Prime Min­is­ter Dr Kei­th Row­ley has an­nounced that Trinidad and To­ba­go will as­sist the Ba­hamas with sol­diers, elec­tric­i­ty work­ers and US$500,000.
The prime min­is­ter made the an­nounce­ment at Thurs­day's post-Cab­i­net news con­fer­ence.
Parts of the Ba­hamas have been dec­i­mat­ed by Hur­ri­cane Do­ri­an which hit the is­lands as a pow­er­ful Cat­e­go­ry 5 hur­ri­cane, re­sult­ing in at least 20 deaths.
Dr Row­ley told the me­dia that he has been in touch with the prime min­is­ter of the Ba­hamas, Dr Hurbert Min­nis and that they have dis­cussed what Trinidad and To­ba­go could do for the Caribbean Com­mu­ni­ty (Cari­com) coun­try.
He said 100 mem­bers of the De­fence Force are now prepar­ing to go to the Ba­hamas to as­sist in law and or­der.
With large swaths of the coun­try with­out elec­tric­i­ty, sev­en tech­ni­cal per­son­nel of the Trinidad and To­ba­go Elec­tric­i­ty Com­mis­sion (T&TEC) are al­so be­ing sent to the Ba­hamas.
The prime min­is­ter said that the num­ber will be in­creased once need­ed.
While not­ing that the Ba­hamas is re­ceiv­ing "con­sid­er­able as­sis­tance from US and Cana­da", he said Trinidad and To­ba­go will al­so pro­vide mon­e­tary as­sis­tance to the tune of US$500,000 to as­sist in pay­ing for some ex­pens­es, in­clud­ing med­ical sup­plies.
Two CARI­COM lead­ers touched down in the Ba­hamas Thurs­day morn­ing to hold talks about re­lief ef­forts.
Bar­ba­dos Prime Min­is­ter Mia Mot­t­ley and St Lu­cian Prime Min­is­ter Allen Chas­tanet ar­rived at the Lyn­den Pin­dling In­ter­na­tion­al Air­port in Nas­sau short­ly be­fore 9 am.
Ac­cord­ing to Mot­t­ley's Face­book page, they were greet­ed by sev­er­al Ba­ha­mi­an gov­ern­ment min­is­ters, in­clud­ing Min­is­ter of Tourism Dion­sio D'Ag­u­liar, Min­is­ter of Ed­u­ca­tion Jef­fery Lloyd and Min­is­ter of Trans­port Ren­wood Wills among oth­er dig­ni­taries.
Both prime min­is­ters were ac­com­pa­nied by CARI­COM Sec­re­tary-Gen­er­al Ir­win La Roque and were lat­er whisked away for a closed-door meet­ing with Min­nis at the Na­tion­al Emer­gency Man­age­ment Ad­min­is­tra­tion (NE­MA) of­fice.
The first large re­lief ship ar­rived in the north­west Ba­hamas on Thurs­day morn­ing, with tug­boats fer­ry­ing pal­lets of wa­ter bot­tles, box­es of ce­re­al and 10,000 hot and cold meals from a Roy­al Caribbean cruise ship to bat­tered Freeport.
But with the grim toll still mount­ing, it was clear a lot more help will be need­ed for the once lush Grand Ba­hama and the neigh­bour­ing Aba­co Is­lands.
Source: Guardian, September 10, 2019

​“The leaves of the chadon beni is rich in iron, carotene, riboflavin, and calcium, and are an excellent source of vitamin A,B, C. This herb also has medicinal properties. The leaves of the plant is a good remedy for high blood pressure, and epilepsy. In some Caribbean countries it is called fitweed because of its anti-convulsant properties. It is a stimulant and has anti-inflamatory and analgestic properties. As a matter of fact, the whole plant could be used to cure headache, diarrhea, flu, fever, vomiting, colds, malaria, constipation, and pneumonia.”

An item from May, 2019.
​Trinidad and Tobago author Samuel Selvon was honoured with his very own Google Doodle on his birthday, May 20, 2018.
Selvon grew up in South Trinidad and migrated to the UK in the 1950s alongside the Windrush generation, where he wrote iconic books such as 'A Brighter Sun' and 'The Lonely Londoners'. 
Selvon, who passed away in 1994, is the first Trinbagonian writer to be given a Google Doodle. 
Google said Sunday's Google Doodle by guest artist Jayesh Sivan "depicts Selvon and other members of the Caribbean migrant community set against the backdrop of London, which served as the inspiration and setting for much of his works".

