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As the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season officially gets underway, disaster management officials in The Bahamas have acknowledged that while the nation has made meaningful progress in preparedness, it still has not met the international benchmark for emergency shelter capacity to protect residents during major natural disasters. Currently, the country’s 144 public shelters can accommodate approximately 14,000 people, according to Aaron Sargent, Managing Director of the Bahamas Disaster Risk Management Authority (DRM).

Speaking at a press briefing held to mark the start of the season, Sargent noted that 90 of these shelters have already completed mandatory safety inspections, with only three facilities in New Providence still awaiting evaluation. Against the global standard that requires shelter space for 10 percent of a country’s total population, The Bahamas currently falls well short of the target. Sargent emphasized that expanding shelter capacity – particularly in the country’s less developed southern island region – remains a top priority for the government, requiring ongoing infrastructure investment and new construction projects.

The briefing came one day after senior DRM officials, along with Executive Chairman Alex Storr and representatives from multiple government agencies, presented the nation’s full preparedness plan to Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis and newly appointed Minister of State for Disaster Risk Management McKell Bonaby. Despite the unmet shelter target, Sargent said the work completed during the low-risk “blue sky” period between hurricane seasons has significantly boosted the country’s ability to mount an effective response to storm events.

The Bahamas Department of Meteorology has forecast a below-average season for 2026, projecting roughly 11 named storms and just one to three hurricanes forming across the Atlantic basin. Sargent tied this milder outlook to the ongoing El Niño weather pattern, which has also driven record-breaking extreme heat across much of the globe this year. Even with the favorable forecast, however, he issued a sharp warning to residents against lowering their guard, stressing that the country’s location within the active Atlantic hurricane belt means a single devastating storm is all it takes to cause widespread destruction across the island chain.

To strengthen local response capacity, the DRM Authority has already completed regional readiness exercises on eight of The Bahamas’ major islands, with a full national disaster drill scheduled for July. The agency is also putting the final touches on a new National Recovery Framework, a document designed to standardize post-disaster relief and reconstruction protocols across all levels of government. Once finalized, the framework will be submitted to the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Disaster Risk Management for formal review and approval.

In addition to infrastructure and planning updates, the DRM Authority has invested heavily in workforce training and digital emergency management technology. Earlier this year, DRM officers completed a specialized training program alongside partners including the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency, Rhode Island National Guard, and U.S. Northern Command, focused on mastering the WebEOC emergency coordination platform. Sargent explained that the system will dramatically improve cross-agency communication and shared situational awareness between the capital and outlying Family Islands during active disasters, with a full national deployment scheduled for the July readiness exercise.

On the topic of shelter inspections, Sargent noted that the DRM Authority has tightened safety and operational standards since its establishment, and the vast majority of existing shelters already meet the new requirements. One notable milestone is the newly completed disaster shelter in Abaco, which is now fully operational and ready to accept evacuees. The facility already underwent an unplanned stress test during the recent electoral cycle, when local administrators used it as a polling and operations center, and it passed without any issues.

Sargent emphasized that disaster preparedness is not a seasonal task, but a year-round priority, with the DRM Authority continuing to upgrade infrastructure, expand training, and integrate new technology to improve response outcomes. He urged all residents to take proactive steps before the next storm threat emerges: inspecting residential and commercial properties, securing storm shutters and plywood, organizing and protecting critical personal and legal documents, and formalizing family evacuation plans. Members of the public are also encouraged to learn the location of their nearest assigned shelter and take advantage of the resources available through the government’s national hurricane readiness campaign, including a free Hurricane Expo scheduled for June 20 at Marathon Mall, and downloadable preparedness materials available at getready.gov.bs.

Bonaby, who was unable to attend the press briefing, is scheduled to deliver a formal preparedness address to the public across all national news platforms on the same day as the briefing.

