Carib Scope

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  • The price of an apartment can triple depending on where you buy it.

    The price of an apartment can triple depending on where you buy it.

    The Dominican Republic’s core metropolitan region is currently facing a stark economic divide in residential real estate, where location alone can push per-square-meter apartment prices to three times higher than comparable properties just kilometers away, according to fresh official market data. This wide gap in residential valuations across the region stems from deep-seated territorial disparities in land pricing and the divergent types of development projects underway in different zones.

    New findings from the National Statistics Office (ONE)’s 2026 first-round Building Supply Registry Results Report (ROE 2026-1) lay bare the scale of these inequalities. At the municipal level, the highest average per-square-meter apartment price is recorded in Santo Domingo de Guzmán, hitting RD$148,445. This figure stands in sharp contrast to peripheral municipalities like Los Alcarrizos, where the average per-square-meter cost lands at just RD$48,418 – a clear demonstration that property values triple when moving from outer suburban zones to the central urban core. Disparities grow even more pronounced when breaking data down to the neighborhood level.

    The ONE’s technical analysis identifies the Paraíso sector as the metropolitan region’s most expensive neighborhood by average per-square-meter pricing, with valuations reaching RD$218,951. It is narrowly followed by the exclusive, upscale Piantini district, which posts an average of RD$210,026 per square meter. The two areas, both located within the National District, solidify their positions as the priciest residential real estate markets in the whole region.

    Median full-unit housing prices tell a similar story of stark economic inequality across geographic zones. Los Cacicazgos leads the ranking of the most expensive neighborhoods, with a median unit price hitting RD$23,500,000 per apartment. It is followed by the high-end residential hubs of Piantini and Renacimiento, which together hold the largest share of high-value residential supply in the Dominican capital.

    The census-based study also measured total new residential construction across the metropolitan region, finding that the total area of newly built residential space hit 5,684,625 square meters in the reporting period. However, the distribution of this new construction is heavily geographically concentrated: Santo Domingo de Guzmán claims 36.9% of all new built area, followed by Santo Domingo Este at 31.2% and Santo Domingo Norte at 20.6%.

    This value polarization coincides with a significant expansion in overall market volume and the total number of units available to buyers. Bolstered by strong consumer demand, the total count of new residential units rose 23.6% year-over-period, climbing from 46,850 units in the second half of 2025 to 57,920 units in the first half of 2026. Latest market absorption data confirms ongoing strong buyer appetite for residential property across the region. The number of units sold, reserved or under deposit increased 44.7% to 22,909 committed properties during the period. At the same time, immediately available inventory rose to 19,351 units, while pre-construction and future planned offerings more than doubled over the analysis window.

  • Anthrax suspicions in Haiti: Are there confirmed cases in the Dominican Republic and is there a health emergency?

    Anthrax suspicions in Haiti: Are there confirmed cases in the Dominican Republic and is there a health emergency?

    In response to an ongoing investigation into suspected cutaneous anthrax cases in a southwestern Haitian community, the Dominican Republic’s Ministry of Public Health has announced that no confirmed anthrax infections have been detected within its borders, while ramping up preventive epidemiological monitoring across high-risk areas.

    Public Health Minister Víctor Atallah clarified that the enhanced surveillance measures are proactive precautions, not a declaration of national public health emergency. The government’s core goal is to boost local health service capacity to detect any potential cases as early as possible and immediately activate established response protocols. “The Dominican Republic has no reported cases of anthrax, nor is there a public health emergency,” Atallah emphasized in his official statement. “We have strengthened surveillance as a preventative measure, and our health services are fully prepared to promptly identify any suspected cases.”

    The current situation unfolding across the border in Haiti has prompted this precautionary action. Haitian health authorities are currently examining 13 suspected anthrax cases in Baliverne, a town located in the Dame-Marie commune of Haiti’s Grand’Anse department. Local reports confirm two deaths among the group under investigation, though formal testing has not yet confirmed anthrax as the cause of these fatalities. Investigators are currently looking into contact with sick livestock as the most plausible source of potential exposure.

