标签： Barbados

Barbados is honoring the life and legacy of Larry Tatem, a pioneering local businessman and former chairman of the Bridgetown Port, who passed away on Monday morning. His death was officially confirmed by Prime Minister Mia Mottley, who delivered a heartfelt tribute highlighting Tatem’s far-reaching, understated contributions to the nation’s development.

Widely recognized as a foundational figure in Barbados’ hospitality supply sector, Tatem founded Hotel Food Supplies Ltd., an enterprise that operates under the umbrella of Lach Ltd. What began as a small-scale venture with a modest warehouse in Paradise, just six employees, and a vision for reliable service, nearly 40 years ago grew into one of the country’s leading food import operations. Headquartered today at the Warrens Industrial Park, the company supplies a vast network of hotels, restaurants, and major institutional clients across the island, setting industry-wide standards for quality and consistency that have shaped Barbados’ tourism and hospitality ecosystem.

Prime Minister Mottley described Tatem as one of Barbados’ unsung “quiet builders” — leaders who prioritize national progress and steady growth over public recognition and fanfare. She noted that while many Barbadians may never have recognized Tatem’s face, the impact of his decades of work permeates nearly every corner of the island’s food service and tourism sectors. “That kind of growth does not happen by accident,” Mottley said in her official statement. “It comes from knowing your business, respecting your customers, treating your word as your bond and doing the work day after day, without fanfare.”

Beyond his success in the private sector, Tatem dedicated 15 years of public service to leading one of Barbados’ most critical economic infrastructure assets: the Bridgetown Port. He served as chairman of the port from 1994 through 2008, an era that saw major expansion, infrastructure modernization, and international recognition for the facility. Mirroring his approach to private enterprise, Tatem led the port through this transformative period with the same quiet diligence and focused effectiveness that defined his entire career, Mottley emphasized.

Outside of work, Tatem was a proud alumnus of Christ Church Foundation School and held a deep passion for cricket, connections that rooted him in his local community. On behalf of the entire government and people of Barbados, Prime Minister Mottley extended sincere condolences to Tatem’s family, friends, professional colleagues, and the entire staff of Hotel Food Supplies Ltd. She closed her tribute with a final blessing: “May his soul rest in peace and rise in glory.”

A fatal stabbing incident that claimed the life of a 38-year-old man in Barbados last week has led to formal murder charges against a local resident, according to official updates from the Barbados Police Service.

Dwayne Demar Garnes, 38, a resident of Haynesville’s Block 20D, has been officially accused in the death of Andre Maynard. Maynard, also 38, who lived in Redmans Village, St Thomas, lost his life on 19 May during a violent altercation that broke out in the St James district.

Law enforcement officers were dispatched to the scene after receiving urgent reports of a heated dispute between two men in Haynesville. Upon arrival, first responders confirmed Maynard was already deceased at the location of the incident.

Following the completion of initial investigative procedures, police took Garnes into custody and filed the formal murder charge. The accused is set to make his first court appearance at the Holetown Magistrates’ Court this coming Tuesday, 26 May, where the legal process surrounding the case will officially begin. As of the latest updates, no additional details about the motive behind the dispute or the circumstances leading up to the stabbing have been released to the public by law enforcement.

On Saturday, a community-focused workshop titled “Your Difference is Your Superpower” opened its doors at the Derrick Smith School and Vocational Centre in Barbados, offering parents, educators and frontline caregivers actionable, real-world tools and expert guidance to better uplift children navigating learning challenges. The event was organized by the Kiwanis Club of Pride of Barbados, in collaboration with the host vocational center and the Educational and Psychological Assessment Unit of The University of the West Indies.

The one-day gathering united child development specialists, K-12 educators, and family members across a packed schedule of interactive sessions. These sessions were crafted to help attendees spot early signs of learning difficulties in children, while also walking them through the full network of local support resources that are accessible to families.

According to Requell Griffith, who serves both as secretary of the Kiwanis Club of Pride of Barbados and lead of the organization’s Youth Services Committee, the workshop was developed directly in response to rising concerns from parents across Barbados. Many families have reached out to the club in recent years seeking structured guidance, as they struggle to find appropriate support for their children who face barriers within the national school system.

Griffith emphasized that the programming was intentionally inclusive, designed not just for children who struggle to keep pace with traditional academic expectations, but also for gifted learners who encounter unique challenges in standard classroom environments. Event organizers centered their planning around a clear core goal: to send every attendee home not just with new knowledge, but with concrete, step-by-step pathways to access ongoing support services for children.

“We wanted to make sure that in addition to having the information, that persons also have the resources and know where they can go once they’ve gotten the information to assist them and assist their children on their educational journey,” Griffith explained in an interview on the sidelines of the workshop.

Trained facilitators from The University of the West Indies led the majority of the day’s sessions, sharing evidence-based practical strategies, actionable care tips, and detailed breakdowns of local and national agencies that offer specialized support for children with learning difficulties.

