标签： Barbados

As thousands of Barbadian students gear up for the high-stakes Barbados Secondary School Entrance Examination (BSSEE), the leader of the island nation’s largest educators’ union is offering an empowering message to ease pre-test anxiety and reframe how students think about success. Rudy Lovell, president of the Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT), has released a public statement targeting test-takers, encouraging them to set aside nervousness and focus on delivering the strongest effort they can, rather than obsessing over final outcomes.

Lovell’s message centers on a simple but impactful reminder for young test-takers: while the BSSEE is an important academic milestone, it does not determine a student’s worth or long-term potential. “As you approach this moment, remember that your job is simple: do your very best. Success is not measured only by results, but by the effort, discipline, and determination you bring to the task,” Lovell shared in his address to students.

Beyond reframing the definition of success, the union president also offered practical guidance to help students perform their best on exam day. He urged candidates to lean on the months of preparation they have already completed with their teachers, reminding them that their hard work in the classroom has laid the foundation for success. “Stay calm, think clearly, and approach each question with confidence. Believe in your abilities and maintain a positive mindset throughout,” he added.

In a move to reinforce that students do not face this challenge alone, Lovell emphasized that every candidate has a broad support network rooting for them, regardless of how they perform on the test. “This examination does not define who you are… your teachers, families, and communities are all standing behind you, cheering you on,” he said. The message comes as annual BSSEE assessments get underway, with educators across the country echoing similar calls for balanced perspectives amid the traditional pressure surrounding secondary school placement exams.

For 17-year-old Noi Jemmott, what started as minor discomfort – a small headache and spells of dizziness during school days – rapidly escalated into a devastating health crisis that has upended the entire Jemmott family’s life. Within just a few days of first noticing symptoms, the Barbadian teen received a diagnosis of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL), an aggressive, fast-spreading blood cancer. What was once a routine life of attending classes suddenly shifted to a permanent hospital stay in Colombia, where Noi has now begun the first round of specialized, life-saving cancer treatment.

Even as the family navigates crippling fear, crippling uncertainty, and jaw-dropping medical bills, Noi’s father Janson Jemmott says one bright thread has cut through the darkness: the extraordinary outpouring of love and generosity from people across his home country of Barbados. In an emotional interview with Barbados TODAY, Jemmott shared that the overwhelming wave of community support has left him humbled, and restored his belief in collective goodness at a time when his family is living through their darkest chapter.

“In a world where we see so much bad news every day – wars breaking out across continents, constant shootings, so much negativity everywhere – the one incredible positive I have seen is how many people have stepped up to donate for Noi,” Jemmott said. “I truly believe this is all driven by love. That is the one thing I will carry with me through this whole journey.”

Fighting back tears, Jemmott added that the compassion shown to his daughter, whose quiet courage has touched hearts across Barbados and beyond, has moved him beyond words. “The support has been incredible, and I want to thank every single person who has stood with us so far,” he said. “I am totally blown away by what we have received. It leaves me so emotional every time I think about it.”

Noi departed Barbados on a Saturday morning for Colombia, where oncologists are currently conducting comprehensive blood testing to identify the exact subtype of ALL she is living with, and design the most effective, personalized treatment plan. While the community’s immediate fundraising response has been extraordinary, the financial burden facing the family remains immense. Jemmott shared that more than $100,000 USD has already been raised to cover Noi’s care – a remarkable start that has kept the family afloat in the first weeks – but far more funding will be needed in the coming months.

“The first invoice we received for the first month of treatment alone was $130,000 USD, that’s equal to $260,000 Barbadian dollars,” Jemmott explained. “Noi will need to stay in Colombia for treatment anywhere between six months to a full year, so it’s almost impossible to pin down the final total cost right now. We set a target of $400,000 USD on the GoFundMe page, and we hope that will be enough, but we still don’t know exactly how much we will end up needing.”

For Jemmott, the diagnosis hit especially hard because of the kind, driven young woman he has watched Noi grow into. “My daughter is such a lovely young lady, and I don’t say that just because she’s my daughter – I really admire this girl,” he said. “Every morning I drop her off at community college and watch her walk in, and I just think about how good she is. When I got the diagnosis, I kept asking, what kind of joke is this? What am I supposed to learn from this? But through all of this, Noi has stayed so strong… she hasn’t changed, she’s still the same amazing girl.”

