分类： society

More than a century after the formal abolition of chattel slavery in the Caribbean, a small group of pioneering Black medical professionals returned to their home region after training abroad, laying the foundation for accessible, quality care for local communities that had long been abandoned by formal healthcare systems. Among these trailblazers was Dr. Cuthwyn Lake, only the third Black general surgeon to serve the people of Antigua and Barbuda, following in the footsteps of Dr. Noel Margetson and Dr. Ivor Heath, alongside pioneering obstetrician-gynecologist Dr. William Joseph. For generations of local residents, the transformative impact of their work remains a hidden but foundational part of the nation’s public health history.

Before these physicians returned to their home region, the reality of healthcare for Black communities in the post-abolition Caribbean reflected the deeply entrenched inequalities of the past. During slavery, formal medical care existed exclusively for the white planter class, and care for enslaved people was only provided to maintain their ability to perform grueling plantation labor. Surgeons were even deployed to maul recaptured runaway slaves as punishment, amputating feet to discourage future escape attempts. Immediately after abolition, formerly enslaved people were no longer the property of plantation owners, and they lost what little inadequate care they had once received. For more than a century, local communities relied entirely on traditional bush medicines to treat all manner of ailments, a reality documented vividly in *To Shoot Hard Labour*, the oral history of Antiguan working man Papa Sammy that many public health advocates argue should be required reading for all secondary students in the country.

The work of returning physicians like Lake and his peers changed this reality overnight. Alongside local nurses who stepped in to fill every role, including serving as operating room assistants, these pioneers eliminated widespread preventable illnesses and conditions that had ravaged local communities for generations. Thanks to their work, rates of goiter dropped dramatically, countless people received life-saving care for debilitating conditions like large hydroceles, uterine fibroids, and ovarian cysts, and mortality from preventable conditions like ruptured appendices and childbirth complications plummeted. Today, most people under 50 in Antigua and Barbuda have never experienced the widespread public health crises that were common before these pioneers began their work.

Lake’s story is intertwined with the broader history of Caribbean medical progress. A close contemporary of Dr. Cuthbert Sebastian, the Antigua-born surgeon who rose to become Governor-General of St. Kitts and Nevis and published *One Hundred Years of Medicine in St. Kitts* in 2002, Lake’s experience mirrored that of medical pioneers across every Eastern Caribbean territory. Sebastian’s account of regional healthcare development could easily be adapted to describe Antigua’s journey with almost no changes.

For Dr. James Knight, the author of this reflection, Lake was more than a pioneering public figure — he was a professional mentor who shaped his entire medical career. Knight first met Lake in January 1990, shortly after he graduated from a Cuban medical school and was waiting for his professional licensing to be processed. Lake, then a senior leader at Holberton Hospital, offered to support Knight’s onboarding once his licensing was finalized, and Knight began his clinical career working alongside Lake and Dr. Ramamuthi Bekal in the hospital’s operating room.

Knight remembers Lake as a level-headed, open-minded leader free of the prejudice and professional resentment that plagued many senior medical leaders of the era. He was a thoughtful man with broad general knowledge and a pragmatic approach to the challenges of public health in a small developing nation. When Knight asked Lake why he maintained a close relationship with then-Prime Minister V. C. Bird yet the hospital still regularly lacked basic supplies, Lake replied with characteristic candor: Politicians prioritize visible, popular projects like village basketball courts over behind-the-scenes hospital equipment that delivers far greater public good. Knight notes that even decades later, this misprioritization — favoring sensational, visible projects over the routine organizational and programmatic needs of healthcare — remains a persistent challenge for the region’s health systems.

Lake was also a forward-thinking healthcare planner who advocated for expanding and renovating Holberton Hospital on its existing site, arguing that the location offered ample room for future growth — a vision that many public health experts now recognize as prescient. Professionally, Lake guided Knight’s career at a critical juncture: when senior colleagues encouraged Knight to leave the hospital for a district medical officer role that offered greater opportunities for private practice, Lake refused to write a letter of recommendation, arguing that gaining broad experience across multiple hospital departments would be far more valuable for Knight’s long-term development. Knight would later call this advice life-changing: the six years of broad clinical experience he gained at Holberton gave him the confidence to become Barbuda’s first full-time resident doctor in 1997.

Even in challenging professional conflicts, Lake’s calm demeanor and humility won over even his critics. Early in his career at Barbuda, when nursing staff pushed back against his requirement for full eight-hour shifts, a retired Holberton matron noted that Knight’s measured response mirrored Lake’s approach. Though Lake was once nicknamed “Brutus” by nurses early in his career, his good humor, civility, and humility eventually won over all his detractors. By the end of his tenure, he counted staff across every role — from senior consultants to cleaners, cooks, and carpenters — among his most ardent supporters.

Working in an era before widespread access to specialized surgical care, Lake operated on every part of the human body, but his greatest skill was his deep understanding of human need. Unlike many leaders who saw the COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity for profit, Lake believed the crisis should be a moment to deepen empathy for vulnerable communities. It is for this reason that naming Antigua and Barbuda’s COVID-19 alternate treatment facility after Dr. Cuthwyn Lake was a fitting tribute. True to his surname, Lake was a steady, calm force like a great lake, a deep reservoir of knowledge who nourished the entire medical community, fostering a culture of excellence and lasting humility that continues to shape the nation’s healthcare to this day.

A labor dispute unfolding in Antigua and Barbuda has drawn sharp public attention over workplace due process and employer treatment of staff facing unexpected medical crises, after a former loan officer brought her former employer, Community First Co-Operative Credit Union, before the Industrial Court over what she calls a wrongful and unjust dismissal.