    For context, anthrax is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis, which primarily impacts herbivorous animals including cattle, sheep, and goats. Humans can contract the pathogen mainly through direct contact with infected animals or contaminated animal-derived products. A key characteristic of the disease that reduces public risk is that it does not typically spread from person to person, meaning the infection risk from casual contact with an infected individual remains very low. Global public health guidelines note that effective preventive measures center on coordinated epidemiological tracking and animal health monitoring, particularly oversight of unregulated cross-border movement of live animals and animal products.

    To implement its enhanced surveillance framework, the Dominican Republic’s Ministry of Public Health has partnered with the Ministry of Agriculture and the General Directorate of Livestock to strengthen cross-agency monitoring and early detection protocols. The country is also working closely with relevant international public health bodies to align its response with global best practices. Additional steps include updated training and reinforced reporting guidelines for frontline healthcare workers, requiring them to immediately flag and report any potential suspected anthrax cases. The nation maintains full in-country diagnostic capacity through its Dr. Defilló National Reference Laboratory, eliminating delays for sample testing.

    The Ministry has issued a public statement urging Dominican residents to only follow information released by official health sources, and reiterated that all current measures are purely preventive. These steps, the ministry notes, are a standard component of the country’s established public health surveillance and emergency preparedness systems. Moving forward, the Dominican Republic’s public health sector will continue monitoring the cross-border situation in close coordination with national partner institutions and the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO).

  • Smart Dominican Republic: who can participate, what they will learn and how to register

    Smart Dominican Republic: who can participate, what they will learn and how to register

    The Dominican Republic is embarking on an ambitious national digital upskilling project: RD Inteligente, an initiative that has set the bold target of delivering free artificial intelligence training to 1 million Dominican citizens to close the country’s digital skills gap. Designed to be accessible to people from all walks of life regardless of their prior technical background, this groundbreaking program opens its doors to a remarkably broad cross-section of the population, opening new opportunities for workforce development and digital inclusion. This guide breaks down everything prospective participants need to know to join the program.

    ### Eligibility: Open to Nearly All Members of the Public
    One of the core goals of RD Inteligente is to remove barriers to AI education, making the program available to a far wider range of participants than most specialized tech training schemes. Eligible enrollees span every demographic and professional group: secondary and post-secondary students, active members of the Armed Forces and National Police, private sector employees, public servants, out-of-school and unemployed youth, single mothers and homemakers, teachers and educational support staff, entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized enterprise owners, free trade zone employees, tourism sector workers, Dominicans living overseas, people with disabilities, healthcare professionals, agricultural producers and rural residents, older adults, workers in the informal economy, and any other member of the general Dominican population.

    ### Registration: Simple, Streamlined, and No Phone Number Required
    Signing up for the program is designed to be straightforward for all participants. To complete registration, applicants only need three documents and pieces of information: a national identity card, a voter registration card, and an active email address. During the sign-up process, applicants will also be asked to share their date of birth, province of residence, local sector, and which training track they wish to pursue. Unlike many government programs, a contact phone number is not mandatory to register.
    To start the registration process, prospective participants simply navigate to the official RD Inteligente website at RDinteligente.do, select the registration portal, and input their national ID number, email address, and full legal first and last name.

    ### No Prior Tech Experience Required
    The program is intentionally designed for complete beginners, with no prerequisite technical knowledge or specialized professional experience required to enroll. All course content is built starting from the absolute basics, and tailored specifically to the lived experience of Dominicans, with everyday examples and plain-language explanations that make complex AI concepts accessible to people with no background in technology.

    ### A Three-Stage Modular Curriculum Built for Flexible Learning
    RD Inteligente’s curriculum is structured in three progressive, modular stages that allow participants to learn at their own pace and pursue training aligned with their personal and professional goals.

    The first stage is a mandatory common foundational section that all participants complete. This 10-hour introductory course does not need to be finished in a single session: all progress is automatically saved, allowing learners to pause their training and resume it at any time, even from a different device. There is no fixed class schedule, giving enrollees full flexibility to fit learning around work, family, or other commitments. Core topics covered in the foundational stage include: distinguishing what artificial intelligence is (and what it is not), an introduction to generative AI, how to craft effective prompts for AI tools, understanding when a simple query is sufficient versus when detailed specificity improves outputs, best practices to enhance AI-generated results, and how to identify potential misinformation or hallucinations in AI responses. A key takeaway emphasized throughout the foundational course is that the first output an AI generates is rarely the final, best result a user can achieve.