Medically, ALL is an aggressive blood cancer that develops when immature white blood cells called lymphoblasts multiply uncontrollably in the bone marrow, pushing out healthy, functional blood cells. It is the most common form of childhood leukemia, with symptoms including fatigue, frequent infections, unexplained bruising or bleeding, bone pain, and fever, and it typically progresses over just a few days or weeks. Without prompt treatment, ALL spreads rapidly, but modern medical advances – including intensive chemotherapy, targeted therapies, and stem cell transplants when needed – mean that many children and young adults now achieve long-term remission or a full cure.

As Noi continues her battle against cancer far from her home in Barbados, Jemmott is asking community members to continue offering whatever support they can, whether through donations or prayers for Noi’s recovery. Anyone who wishes to contribute to Noi’s treatment fund can visit the GoFundMe page at: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-noi-jemmott-fly-to-colombia-for-lifesaving-treatment.

A 27-year-old male resident of St. Michael, Barbados has been ordered into pre-trial custody at a state prison following his initial court appearance in a weapons-related criminal case. The defendant, Trasuon Romario Roger Alleyne, who lives in the Morris Gap neighborhood along Westbury Road, was taken into police custody and formally charged by investigators from the Barbados Police Service’s elite Serious Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) on April 30. The two charges against him include illegal possession of a firearm and unlawful possession of 26 rounds of live ammunition.

Alleyne made his first court appearance this week on Monday, May 4, before Chief Magistrate Douglas Frederick at the District ‘A’ Criminal Court No. 1. Under the island nation’s legal procedures for serious indictable offenses, Alleyne was not required to enter a formal plea during this initial hearing. Following the brief proceeding, the Chief Magistrate ordered that Alleyne be remanded to the custody of the Barbados Prison Service at the Dodds Correctional Facility, where he will remain behind bars leading up to his next court date.

The case has been formally transferred from the initial criminal court to the District ‘A’ Traffic Court, with the next procedural hearing scheduled for June 1. As the legal process moves forward, no additional details about the circumstances of the alleged weapons possession or any other context surrounding the arrest have been released by law enforcement officials as of this reporting.

A 25-year-old resident of Christ Church, Barbados, has been ordered into pretrial custody at Dodds Prison after a court appearance this week, facing a broad suite of criminal charges spanning theft and serious driving violations.

Nathan Emmanuel Malik Lovell, who lives in the Inch Marlow neighborhood of the parish, was taken into custody and formally indicted by the Barbados Police Service for offenses he is alleged to have committed over a four-day period between April 21 and April 25 this year. The charges against Lovell include the theft of a commercial motor van valued at an estimated 52,000 Barbados dollars, plus a separate count of stealing additional personal property worth $12,340. He also faces counts of possession of criminal apparatus and theft of services, commonly referred to as theft of use.

Beyond the theft-related allegations, Lovell has additionally been charged with four separate driving offenses: improper overtaking that violates road traffic regulations, failing to bring a vehicle to a stop following a road accident, operating a motor vehicle without the legally required third-party insurance coverage, and driving without holding a valid, current driver’s license issued by Barbados’ transport authorities.

Lovell made his initial court appearance on Monday, May 4, before Chief Magistrate Douglas Frederick at District ‘A’ Criminal Court No. 1. Under Barbados’ criminal procedure rules, Lovell was not required to enter a plea to the indictable offenses that fall under the court’s jurisdiction. Following the brief hearing, Chief Magistrate Frederick ordered Lovell to be remanded into the custody of the Barbados Prison Service, where he will remain held at the Dodds correctional facility pending his next court date.

All of the outstanding matters against Lovell, including both the theft and traffic violation charges, have been transferred to the District ‘A’ Traffic Court, with the next procedural hearing scheduled to take place on June 1.

The Caribbean public health and advocacy community is mourning the loss of one of its most influential leaders, Tessa Chadderton-Shaw, a long-serving mental health and substance abuse educator who died Sunday at Queen Elizabeth Hospital following a short, unexpected illness.

Chadderton-Shaw leaves behind an unmatched legacy of public service spanning more than three decades, across roles in non-profit leadership, academia, and regional governance. Most notably, she helmed Barbados’ National Council on Substance Abuse (NCSA) for 14 years, serving as the organization’s manager from August 1996 through March 2010, guiding the body through critical expansion of its public education and prevention mandates.

Beyond her transformative work at NCSA, Chadderton-Shaw built a reputation as a dedicated educator and skilled project leader across multiple regional institutions. For over 13 years, she held a lectureship at the University of the West Indies’ Cave Hill campus, where she taught courses spanning business administration, project management, and language arts, shaping the careers of hundreds of emerging Caribbean professionals. Her resume also includes senior roles such as special projects coordinator at Barbados Conference Services Limited, project manager for the CARICOM Secretariat, and executive director of the Caribbean Regional Anti-Doping Organization (RADO), demonstrating her versatile ability to drive progress across diverse public sectors.