A long-standing pedestrian hazard on Popeshead Street has been eliminated after an unpermitted set of steps that encroached on public walkway space was torn down, clearing the path for foot traffic and eliminating the dangerous need for pedestrians to step into active vehicle lanes. Local official Turner, who has long pushed for a fix to the issue, noted that anyone familiar with the busy corridor is well aware of the persistent problem the obstruction created. For years, the jutting steps narrowed the usable sidewalk dramatically, forcing all types of travelers – from commuters heading into the nearby St. John’s neighborhood to customers visiting local commercial establishments – to divert their path off the walkway and into moving traffic. This put walkers, including people with mobility devices, parents with strollers, and children, at constant risk of collisions with passing vehicles. Now, following the completion of the demolition work, that risk is gone. “Not anymore,” Turner confirmed in a statement shortly after the steps were fully removed. The project was launched specifically to upgrade pedestrian accessibility and overall street safety along the busy Popeshead Street corridor. Turner emphasized that this demolition work is far more than a minor construction job; it serves as a clear example of how small, targeted public space improvements can deliver tangible, meaningful benefits to the community that improve daily life for everyone who uses the street.

On Tuesday, hundreds of mourners spanning family, political leaders, loyal friends and community supporters filled the SJPC House of Restoration Ministries to lay to rest Mary-Clare Hurst, a pioneering Antiguan and Barbudan public servant who passed away on May 5 at 63. It was here that Apostle Dr. Stephen Andrews delivered a keynote sermon that balanced tribute to Hurst’s trailblazing career with a deeply theological reflection on mortality, grief, and Christian hope.

Andrews opened his remarks by honoring Hurst’s historic contributions to the nation’s political and labor landscape. As the first woman to hold the role of general secretary of the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party, Hurst shattered gender barriers throughout her decades of public life, going on to serve multiple terms in the country’s Senate. During her tenure, she also held prominent leadership positions including Leader of Government Business and Minister of State for Tourism, leaving a lasting mark on the nation’s governance and public service.

Rather than dwelling exclusively on Hurst’s professional accomplishments, Andrews steered his sermon toward the universal human experience of death, drawing heavily on Christian scripture to frame its meaning and the hope that faith offers. Citing 1 Corinthians 15:26, he described death as “the last enemy to be destroyed” — an uninvited force that makes no exceptions for status or achievement, acting as “the great separator” that cuts short relationships, interrupts lifelong work, and leaves indelible pain in its wake. Andrews acknowledged that death strips people of their sense of control and certainty, and that humanity’s instinctive resistance to this loss drives centuries of progress in medicine, caregiving, and life preservation.

Yet he also noted that the inevitability of death carries a vital lesson: it compels people to prioritize the relationships that give life meaning, and to express love and appreciation to loved ones while they still have the chance. “It is death that forces us to cherish our time on the earth and to have a deep appreciation for relationship,” Andrews told the gathered crowd, urging attendees to live intentionally and not take time with loved ones for granted.

Returning repeatedly to biblical teaching, Andrews explained that Christian doctrine frames death as an intruder that entered the world through sin, but that its ultimate power was broken by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Describing the resurrection as a verifiable historical event witnessed by hundreds of early followers, he argued that Christ’s victory over death transformed it from a final end to a transitional passage into eternal life for believers. “The Scripture emphasises the fact that through Christ, this enemy has been defeated, stripped of its power, and will one day be utterly destroyed,” he said.

Quoting the Apostle Paul’s famous challenge to death — “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” — Andrews added that Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection frees believers from the lifelong fear of death. For followers of Christ, he explained, to leave one’s physical body is to enter immediately into the presence of God, a truth that offers profound comfort to grieving families. He pointed to the Book of Revelation’s promise of a future new creation where “God will wipe away every tear”, eliminating death, mourning, pain and suffering forever.

In closing, Andrews urged attendees not to view the funeral only as a moment of loss, but to reflect on their own lives and spiritual futures. “None of us knows our time,” he said. “But there is hope.” Following the sermon, he led a special prayer for Hurst’s surviving family, asking God to grant them strength, peace, and endurance through the difficult grieving process ahead, and that they would find comfort in their memories of Hurst and confidence in the Christian promise of eternal life.

Hurst’s funeral drew one of the largest public gatherings in recent Antiguan and Barbudan political memory, a testament to the respect and admiration the community held for a leader who dedicated her life to breaking barriers and serving the public good.

This week, hundreds of elementary school students across the twin-island nation of Antigua and Barbuda are participating in one of the most significant standardized evaluations of their early academic careers: the Grade 6 National Assessment. Ahead of the high-stakes testing period, Education Minister Daryll Matthew has extended a message of support and perspective to the young test-takers, aiming to ease anxiety and reinforce a balanced view of educational success.

In his public address to the candidates, Matthew urged students to step into their examination rooms with self-assurance and steady resolve. “Believe in yourselves, stay focused, and do your best,” the minister advised, encouraging young people to draw on the months of preparation they have completed ahead of the assessment.

Beyond encouraging strong performance, Matthew emphasized a key reminder that often gets lost in conversations around standardized testing: a single examination cannot measure the full potential or inherent value of any student. He stressed that regardless of the scores students receive when results are released, they have already accomplished much to be proud of throughout their time in primary school.

“No matter the outcome, know that your worth is not defined by a single exam. We are proud of you and all that you have achieved thus far,” Matthew wrote in his statement. To close his message of encouragement, the minister extended spiritual well-wishes to all participating students, saying, “May God grant you wisdom, confidence, and success.”

The annual Grade 6 National Assessment serves as a key milestone for students in Antigua and Barbuda, marking the end of primary education and informing secondary school placement decisions. For many families and educators across the country, the assessment week brings a mix of anticipation and excitement for the young people moving forward in their educational journeys.