    After completing the common foundation, participants move on to the second stage: a 25-hour productivity-focused module centered on applying AI tools to boost performance in the workplace. This module is built around the principle that different workers in different industries have different AI needs, so content is tailored to match varied professional contexts.

    The third and final stage is a specialized deep dive into specific AI-related fields. This stage offers focused training in high-demand areas including data science, process automation, software development, cybersecurity, and AI for public management. The specialization stage takes between 60 and 120 hours to complete, and participants who finish the program receive an official industry-recognized manufacturer certification.

  • Vakbonden MAS, Staatsolie en Luchthavenbeheer veroordelen inmenging en geweld tegen OWOS

    Vakbonden MAS, Staatsolie en Luchthavenbeheer veroordelen inmenging en geweld tegen OWOS

    On September 11, four major trade union organizations in Suriname — the unions of MAS, Staatsolie, Airport Management, and the Forest Management and Supervision Foundation — issued a joint statement affirming their unwavering, unconditional solidarity with the Ogem Workers Organization Suriname (OWOS), as the independent labor movement faces escalating, severe threats to its autonomy.

    Concerns over external interference in OWOS’s internal affairs first emerged ahead of the organization’s recent leadership elections, with multiple sources pointing to unauthorized meddling by the management board of EBS into the union’s internal processes. In their joint statement, the four supporting unions emphasized that employers have no legitimate place in the governing structure of an independent trade union, mirroring the long-standing principle that unions do not interfere in corporate management decision-making. The groups stressed this reciprocal non-interference must be respected by both sides.

    “An independent trade union must be fully free to select its own leadership and advocate for its members’ interests, free from external pressure or improper preferential treatment,” the statement read. The supporting unions also issued a direct warning to workers who have accepted favorable treatment from EBS amid the interference: if OWOS loses its independence, those workers will ultimately pay a heavy price for the concessions they have accepted in the short term.

    Tensions in the conflict escalated dramatically last week when the OWOS union headquarters was targeted in a shooting attack that left one person injured. Authorities have not yet confirmed whether the attack is directly linked to the ongoing leadership election dispute and external interference, but the four supporting unions made clear that all forms of violence and intimidation against labor organizers are completely unacceptable, no matter the context.

    In a forceful rebuke of the escalating threats, the joint statement declared: “Abuse of power, intimidation, threats, and violence must never be used to influence the free choice of workers or undermine the independence of their union.” The unions called on all involved parties to take immediate steps to prevent further escalation, and to allow the rule of law to proceed unimpeded, with a particular focus on tracking down the perpetrators of the shooting attack and holding them fully accountable for their actions.

    Addressing the leadership and members of OWOS directly, the supporting unions offered words of encouragement and resolve: “Do not back down in the face of intimidation. Do not let fear decide who leads your union. We will not respond to violence with violence, but with unwavering resolve and the democratic tools available to us.”

    The statement closed with a stark warning for the entire nation of Suriname: if intimidation succeeds in silencing the independent labor movement, the entire country will face severe consequences. The unified message from the four major unions was clear and uncompromising: Hands off the independent trade union movement!

  • New system to strengthen Saint Lucia’s health surveillance

    New system to strengthen Saint Lucia’s health surveillance

    Against a backdrop of ongoing global focus on strengthening public health preparedness after recent pandemic outbreaks, the Caribbean island nation of Saint Lucia is taking a major step forward to upgrade its capacity to spot and address emerging health risks, through the rollout of a cutting-edge regional digital surveillance platform.

    Technical specialists from the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) recently completed an on-site working visit to Saint Lucia, where they delivered hands-on technical guidance and capacity building to support the full launch and operation of the Regional Integrated Early Warning Surveillance System, shortened to RIEWSS.

    Unlike fragmented traditional surveillance frameworks that store data across disconnected systems, RIEWSS aggregates public health intelligence from multiple independent monitoring programs onto a single, centralized interactive dashboard. This unified interface gives public health decision-makers an unprecedented, holistic overview of developing potential health threats across the country.