For years, Catherine Duncombe, a 26-year-old Bahamian digital creator, has cultivated a loyal online community by sharing radical authenticity around her core values: her devout Christian faith, her intentional choice to abstain from sex until marriage, and her search for rooted, purpose-driven love. What began as a platform centered on intentional living has now evolved into a space for raw, unfiltered transparency around one of life’s most challenging transitions: first-time pregnancy, mental health struggles, and the balancing act of preparing for motherhood while growing a small business.

Duncombe, a former journalist with the Bahamas Broadcasting Corporation (ZNS) who now owns and operates social media branding firm Creative Lens Marketing, has built a following of roughly 29,000 followers on TikTok. Her content spans personal updates on marriage, career milestones, spiritual growth, and practical advice for young women seeking to align their lives with their faith. In May 2023, thousands of her supporters joined in celebration when she married her husband Othniel Duncombe. After three years of marriage, the couple made the decision to start planning for their first child.

In a candid interview with The Tribune, Duncombe opened up about the unexpected turmoil of her first pregnancy. While the initial news of her pregnancy brought overwhelming joy, it also sparked deep uncertainty that left her frightened. She had gone into the first trimester expecting a mild, manageable experience, but instead found it to be one of the most physically and mentally draining periods of her life.

“It was so bad, where I couldn’t work. I could hardly do anything. I would just have to lay down all day,” she shared. “I didn’t know a lot about pregnancy going into it. I never really learnt anything about pregnancy apart from what I’ve seen on TV.”

As Duncombe struggled with severe symptoms, her husband stepped into the role of full-time caregiver while also stepping up to help manage Creative Lens Marketing. Beyond her partner’s support, Duncombe received care from her broader community: her church, extended family, close friends, and medical team. Her obstetrician recommended therapy to help her process the persistent anxiety that had accompanied her pregnancy, a suggestion that transformed her experience.

“I went to that therapist, and she has been so great on my journey. I’ve had her during the whole pregnancy. Basically, what she made me realise is that a lot of my symptoms weren’t just coming from my hormones, but it was because I was really fearful,” Duncombe explained.

She traced much of that fear back to harmful content she had consumed on social media, where endless algorithms fed her stories of miscarriage, traumatic childbirth, and life-threatening pregnancy complications. “I had saturated my mind with so much of that type of content, it made me very scared,” she said. For Duncombe, who had long relied on social media as a space for connection and encouragement, the platform had unexpectedly become a source of harm to her mental health.

Now in her third trimester, Duncombe has experienced a significant improvement in her symptoms and has returned to leading her digital marketing company. She and her husband are in the final stages of preparing to welcome their baby boy, and Duncombe is ready to share the lessons she has learned with her online community.

Reflecting on her platform and the 29,000 followers who follow her journey, Duncombe emphasized that her work is never about chasing metrics or viral fame. “I see each follower really as a friend, somebody a part of my community. With my platform, it’s really not about the followers and the viewers. But more so about a ministry of inspiring them, educating them on different things in life and showing them, most importantly, what it looks like when we dedicate our lives to God,” she said.

Moving forward, Duncombe plans to expand her content to include more educational resources on pregnancy health, the realities of first-time motherhood, and strategies for balancing entrepreneurial ambition with family life. A core goal of her work remains encouraging young Christian women to embrace what she calls “Godly womanhood” instead of conforming to modern “baddie culture”. She also wants to push back against harmful narratives that pressure women into premarital sex, reminding young women that there are partners who will respect their choice to wait until marriage.

Her overarching message to young women navigating overlapping goals of career success, family building, and holding to personal values is clear: it is possible to build a meaningful career, raise a family, and stay committed to the passions and beliefs that give your life purpose.

On a ceremony held at the Dolphin Drive campus of The Bahamas’ Stapledon School, a specialized institution serving students with disabilities across New Providence, Prime Minister Philip Davis and Minister of Innovation and National Development Sebas Bastian officially handed over the keys to a brand-new wheelchair-accessible school bus on Wednesday. The generous donation marks a direct response to unmet transportation needs raised by school leadership during a prior government visit, and is set to remove long-standing mobility barriers for disabled students at the facility.

