the parent. However, I can only teach my child what I know or what I have been taught. There are many parents who need a mentor themselves to understand how to raise a child. However, too often people do not know their own needs and do not know that they should ask for assistance, whether it be from another parent or from someone else in the community of proven standing.
Second, the teacher at school shares this responsibility also. The title: TEACHER says it all … we are all teachers – and we all teach by example. BOTH sides need the support and governance of the Education Department, or system, for this relationship to work.
Third, children learn from each other. If the home life is not one of stability, children are quicker to listen or follow their peers than the parent(s) … and they act out accordingly.
What is playing out in our schools is only a reflection of deeper problems within the fabric of a society which is the home.
We have no one to blame but ourselves: every parent and every Caymanian in our Education Department/system.
We need to stop pointing the finger, calling others racists and blaming “imported” children – truth is we are no better or no different … we just love to blame. Blaming gets us nowhere and when everyone else has left this Island, we still have our own stuff to deal with regarding our children and how they are treated and allowed by grownups to be bullied by grownups and peers.
So, as a Caymanian parent I ask the question, “Who within our government is taking responsibility for our mess in our schools?” It didn’t start today. It has been allowed to grow all these years … everything has a gestation period. Everyone here does affect the matrix of our society, however, we do need to make our “inner and outer” voices match – not say one thing and live another.
We are to blame for our own island’s demise.
Stand up and demand more from our government and from ourselves. I am not asking for a debate here or more finger pointing, but merely for introspection and proactivity of HOW to RESOLVE the obvious “elephant” in Cayman’s own living room.
Commonwealth Day Message
In July this year, the opening of the 20th Commonwealth Games will be marked by the arrival in Glasgow of the baton that started its journey from Buckingham Palace five months ago.
Many of us are following closelythe news of the baton relay as it passes through the 70 countries and territories whose teams will gather for the Games.
The images bring vividly to life what we mean by the Commonwealth family: it is wonderful to see the warmth, shared endeavour and goodwill as the baton is passed through the hands of many thousands of people.
Affinities of history and inheritance from the past are strong, yet we are bound together by a sense that the Commonwealth is a powerful influence of good for the future. People of all ages from different cultures are weaving an ever-growing network of links which connect us in our diversity and our common purpose. It is this unity that is expressed in this year's theme: 'Team Commonwealth'.
While national teams will be concentrating on the competition in August, Team Commonwealth will have a longer focus, working together to achieve a more enduring success.
Experiences of life differ widely throughout the Commonwealth, and we each make contributions from sometimes very different viewpoints. But we are committed to the same goals. Together we offer each other encouragement and draw strength from this mutual support.
The understanding that we belong together, and are able, through teamwork, to achieve far more than we could do alone, has always been at the heart of our approach. For all of us this is now captured in the Commonwealth Charter which sets out the values and principles which guide and motivate us.
This year, more children and young people are participating in Commonwealth Day celebrations. Advances in technology enable us to reach a greater number of young people in schools, on-line using the 'Commonwealth Class' initiative, and through events in local communities where the Commonwealth flag is being raised.
I am delighted that in this, the year of 'Team Commonwealth', we will be working to build a brighter, united future in which every one of us can play a part and share in its rewards.
Women’s day Message
The 2014 theme for International Women’s Day (IWD) is ‘Inspiring Change’, and we are pleased that on this day and indeed throughout Honouring Women Month the women of the Cayman Islands will be given many opportunities to participate in events that aim to encourage and inspire growth and change in all areas of their lives.
There is an old proverb that states “The only constant is change.”
And while we know that to be true, how often do we embrace change when it unexpectedly comes into our lives? Or do we often resist change, sometimes to our own detriment? While change can be difficult, there are many unforeseen gifts that are often wrapped in the guise of change.
International Women's Day provides us the opportunity to celebrate the social, political and economic achievements of women while at the same time focusing the world’s attention on areas requiring further action. We don’t have to look too far back in our history to see how life has changed not only for Caymanian women but for women all aroundthe world. From increased representation in politics and in boardrooms to breaking gender barriers as role models and leaders in traditionally maledominated occupations, women have made positive advances towards gender equality. However, there is still room for improvement in order to address the gender issues in many areas such as earned income, non-communicable diseases, HIV- transmission and gender-based violence.
On behalf of the Government, I take this opportunity to commend the Ministry of Community Affairs and my Ministry, in particular the dedicated staff of the Family Resource Centre and the Gender Affairs Unit, who work not just during Honouring Women Month but on a daily basis assisting women during difficult periods of change or crisis; empowering girls, women, young parents and families with information and education; and promoting gender equality in our society.
On 8th March, 2014 thousands of events are held throughout the world to inspire women and celebrate achievements. In the Cayman Islands, not only do we have an event planned in recognition of International Women’s Day, but there are a wide range of activities scheduled throughout the month of March as well. On International Women’s Day, the public and private sectors will come together to create an event called the Wellness of Women (WOW) Expo which will be held at the ARC at Camana Bay. The purpose of the event is to provide participants with the opportunity to focus on their own self-care and inspire change from the inside out. We encourage girls and women to make the time to attend the free classes and demonstrations, and access the information that will be available from a wide range of government agencies, businesses, faith-based, community and non-profit organisations.
Another way in which Government is actively seeking to address women’s equality issues is through the recent request to the United Kingdom to have the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) extended to the Cayman Islands. The request is a reflection of the Government’s commitment to ensuring equality between women and men and promoting a culture of human rights in our islands. CEDAW is the only core international human rights treaty that Government has yet to sign onto, and we anticipate a positive response from the UK to be forthcoming.
The ‘Inspiring Change’ theme encourages advocacy for women's advancement everywhere in every way. To that end, the Ministry of Education, Employment and Gender Affairs will be hosting a National Conference on Women on 29th March that will bring together women and men of differing ages and cultural backgrounds to address the social, cultural, economic and political challenges that girls and women experience in the Cayman Islands. The intended outcomes of this empowerment conference are to bring awareness about the rights to which girls and women are entitled under CEDAW; establish priority issues that will assist
Government in the development of its implementation plan for CEDAW; and create a space in which to educate, inspire and empower girls and women to be ‘Architects of Change’ at a personal level and within society.
With the advancement of technology and social media, corporate responsibility initiatives, and supportive men willing to speak out on these issues, everyone can be an advocate to inspire change for women's advancement. Indeed a collective effort is necessary when striving towards gender equality, and the collective benefits that it yields are suitably reflected in the United Nations’ IWD slogan: “Equality for women is progress for all”. Let us all do our part to inspire change within ourselves and others to ensure that the future for our girls is bright, safe, rewarding and valued as equally as our boys.