    Dr. Brian Armour, CARPHA’s Technical Advisor for the Pandemic Fund Project, explained that the integrated design of the system addresses a longstanding gap in public health operations. “Senior department heads and national public health leaders can now track multiple overlapping events unfolding simultaneously, which mirrors how real-world public health crises actually develop,” Armour noted. “This means critical decisions to protect the health of Saint Lucia’s population can now be rooted in a complete, interconnected set of data rather than partial insights from siloed systems.”

    During the technical visit, the CARPHA team also organized targeted orientation and training sessions that brought together a wide cross-section of health stakeholders, including frontline public health practitioners, private sector healthcare providers, vector control specialists, and representatives from both public and private medical laboratories. The training ensures that all relevant personnel have the skills to use the platform effectively in their daily work.

    Armour added that CARPHA has structured access to the system to align with Saint Lucia’s health governance framework: only authorized users officially designated by the country’s Ministry of Health will be able to log into the platform. “Once authenticated, users can pull up context-specific data that turns raw information into actionable surveillance intelligence to guide rapid response,” he explained.

    Dr. Dana DaCosta Gomez, Medical Surveillance Officer for Saint Lucia, emphasized that RIEWSS marks a transformative upgrade to the country’s existing health surveillance infrastructure. “This integrated approach redefines how we do surveillance: we are no longer working in disconnected silos,” she said. “We can now connect disparate health signals, identify emerging threat patterns much earlier, and coordinate a far faster, more unified response across agencies.”

    For small island nations like Saint Lucia, where limited health resources demand efficient, coordinated action, this upgrade carries outsize importance for national health security. “Implementing RIEWSS is far more than just adding another digital tool to our toolkit,” DaCosta Gomez stressed. “It is a fundamental strengthening of our national health security and our core public health infrastructure as a whole.”

    Dr. Lisa Indar, CARPHA’s Executive Director, also expressed strong support for the rollout, noting that the system fills a critical regional need by enabling integrated monitoring, early threat detection, and coordinated cross-stakeholder responses to public health emergencies of all kinds. Saint Lucia is currently the second member state of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) to roll out the RIEWSS system, paving the way for broader regional adoption and coordinated surveillance across the Caribbean bloc.

  • UK rejects slavery reparations as Jamaica presses case with King Charles III

    UK rejects slavery reparations as Jamaica presses case with King Charles III

    Decades-long global calls for reparations for the transatlantic slave trade have entered a new phase this September, as Jamaica has launched a formal legal push to hold the United Kingdom accountable for its historic role in the system of chattel slavery — even as British officials maintain their unyielding rejection of any financial compensation claims.

    According to international media reports, a spokesperson for UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham confirmed that the British government’s decades-old policy remains unchanged: ‘the UK does not and will not pay reparations’ to former colonial territories impacted by the transatlantic slave trade.

    The UK’s formal restatement of its position came just five days after Jamaica’s Culture Minister Olivia Grange submitted an unprecedented slavery-related petition to King Charles III on September 7, 2026. The request asks the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, the UK-based supreme judicial body that historically handles appeals from Commonwealth nations, to review three core questions related to the legality of Britain’s slave trading practice and the UK’s potential responsibility for providing redress for its harms.

    Contrary to some early media coverage that framed the petition as a direct demand for a set monetary sum, Grange has publicly clarified that the filing does not include a specified financial figure at this preliminary stage. Speaking with the Jamaica Observer, Grange explained that the petition was submitted through official, established channels after the Jamaican government received formal procedural guidance from Buckingham Palace. She also confirmed that a request for a courtesy meeting with King Charles was turned down, due to the monarch being in residence at Balmoral Castle in Scotland.

    The King’s absence drew sharp criticism from anti-monarchy activists. Graham Smith, chief executive officer of the UK-based campaign group Republic, told Al Jazeera: ‘Once again Charles ducks for cover when the issue of slavery and empire is raised.’

    Jamaican officials argue that addressing the intergenerational harms of slavery demands far more than symbolic acknowledgment of historical suffering. The latest legal move aligns with a growing global momentum for reparatory justice that gained significant traction earlier this year, when the 80th United Nations General Assembly adopted a landmark resolution on March 25, 2026. The resolution formally classifies the transatlantic trafficking of enslaved Africans as ‘the gravest crime against humanity’ in history.

