分类： society

The weeks-long build-up to the annual University of the West Indies Cave Hill Law Week reached its glamorous conclusion Thursday evening, as the legal community gathered at Barbados’ Savannah Beach Hotel for the coveted Law Society Legal Regal Gala. Framed around the creative theme of “Masquerade Night”, the event brought a refined, celebratory atmosphere to one of the law faculty’s most anticipated annual traditions.

Organized jointly by the student-run Law Society executive committee and the UWI Cave Hill Faculty of Law, the Legal Regal Gala has grown into a signature gathering that bridges classroom learning and professional connection, bringing students, faculty and established legal professionals together for an evening of dinner, networking and recognition. This year’s gathering drew a roster of distinguished guests, led by guest of honor Philip J. Pierre, Prime Minister of Saint Lucia. In attendance alongside Pierre were Dr. Antonius R. Hippolyte, Dean of the Faculty of Law; Dr. Ronnie Yearwood, Deputy Dean of Academic and Student Affairs; and faculty members Carla Ali and Jaydene Thomas.

In opening remarks, outgoing Law Society President Darrion Poyotte-Lionel reflected on the event’s core purpose, noting that it gives aspiring legal professionals space to celebrate their progress through the notoriously rigorous curriculum of legal education. “Legal Regal has always stood as a hallmark event within the faculty—one that brings together students, faculty, and members of the wider legal community in a space that is both professional and celebratory,” Poyotte-Lionel told attendees. “It is a reminder that while the study of law is rigorous, it is also deeply human—built on relationships, shared experiences, and a collective pursuit of growth.”

As a UWI alumnus himself, Pierre brought a personal perspective to his keynote address, opening by highlighting the institution’s long legacy of shaping influential leaders who have gone on to make transformative impacts across global academia and professional industries. Beyond celebrating that legacy, the Prime Minister—who also holds cabinet portfolios for finance, constituency development, people empowerment, justice and national security—laid out a series of urgent priorities UWI must address to retain its position as the Caribbean’s leading academic institution.

Pierre emphasized that academic programs and administrative processes must evolve continuously to meet modern demands, identifying intentional technology integration as a critical investment to keep UWI the top higher education choice for students across the region. He also called for the development of a sustainable, ideally self-financing operating model with full buy-in from regional governments, warning that a lack of coordinated support risks increasing fragmentation of the cross-national institution.

A core point of Pierre’s address centered on expanding access for economically marginalized students, outlining a new initiative his own government has launched to open higher education to more Saint Lucians. His administration’s “one university per household” project, partially funded by the state, offers full-tuition first-generation scholarships to students with no prior family history of university attendance. “These policies seek to create some level of equity and the basis for wealth creation, and an end to intergenerational poverty,” Pierre explained.

The Prime Minister went on to touch on other pressing regional and global challenges, including climate change, economic diversification, technological innovation, and public security, framing each as a priority for emerging leaders graduating from UWI. He urged the student audience to develop context-specific solutions for the challenges within their reach, stressing that the university plays an irreplaceable role in navigating an increasingly shifting global geopolitical landscape.

“The UWI must never lose its place as a leader in the world of intellectual, social and economical activism. A place where critical thinking prevails, but it must also be able to provide solutions for problems of decision makers,” Pierre added.

Following the keynote, the evening continued with structured networking opportunities for students to connect with faculty and legal practitioners, alongside special awards recognizing outstanding academic achievement from first, second and third-year law students. Attendees were also treated to live entertainment performed by fellow Faculty of Law students, before the event closed with the official public announcement of the 2026–2027 Law Society Executive leadership team.

In the quiet rural community of Bayleys Plantation Road in St Philip, Barbados, a decades-long public health crisis has finally been brought to light by frustrated local residents, who say repeated illegal dumping of waste — including decaying animal carcasses and discarded household appliances — has upended their daily lives and damaged local livelihoods.

Local farmer Alvin Wilson, one of the most vocal critics of the ongoing problem, recently spoke out against those responsible for the reckless dumping, describing the toll the unregulated waste has taken on the area’s residents and farms. When a reporter from Barbados TODAY visited the community this Friday, Wilson led a tour of multiple dumping sites along the main highway, where discarded old refrigerators, stoves and other large appliances sit abandoned alongside piles of general household rubbish.