Novelist, poet, and playwright, Sam Selvon started writing during his spare time while working in the oilfields, serving in the Royal Naval reserve, and writing for newspapers and literary magazines.
In his early twenties, he wrote and published several short stories and poems in his native Trinidad. However, it was his move to England in 1950 which set the stage for his career to blossom.
Drawing from his personal experiences as an immigrant, Selvon published his pioneering novel “The Lonely Londoners” in 1956. In it, he gave the unique Caribbean creolised English, or "nation language", a narrative voice of its own on an international stage.
“The Lonely Londoners” was later followed by two more London-based novels: “Moses Ascending” (1975) and “Moses Migrating” (1983), both of which continued the saga of Caribbean immigrants and their experiences in London.  Source: The Loop, May 2019

Ingredients
table salt
1/2 pound elbow macaroni (about 2 cups uncooked pasta)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 pounds ground beef (85% lean)
2 medium onions, chopped
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons chilli powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
12 oz Colby Jack cheese, shredded (about 2 1/2 cups) (or cheese of your choice)
Directions 
1.Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. Bring 4 quarts water to a boil in a large pot over high heat. Stir in 1 tablespoon salt and add dry macaroni; cook until al dente. Reserve 3/4 cup pasta water and drain pasta. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside.

3. Using the same large pot, wipe dry and heat over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil and heat until shimmering. Add ground beef and break it up in pieces to brown. Once browned, remove from pot and discard drippings. Set beef aside.

3. Add remaining oil to the same large pot and return to medium heat until shimmering. Add onions, garlic, red pepper, chilli powder, and cumin; cook, stirring occasionally until vegetables are softened and begin to brown. 

4. Add the crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, brown sugar, reserved 3/4 cup pasta water and beef to the pot. Bring to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally until flavours have blended.

5. Stir in the cooked pasta, 1/2 cup of shredded cheese and season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer mixture to a 9x13 baking dish and smooth over with a spatula. Bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until the mixture is hot and bubbling.

6. Remove from oven and sprinkle the top of the dish with the remaining shredded cheese. Return the dish once again in the oven and bake for 5-10 minutes until the cheese begins to melt and brown. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Source: The Loop, August 2019

at Smith
Senior Editor, LIVEKINDLY | New York City | Contactable via: kat@livekindly.com
Eleven-year-old entrepreneur Omari McQueen is the youngest award-winning vegan chef in the UK. In addition to being the founder of his own company, Dipalicious, he’s now CEO of a restaurant of the same name.
The pop-up will take place at Boxpark Croydon this summer. While menu details have not yet been released, McQueen loves sharing vegan Caribbean food on his Instagram, such as BBQ jackfruit with breadfruit fries and curry. His company Dipalicious makes vegan dips inspired by Caribbean cuisine, such as Luv’in Jerk, Caribbean Kick, and Coco Curry. Vegan snacks will launch soon, according to the website.
“I can’t believe my dreams are coming true,” McQueen wrote on Instagram earlier this month.
McQueen learned about veganism from a PETA UK video at just eight-years-old and became determined to make food that could be enjoyed by all. He also wanted to teach other children about vegan food. One year prior, his parents ignited a passion for cooking in young McQueen, who was taught to cook after his mother fell ill.
While making vegan pizza on his YouTube channel, he found that the end result was too dry and, not knowing if Heinz was vegan, he made his first dip. It was a hit with friends and family, which inspired him to found Dipalicious. He began saving for his own bus-converted vegan restaurant as well as ready meals for kids. Today, he also hosts kids’ cooking workshops from home.
The young entrepreneur’s accomplishments have already been recognized a number of times. In 2018, he won the TruLittle Hero Award for being the Entrepreneur Hero under 12 by Cause4Children Ltd. He won the Compassionate Kid Award from PETA for his work helping animals last November.
“His compassion and his determination to create a better world for animals are a wonderful example for other kids – and adults – to follow,” said PETA director Elisa Allen in a statement.
He also won the Proud & Gifted Award for his work as a vegan chef and youth empowerment speaker.
Dipalicious’s vegan pop-up restaurant will take place at Boxpark Croydon from August 17-24.
​