The handover event drew a crowd of government representatives, school faculty, and excited students, who gathered to mark the milestone in expanded accessibility for the institution. Speaking to attendees, Minister Bastian emphasized that the donation was far more than a gift of a vehicle—it was an investment in equal opportunity for young disabled Bahamians. “We collaborated to purchase this bus for the Stapledon School, and today, we’re not just dropping off a new vehicle. We’re here to open new doors, and to cement the principle that education and participation should never be limited by a person’s mobility,” Bastian explained. “Every student deserves the tools they need to move through their community and access the experiences that help them grow.”

Beyond daily school commutes, the new bus will enable the school to expand extracurricular opportunities for students, including trips to off-campus sporting events, community engagement programs, and social activities that were previously out of reach for many wheelchair-using students. Bastian also highlighted the outsized impact Stapledon School has across the country, noting that while the campus falls within the Fort Charlotte electoral constituency, it serves students from every corner of New Providence, making its work a national priority.

For Prime Minister Davis, the donation grew directly from conversations held during a tour tied to the government’s national school breakfast program, when Principal Amanda Moncer shared the school’s urgent transportation challenges. Davis pushed back against any suggestions that the donation carried political motivations, framing it as a straightforward commitment to the government’s core promise of leaving no child behind. “When I heard Principal Moncer’s request, I knew we had to act now, not for any political gain, but because these kids deserve this,” Davis said. “We firmly believe that no child should be locked out of opportunity because of their disability. No student’s circumstances should ever rob them of the resources, facilities, or experiences their talents deserve.”

For the Stapledon School community, the new bus solves a long-standing dignity and accessibility issue. Principal Moncer explained that the school’s existing small vehicle required wheelchair-using students to transfer out of their personal chairs to ride, a process that was both uncomfortable and undignified. Sharing the example of a student named Janelle, Moncer noted that previously, the teen had to leave her chair behind to climb into the school’s old van. Now, the new bus features a built-in ramp that lets students roll directly on board, and stay in their own wheelchairs for the entire ride if they choose. “This isn’t just about getting from place to place—it’s about letting our students travel with comfort and dignity,” Moncer said.

During the ceremony, Moncer also took the opportunity to issue a public request to expand the government’s existing school breakfast program at Stapledon, which currently operates fewer than five days a week. She shared that the program has already driven measurable improvements in student attendance, and has become a deeply anticipated part of students’ weekly routines. “We’ve seen firsthand how the breakfast program helps boost attendance. Students look forward to it so much that they even come to the kitchen on off-days, expecting it,” Moncer said. “We’re asking that the government consider expanding it to a full five-day school week to support our students even more.”

She closed by thanking Davis and Bastian for the donation, and expressed hope that the collaborative relationship between the school and national government would continue long after the handover ceremony. “This is not a one-time gesture. We know this partnership will keep growing to support our students,” Moncer said. At the conclusion of the event, students gathered to thank the visiting officials, and Davis and Bastian posed for photos with Moncer as they officially transferred the bus keys to the school.

For more than two years, Marvin and Aynalel Deveaux fought for answers after $9,000 in cash earmarked for life-changing medical treatment vanished from their Marathon Estates home during a police search. Now, that fight has ended with Marvin’s death – he never got to learn what happened to the money, or see the conclusion of the investigation his family waited so long for.

Mrs. Deveaux, 51, shared that her husband passed away in her arms in the early hours of last Thursday, following decades of debilitating health struggles. For roughly 20 years, Marvin battled kidney disease that required constant dialysis, and his 61st birthday would have fallen on July 2. In his final days, he told his wife he had lost the strength to keep pushing for accountability. “Anna, I can’t fight these people no more. My heart already broke. I don’t have energy,” he told her. “Today I die, or I die tomorrow, I don’t know how you will bury me because you don’t have money.” Just three days after he spoke those words, he died.