The most alarming find, however, lies on the only access road leading to Wilson’s home, his farm, and the properties of his neighbors: a large flour bag stuffed full of dead chickens, swarming with flies and emitting a putrid stench that hangs in the air along the entire stretch of road. Wilson explained that this type of dumping is far from an isolated incident. For years, the area has been a regular dumping ground for unwanted waste, ranging from dead farm animals to broken home appliances.

“Mostly it’s dead animals we find here — chickens, sometimes pigs, sometimes sheep,” he said. “And it’s not just animals. You also get old fridges, old stoves, all kinds of rubbish. This has been going on for years now.” The stench from decomposing animal carcasses is so strong that it has immediate health impacts for anyone passing by. Wilson told reporters he already had a splitting headache on the day of the visit, brought on by direct exposure to the foul odor coming from the latest dump site.

This most recent batch of dead chickens was dumped earlier this week, Wilson said — and brazenly, in the middle of the day, not under cover of darkness that dumpers usually rely on. “I’d say it was Tuesday afternoon this was dumped here, not even at night. It was broad daylight when they left that batch of dead chickens right here,” he explained, gesturing to the fly-blown bag behind him.

What makes the situation particularly untenable for local residents is that this dumping is happening on the only road connecting their homes and farms to the rest of the island. Every single person who lives or works in the area has to pass the dumping sites multiple times a day, no exceptions. “You have to pass there to get home, and you have to pass there to get to the farmlands — this entire area is surrounded by agricultural land,” Wilson said.

The stretch of road from Mapps to Golden Grove has become the preferred dumping ground for perpetrators, he explained, because it is poorly lit at night, making it easy for truck drivers and even local homeowners to drop off unwanted waste unseen. But what worries Wilson most is that dumpers have become so emboldened by the lack of enforcement that they are now willing to dump in broad daylight, a sign the problem is growing worse rather than improving. “Something needs to be done about these culprits,” he emphasized.

Longtime resident Wilbert Gollop, who has lived in the area for 16 years, confirmed that the illegal dumping has been a persistent problem throughout his time in the community. He recalled one Sunday after returning home from worship at the Kingdom Hall, he found a large, dead ram sheep bloated and stinking right on the roadside just a short distance from where he stood speaking to reporters.

Gollop also had his own run-in with the bag of dead chickens, discovering it shortly after dumpers left it on the road. He said that in addition to dumping dead animals, some irresponsible actors have even released live chickens onto the roadside, where the animals are left to starve to death before becoming part of the waste problem. “I’ve never seen anything like it. They release dozens of live chickens here, and with no one to feed them, they all die along the road,” Gollop said. “It’s pigs, it’s dogs, mainly chickens — they just come dump whenever they feel like it, no regard for anyone who lives here. It’s ridiculous. You wouldn’t want this dumped outside your door, so why do it to us?”

Unlike waste handled by official authorities, residents are forced to clean up the mess dumpers leave behind, Gollop explained. When the dead ram was dumped near his home, it was so close that flies from the carcass began moving into his house, leaving him no choice but to handle the disposal himself. “I had to drag it out to the pasture, get wood and tires, and burn it myself. That should never have been my job,” he said. “If you’re raising chickens and making money from it, why should local residents be stuck with the cost and work of disposing your waste? Why do you get to dump it next to people’s homes and on our road?”

For Wilson, the problem is not just a public health nuisance — it is an active threat to his livelihood. His farm, which grows pumpkins, butternut squash, watermelon, okra and cucumbers, relies on customers being able to access his property to buy produce. Now, many customers refuse to travel through the foul-smelling, partially blocked road, and Wilson is losing critical revenue as a result.

“This year, customers aren’t coming back through here because it stinks, and the road is blocked,” he said. “I’m losing revenue right now. I’ve had to start delivering all my produce to customers myself, which takes time I don’t have — and I don’t get compensated for that extra time and cost. What’s worse, some customers tell me they just won’t come at all anymore, so I end up stuck with produce I can’t sell. Sometimes sales get delayed for days just because we can’t get products out easily.”