Current NCSA manager Betty Hunte, who began her career working under Chadderton-Shaw’s leadership, paid heartfelt tribute to her former mentor this week, highlighting her unyielding commitment to public service. Hunte described Chadderton-Shaw’s leadership style as defined by relentless tenacity and unshakable determination, noting that once the trailblazing leader set a goal, no obstacle could stop her from delivering results.

“When something was decided, we knew it would be done come hell or high water,” Hunte recalled, emphasizing that Chadderton-Shaw was the office’s go-to problem-solver, capable of steering even the most complex, high-stakes initiatives to success. One of her most enduring contributions to Barbados public health, Hunte shared, was a 1990s/2000s fundraising campaign to launch a groundbreaking school-based drug education program. Chadderton-Shaw led the drive to raise $250,000 for the initiative, which created a mobile drug education classroom housed in a converted bus that traveled to every primary school across Barbados. The program remains the only one of its kind in the country decades later, reaching generations of young Barbadians with life-saving prevention information.

Hunte also recalled Chadderton-Shaw’s relentless work ethic, noting that staff often received calls from her at all hours of the day and night as she clarified details, refined project documents, and pushed to advance the NCSA’s core mandate to reduce substance abuse across Barbados. Even after her retirement from the council, Chadderton-Shaw remained connected to the organization she built: when NCSA celebrated its 21st anniversary, she joined the festivities to be honored for her foundational contributions, an occasion current staff still cherish.

Chadderton-Shaw is survived by her husband Anthony Shaw and their two daughters, Miah and Haylee. Tributes continue to pour in from across the Caribbean public health and academic communities, honoring a leader whose work transformed substance abuse prevention and education across the region.

As thousands of Barbadian students prepare to sit for a range of critical national and regional exit examinations this assessment cycle, the Group of Concerned Parents of Barbados has extended its solidarity and well-wishes to young test-takers and their families, while pressing for long-overdue reforms to address deep-rooted systemic inequities in the country’s education sector.

The group’s spokesperson and coordinator Paula-Anne Moore extended targeted encouragement to the youngest cohort of examinees, who are currently undertaking the 11-Plus Barbados Secondary Schools’ Entrance Examination, alongside students completing vocational qualifications, Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) assessments, and students at the Barbados Community College (BCC).

To 11-Plus candidates, Moore extended a message of comfort, urging young people to approach their exams with calm focus and steady confidence. She also acknowledged the intense stress felt by parents and guardians across the country, advising caregivers to avoid transferring their own anxiety to their children during this high-stakes period. Reminding students that their worth extends far beyond a single test score, she emphasized that these assessments represent just one milestone in a lifelong journey, not a final judgment of their potential. “Your success does not depend on these results alone,” Moore said in her message. “Trust that your best effort is enough, and that the best chapter of your story is still ahead of you.”

Beyond extending well-wishes, Moore used the moment of national exam season to shine a light on structural failures that have created unfair barriers for low-income students across Barbados. As the government moves forward with national education transformation initiatives, she argued that resolving systemic inequities must be at the top of the policy agenda. Most notably, she called out the widespread expectation that families must pay for private tutoring — whether for 11-Plus preparation or CXC assessments — to secure strong exam results. This norm, Moore argued, is inherently unjust: it places disproportionate, crippling financial burdens on low-income households and deepens the disadvantages that marginalized students already face. “Privileged families take access to extra support for granted, but our education system should not compound the unfairness that already shapes life for children born into poverty,” she said.

Moore also addressed the proposed transition to digital and hybrid CXC exam formats, noting that the shift to e-testing for multiple-choice Paper 1 sections and hybrid testing for Paper 2 must be paused until full infrastructure readiness is achieved across all Barbadian schools. She said it is unreasonable to push forward with digital testing until every school has sufficient WiFi connectivity, functional devices, and robust IT capacity, and until all students and teachers have completed adequate training to use the new systems. Any rushed transition, she warned, would only create new barriers for under-resourced schools and deepen existing inequities.

Finally, Moore highlighted a key demographic shift that could create an opportunity for targeted education improvement: this year’s 11-Plus cohort is nearly 300 students smaller than the 2024 cohort, a decline that the group attributes to Barbados’ falling national birth rate. If this downward trend continues, Moore said, it will free up unused school capacity that can be reallocated to provide targeted learning support for students who require extra assistance, a shift that would help advance equity across the system.

Closing her statement, Moore reiterated the group’s prayer for all Barbadian students, urging them to approach their exams with confidence and reminding them that the entire community is rooting for their success.