    Championed by Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama, who leads the African Union’s work on reparatory justice, the resolution passed with overwhelming global support: 123 nations voted in favor, only three voted against, and 52 countries chose to abstain. Notably, the United Kingdom was among the abstentions, while all member states of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) voted in support of the text.

    While the UK has consistently rejected calls for reparations, British officials have stated that they acknowledge the profound brutality of slavery and its lasting impact on global history. Jamaica’s latest legal action marks one of the most formal, institutional pushes for accountability from a former colonial territory to date, opening a new chapter in the global debate over historical responsibility for the transatlantic slave trade.

  • Suicide prevention is everyone’s job: Mental Health Director

    Suicide prevention is everyone’s job: Mental Health Director

    As the Caribbean island nation of Saint Lucia marked World Suicide Prevention Day on September 10, a top local mental health leader is sounding the alarm about the critical importance of prioritizing suicide prevention, emphasizing that small, compassionate acts from ordinary community members can be the difference between life and death for at-risk people.

    Dr. Naomie Jn Baptiste, Director of Mental Health Services in Saint Lucia, delivered this urgent appeal aligned with this year’s global theme “Changing the Narrative on Suicide”, an initiative designed to break down long-standing cultural barriers that silence open conversation around suicide and erode the harmful stigma surrounding mental health struggles.

    In her address, Dr. Jn Baptiste stressed that suicide prevention is not a responsibility limited to medical professionals — every member of the community has a role to play. She explained that basic, intentional actions can have an extraordinary impact: lending an non-judgmental ear to someone in crisis, extending genuine empathy, and validating their emotional experiences rather than dismissing or minimizing their pain.

    “Sometimes just by showing empathy, lending a listening ear and not downplaying people’s feelings and people’s symptoms, then it can go a long way towards preventing suicide,” Dr. Jn Baptiste said.

    The director specifically highlighted the need for greater awareness around at-risk men, noting that many avoid sharing their struggles with depression or suicidal thoughts due to deep-seated societal expectations that frame vulnerability as weakness. She urged community members to never overlook warning signs of emotional distress in their loved ones, regardless of gender.

    For people directly experiencing suicidal thoughts, anxiety, or depression, Dr. Jn Baptiste emphasized that accessible, professional support is available across the country. Free and confidential guidance can be accessed through the national mental health helpline at 203, while local wellness centers offer referrals to licensed mental health specialists. The Ministry of Health also maintains a network of trained community mental health workers, including psychiatric nurse practitioners, community nurses, and dedicated health aides, embedded across local communities to provide ongoing support.

    To build out Saint Lucia’s national suicide prevention framework, local mental health stakeholders recently completed a three-day collaborative workshop with peer professionals from neighboring Guadeloupe. Dr. Jn Baptiste noted that insights and best practices gained from the cross-regional partnership will inform the development of the island’s first national suicide prevention strategy and formal policy.

    Continuing the series of World Suicide Prevention Day outreach activities, a public town hall meeting is scheduled for September 13 in the district of Gros Islet to open community dialogue on the issue.

    Closing her appeal, Dr. Jn Baptiste reiterated her core message: community members must look out for one another and take all signs of emotional distress seriously. “We should be our brother’s keeper,” she said. “There is help out there. There are people out there who are trained in that area that are really willing to help you. We need to recognise our symptoms … and don’t downplay any symptom.”

  • New push to put youth at heart of community change

    New push to put youth at heart of community change

    The Caribbean island nation of Saint Lucia is currently in active discussions to forge a new collaborative partnership between the government and the grassroots Ubuntu Movement, an initiative designed to unlock meaningful developmental opportunities for young Saint Lucians by placing them at the center of community-led projects, voluntary action and local peacebuilding work. At the heart of these negotiations is the movement’s signature Ambassadors of Justice and Peace Programme, a structured initiative that equips participating youth with targeted professional training, one-on-one mentorship, and formal platforms to lead community-focused volunteer projects, empowering them to emerge as transformative agents of positive change in their local neighborhoods.