Wilson said he has already reached out to the Sanitation Service Authority and the Ministry of Health to report the ongoing problem, and during Barbados TODAY’s visit to the area, reporters observed health inspectors conducting an on-site assessment of the dumping sites.

In closing, Wilson issued a direct plea to those responsible for the dumping to change their behavior immediately. “Stop the dumping,” he urged. “If you have dead animals to dispose of, call the relevant authorities and let them handle the waste properly. At the end of the day, this is affecting real people’s lives. Don’t put us through something you would never want to deal with yourself.”

Across Barbados, a quiet, community-led revolution in autism care and support is gaining momentum, driven by a mother’s personal journey and a commitment to ensuring no family affected by autism navigates their challenges in isolation. At the center of this growing movement is Evening Stars Barbados (ESB), a volunteer-led nonprofit organization established in 2025 by Sonia Maloney, whose experience raising an autistic daughter inspired her to turn personal struggle into a mission of widespread change.

In an exclusive interview with local outlet Barbados TODAY, Maloney shared that her 13-year-old daughter’s diagnosis and the subsequent challenges of navigating existing support systems revealed critical gaps that extended far beyond her own experience. After connecting with other parents of autistic children, she confirmed these systemic shortcomings were not isolated incidents, prompting her to launch an organization that could guide families through complex processes and help them avoid the obstacles she had encountered.

The core unmet need ESB was created to address is the lack of structured support for autistic children and their families outside of standard school hours—a gap that places disproportionate strain on low-income and single-parent households. To solve this, the nonprofit has centered its work on three key priorities: direct practical support, community education, and systemic advocacy, all while partnering with established disability organizations rather than competing with them.

Practically, ESB offers two immediate, high-impact services: after-school programming for autistic children and respite care that gives caregivers much-needed breaks to preserve their personal and financial independence. Looking ahead, Maloney has laid out an ambitious plan to expand this practical support with an innovative cooperative model that allows neurodivergent people and parents with marketable skills to sell their crafts and products through an ESB shop, helping families retain economic stability while building community.

Education forms the second foundational pillar of the organization, with monthly workshops open to parents, educators, and community members. Maloney noted that three-quarters of past workshop attendees have been classroom teachers, revealing a clear unmet demand for training: most educators report feeling under-equipped to support autistic students and are actively seeking evidence-based guidance to create more inclusive learning environments. The next public workshop is scheduled for April 14 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Black Rock Chapel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with open registration available via the organization’s Facebook page.

To mark Autism Awareness Month, ESB has also been conducting outreach to primary and secondary schools across the island, leading informational sessions for both parents and teachers to deepen public understanding of autism. Maloney emphasized that one of the most persistent cultural barriers to support is the stigma that leaves many autistic children invisible: many self-regulatory behaviors commonly misunderstood by the general public are simply healthy coping mechanisms for autistic people, a misconception that targeted education can correct.

To build long-term cultural change, Maloney argues that education must start early, teaching younger generations about neurodiversity and how to support their autistic peers. On a systemic level, she is advocating for simple, inclusive changes across all Barbadian schools—not just special education facilities—including adding small sensory-friendly spaces in every classroom to give autistic students the environment they need to thrive. “Inclusion is not segregation. It is making sure every child gets what they need to be able to function,” she explained.

While Maloney acknowledged that public awareness of autism has improved in Barbados in recent years, she stressed that widespread acceptance and comprehensive support remain out of reach for too many families. As a volunteer-driven nonprofit affiliated with the community giving network Give Back Barbados, the organization relies on ongoing support from the public, with recruitment for new volunteers open via ESB’s social media channels.

ESB also prioritizes collaboration over competition, partnering with long-standing local groups including the Autism Association of Barbados and the Barbados Council for the Disabled to amplify existing services rather than duplicate them. At its core, the organization is built on the values of hope, dignity, and radical inclusion, with a vision of a Barbados where every autistic child is valued, fully supported, and given the space to shine. Far from waiting for systemic change to come from the top down, Maloney and the ESB community are building that future from the ground up: “We’re not waiting… we’re helping ourselves. We’re advocating for our communities,” she said.