The long-running saga first came to public attention in May 2024, when the couple went public with their allegations against Bahamian law enforcement. The $9,000 that disappeared had been carefully saved to fund a medical trip to Turkey, where Marvin planned to undergo back surgery followed by a kidney transplant – Aynalel was set to donate one of her kidneys to give him a new chance at life.

According to Mrs. Deveaux’s account, officers arrived at the couple’s home with a search warrant, looking for illegal drugs and unregistered firearms. Despite having the warrant, officers ultimately entered a locked bedroom that belonged to her late mother-in-law, where the family had stored the cash in a secure hiding place. Because Marvin struggled with mobility due to his illness, Aynalel accompanied officers through the entire search. She says officers acknowledged seeing the cash, placed the bag it was stored in back in its spot, and then moved to search another section of the home. When Mrs. Deveaux tried to return to close the bedroom door moments later, an officer blocked her, saying the search was not finished and ordered her to go back to her own bedroom. After officers finished their search and left the property, she returned to the bedroom and found the entire sum of cash gone. She added that officers later admitted they had targeted the wrong home in the search.

The couple filed an official report for the missing money with local police the same day the search took place. When the case first became public, then-Deputy Commissioner of Police Leamond Deleveaux told local media that any findings from the internal investigation would be released to the public once the probe wrapped up. But by July 2025, more than a full year after the initial complaint was filed, the Deveaux family still had no update on the investigation, and no answers about where their money had gone. Mrs. Deveaux spoke at the time about the heavy toll the uncertainty took, explaining she struggled to juggle full-time work, mounting legal bills, and the growing cost of her husband’s ongoing medical care with no resolution in sight.

When The Tribune recently reached out to current Commissioner of Police Shanta Knowles to ask for an update on the investigation’s status, Knowles said she would check with the internal complaints unit to get clarity on the case. As of press time for this report, no additional update or comment has been provided from police leadership. In the months between July 2025 and Marvin’s death, the couple continued reaching out regularly for updates, but never received a satisfactory explanation for the missing funds before Marvin passed. As his health declined steadily, the lack of closure only grew into a heavier source of frustration and heartbreak for the couple.

Now, as Mrs. Deveaux grieves, she is also struggling to cover the cost of her husband’s funeral. Final arrangements are still being worked out, and severe financial constraints have forced her to consider cremation instead of the larger, traditional service she would have preferred. She has had to rely on support from friends and colleagues to cover basic funeral costs, and she says she is reaching out to members of the public for any assistance they can offer.

She also opened up about her deep disappointment with local politicians, who she says quickly reached out to express support when her husband’s case first made headlines, but have since fallen completely silent. “Election time, people come asking me what’s happened, what’s going on,” she recalled. “Now, you can’t find them. You have to make an appointment if you want to speak to them.”

The entire ordeal has left Mrs. Deveaux deeply disillusioned with life in the Bahamas, saying she feels completely abandoned by the country’s authorities and elected officials as she navigates grief and fights for accountability. “This country broke my heart,” she said. “Nobody came and asked what happened or what we needed.” The unfair experience has even pushed her to make the decision to leave the country permanently. “How can you stay here when you lose your husband and nobody helps you?” she questioned.

Mrs. Deveaux holds firm to the belief that her husband’s outcome would have been very different if the couple had been able to move forward with their plans for treatment in Turkey. “He was happy because he thought he was going to Turkey,” she said. “He told everybody ‘I’m going to fix my kidney and come back normal.’ After the money was gone, everything changed.” While there is no way to confirm definitively that the treatment would have saved Marvin’s life, his widow says he would have at least had a fighting chance. For her family, the loss was never just about the money – it was about the life that could have been. “The people didn’t take money,” she said. “The people took my husband’s life.”

Members of the public who wish to contribute to Marvin Deveaux’s funeral expenses can contact Aynalel Deveaux directly at 431-5105.