    Leana Wallice, manager of the island’s Boys Training Centre, emphasized that the programme addresses a critical gap in Saint Lucia’s youth development ecosystem by fostering a culture of volunteerism among young people, while also giving them tangible avenues to contribute to the betterment of their communities. Wallice noted that widespread public misunderstanding of the value of voluntary service remains a persistent barrier to collective community progress across the country. She explained that embedding the Ambassadors of Justice and Peace within a formal, structured framework creates mutually beneficial outcomes: it delivers personal and professional growth for the young participants themselves, while also delivering tangible benefits to the community members that their projects serve. Beyond individual impact, Wallice argued that this collaborative initiative has the potential to help Saint Lucia make meaningful progress on a wide range of pressing social challenges the nation currently confronts.

    Beyond core programme design, ongoing talks have also centered on how the Ubuntu Movement’s initiative can complement, rather than duplicate, existing youth-focused projects run by the government and local community groups. The partnership is positioned to expand access to structured youth development opportunities across the island, reaching more young people in underserved areas that existing initiatives have not fully served. Emma Hippolyte, Saint Lucia’s Minister for Equity, Social Justice, Gender and Older Persons, framed the proposed partnership as part of a broader government strategy to strengthen ties with grassroots organizations already doing impactful work in local communities. Hippolyte pointed out that dozens of non-governmental organizations across the island already run similar youth and community development programs, and formal government partnership can strengthen their existing work, amplify their reach, and ensure that more community members see tangible improvements in their daily lives.

    Rooted in the traditional Southern African philosophical principle of “I am because we are,” the Ubuntu Movement centers its work on the values of collective responsibility and shared community well-being. The organization has already established a track record of impactful work across Saint Lucia, having previously supported community-led violence intervention programs in three major population centers: Castries, Vieux Fort and Soufriere. Those previous initiatives were co-led by the movement’s Deputy President, Honourable Priest Kailash. If finalized, the proposed government partnership will scale up the movement’s work to advance three core priorities: empowering young Saint Lucians to take leadership roles, growing a culture of active volunteerism across the country, and embedding peacebuilding work at the local level. The ultimate goal of the collaboration is to support the development of safer, more socially connected and more resilient communities across all of Saint Lucia.

  • Remembering Dominican victims of 9/11

    Remembering Dominican victims of 9/11

    On the 25th anniversary of one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in modern history, communities across the United States and around the globe are pausing to reflect on the lives cut short on September 11, 2001. On that fateful Tuesday morning, four coordinated suicide attacks targeted key sites across New York City and Washington D.C., with two hijacked commercial planes crashing into the iconic Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan. This attack remains the deadliest act of terrorism ever carried out on United States soil, leaving a permanent mark on global collective memory.

    Among the nearly 3,000 people who lost their lives that day were two Dominican natives: 40-year-old Fitzroy St. Rose and 62-year-old Virgin Lucy Francis, whose legacies are being remembered by their home nation this anniversary.

    St. Rose, born in April 1961 in Canefield, Dominica, built a life rooted in service long before he moved to the Bronx, New York. A graduate of St. Mary’s Academy, he worked as a firefighter in his home country before migrating to the U.S., where he took up a role as a computer technician for General Telecom on the 96th floor of One World Trade Center. Close friends remember him as a kind-hearted man with a gentle smile and a steady, optimistic demeanor, noting he carried himself with particular pride when doing quiet acts of good for others. After the first plane collided with his tower, St. Rose managed to place several calls to his mother to let her know what was unfolding. When the towers collapsed, search teams combed through rubble and checked every hospital across New York in a frantic, desperate search for survivors, but no trace of St. Rose was ever found, and the grim reality of his death was soon confirmed.

    For Virgin Lucy Francis, 9/11 cut short a life of steady work and quiet dedication. Born in Dominica in March 1939, Francis lived briefly in Barbados before permanently moving to the United States in 1986. She worked as a housekeeper at Windows on the World, the iconic restaurant and event space located on the 107th floor of the World Trade Center’s North Tower. Described by her family as a woman who took enormous pride in her work, Francis almost always arrived earlier than her scheduled shift. On the morning of the attack, she was set to start at 9:00 AM, but caught the A train from Fulton Street and reached the building well before the first plane struck. More than two decades later, her family still grapples with the shock of her loss, unable to fully accept that she is gone.