For Griffith, the initiative is a deeply personal project, which she described as her “baby.” The idea first took root last year, after repeated conversations with parents who shared that they felt lost navigating the support system, unsure of where to turn for reliable help. “It came up with just conversations with parents and hearing the challenges that some parents experience with their children having learning difficulties and not knowing where to go, who to talk to, what information is out there,” she said.

At its core, the workshop was built to advance a broader mission: to deliver evidence-based, accessible high-quality information to families, and to bridge the gap between households and the specialized organizations and institutions that can help children thrive both in the classroom and in social settings. The event marks a key step forward in addressing unmet needs for caregiver support in Barbados, and organizers have signaled potential interest in expanding the initiative to reach more communities in coming months.

Caregiving for a dependent family member, loved one, or ward is far from a simple undertaking. The constant physical, emotional, and mental demands of the role often leave caregivers struggling under the weight of their responsibilities, even as public focus almost always remains on the people receiving care rather than the people providing it. On Friday, a small but impactful event at a Christ Church garden centre sought to change that narrative, carving out dedicated space to honor, listen to, and support caregivers whose tireless work often goes unrecognized.

Barbados TODAY reporters on site at Nature Care in Lowlands documented the event, a Mental Wellness Day hosted by staff from the Barbados Council for the Disabled (BCD) and led by counselling psychologist Janelle Skinner, who herself lives as a paraplegic. Drawing on both her professional expertise and personal experience as a disabled person relying on care from her mother, Skinner opened with a frank discussion of the little-discussed crisis of caregiver burnout.

“Caregiving drains you in every way – emotionally, physically, mentally – and burnout is a very real experience that far too many caregivers go through,” she explained. Skinner emphasized that caregivers cannot sustain their work without intentional breaks, even short ones, that let them step away from their role and recharge. “Too many caregivers operate in constant survival mode. They pour every bit of energy into the person they care for and completely ignore their own needs. They never stop to ask, ‘What will happen to the person I care for if something happens to me?’ That’s why creating spaces where caregivers can receive care themselves is so critical.”

Speaking from her own experience, Skinner noted that she has learned to spot early signs of burnout in her mother, Joan Skinner-Graham, who has served as her primary caregiver for 26 years. “I do everything I can do independently to reduce her load, but there are some things I cannot do on my own. The key is being attentive to those subtle signs that fatigue is building, both for the disabled person and the caregiver themselves.”

Skinner also pointed to the importance of professional support and strong personal networks, sharing that she sees a therapist herself to manage the emotional weight of her work and personal circumstances. “There is no shame in therapy – it helps. Having a support network means you always have people you can turn to, people who can step into the caregiving role temporarily so you can step back, reset, and refocus,” she said.

For Joan Skinner-Graham, the journey of caregiving began with a devastating phone call 26 years ago, when her daughter was on holiday in New York. “My niece called and said she had bad news. Janelle was in the hospital, paralyzed. I got on a flight the very next day and stayed with her until she could come home,” she recalled. Through decades of care, she has held fast to a core principle: never let the person you care for feel like a burden.

“When you care for a person with a disability, you must never let them see your frustration or anger,” she said. “They will internalize that, think they are a burden, and that sets back their own progress. If you feel overwhelmed, step away for a few minutes, take a breath, and come back when you are grounded. That small break makes all the difference.”

Now retired, Skinner-Graham admitted that the long-term weight of caregiving brings quiet worries, especially as she ages. “Many nights I pray for strength to be here for my daughter. What I’ve seen over the years is that unaddressed stress kills caregivers. Too many people bottle up their feelings instead of reaching out, and that stress makes them sick, and then there is no one left to care for them. That’s why we need more accessible counselling and support for caregivers – we need spaces to talk through what we’re feeling instead of holding it all in.”

When it comes to balancing daily care with other life responsibilities, Skinner-Graham relies on intentional planning and unapologetic self-care. “I plan out my days, and I stick to my plan. I get Janelle set up for her work day, handle household tasks, and when I need a break, I tell her straight: this is mommy’s time. I sit down, play my game, and recharge before I come back. There’s no shame in taking that time for yourself.”

BCD President Patricia Padmore-Blackman, who is blind and cares for a disabled son, echoed that call for intentional self-care for caregivers. “My son has been with me since birth, so it can feel like I never get a break. There are definitely days when I need to step away,” she said, crediting her own support network of family, friends, and professionals for helping her sustain her role over decades. “That support is non-negotiable. We can’t do this alone.”

BCD Operations Manager Roseanna Tudor explained that Friday’s gathering was designed specifically to prioritize the mental and emotional wellbeing of BCD’s own frontline staff, who navigate high-stress, emotionally demanding work supporting disabled people and their families every day. “This event was about reducing emotional fatigue, building stronger connections among staff, and creating a culture of psychological safety,” Tudor said. “When we invest in our staff’s wellbeing, that directly improves the quality of the services we deliver. We need workplaces that prioritize care for the people who care for others, and I encourage every organization to host similar events for their teams.”