    Today, the names of St. Rose, Francis, and all 2,983 victims of the 9/11 attacks are permanently inscribed into bronze parapets surrounding the two giant memorial pools that sit in the footprints where the Twin Towers once stood. Each year, on the anniversary of the attack, visitors run their fingers over the etched names, leaving flowers and mementos to honor the lives that were lost.

  • Reconstructed St Dominic’s RC School Block #5 handed over

    Reconstructed St Dominic’s RC School Block #5 handed over

    On September 10, 2026, the Government of Grenada marked a major milestone in national educational infrastructure development with an official ceremony to celebrate the handover of the fully reconstructed St Dominic’s RC School Block #5. More than just an upgraded learning space, the new facility is purpose-built as a climate-resilient structure that doubles as a certified emergency shelter for the surrounding St David community, delivering dual benefits for education and public safety.

    The EC$1.436 million reconstruction project was financed through the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) via its Basic Needs Trust Fund Programme, with local contractor H Lewis Construction Limited tapped to complete the works. Construction kicked off on June 3, 2024, and wrapped up on August 28, 2026, two weeks ahead of the official handover ceremony. The upgraded block includes a suite of modern improvements: four fully updated classrooms, dedicated administrative office space for teaching staff, new compliant washroom facilities, fully replaced electrical and plumbing systems, integrated fire detection and alarm infrastructure, upgraded telecommunications connectivity, improved on-site drainage, reinforced concrete walkways, and a range of supporting external site works.

    Addressing attendees at the handover event, Dr. Solomon Isaac, CDB Vice President of Operations, underlined that sustained investment in educational infrastructure remains a core pillar of inclusive national development and community empowerment across the Caribbean. “The Caribbean Development Bank is proud to have partnered with the Government of Grenada on this transformative project, which advances three critical priorities: quality education, climate resilience, and community-led development,” Dr. Isaac said. “We are honored to help create safe, modern learning environments for Grenada’s young people, and we remain committed to supporting ongoing educational and social development programs that lift up communities and expand opportunity across the country.”

    Grenada Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell, who also serves as the Member of Parliament for the St David constituency, emphasized that the new facility represents far more than concrete and steel—it is a tangible investment in Grenada’s future. “This new block sends a clear message to our young people: we believe in you, which is why we choose to invest in you,” Prime Minister Mitchell stated. “Education is one of the most impactful investments a government can make for its nation. When we invest in our children’s education, we invest in Grenada’s future, our workforce, our communities, and our long-term, sustainable development.”

    The Prime Minister went on to note that every child in Grenada deserves a safe, modern, and comfortable space to learn, grow, and pursue their personal and academic goals. “With the completion of this reconstructed block, our students now have an environment that is intentionally designed to support quality education, encourage academic excellence, and help every student reach their full potential,” he explained. “As a climate-resilient structure and officially designated emergency shelter, it will also serve as a secure refuge for local community members when disaster strikes. This is an investment in both education and national resilience.”

    Beyond its core role as a school facility, the upgraded block significantly enhances the school’s ability to operate as an emergency shelter, offering improved safety and reliable accommodation for St David residents during hurricanes, flooding, or other national emergencies—an increasingly critical function as small island developing states across the Caribbean face growing climate-related risks.

    The Government of Grenada formally extended its gratitude to all stakeholders who contributed to the project’s successful completion, including the CDB through the Basic Needs Trust Fund Programme, the Roman Catholic Church, St Dominic’s RC School administration, H Lewis Construction Limited, and all partner groups that supported the initiative.

    The completion of Block #5 marks another key milestone in the steady development of the St David region, embodying the government’s ongoing commitment to upgrading educational infrastructure that boosts student learning outcomes, strengthens community cohesion, and expands opportunity for current and future generations. As students prepare to move into their new classrooms this academic term, the reconstructed facility stands as a lasting symbol of collaborative progress, climate resilience, cross-sector partnership, and a shared national commitment to investing in Grenada’s most valuable asset: its people.

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