标签： Saint Lucia

Over the next three days, three consecutive public town hall meetings will open a channel for community input on the draft designs of climate-resilient housing units developed under Saint Lucia’s landmark Green Affordable Housing Project (GAH).

First launched in 2021 by the Government of Saint Lucia, the GAH initiative was created to address a critical gap: making sustainable, climate-adapted housing accessible and affordable for the country’s low- and middle-income households. To advance this goal, the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) has partnered with two leading global climate and development bodies—the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF)—to support the government in mobilizing $7.5 million in funding for a flagship pilot project.

Under this pilot, 450 fully green-certified, climate-resilient homes will be constructed in the Balata district of Castries, the island nation’s capital. The planned residential units are designed to withstand the extreme weather events that threaten small island developing states like Saint Lucia, with proposed features including integrated rainwater harvesting systems, on-site solar energy generation, energy-efficient LED lighting, and hurricane-resistant building infrastructure. If the pilot is successfully completed, an estimated 1,800 local Saint Lucians stand to gain safe, sustainable affordable housing through the initiative.

To ensure the project aligns with the needs of the community that will ultimately call these developments home, organizers have scheduled three town hall sessions across different regions of the country, each designed to accommodate local attendees. The first session, set for Monday, April 20, will be a virtual gathering open to stakeholders in the Castries area, running from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The following day, Tuesday, April 21, an in-person meeting will be held at the Human Resource Development Centre in Gros Islet from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The third and final session will take place on Wednesday, April 22 at Babonneau Secondary School, running from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

During these public sessions, project teams will present the finalized proposed community layouts and housing designs, then open the floor to collect feedback and suggestions from residents, future prospective homeowners, and other local stakeholders. In an official statement, GGGI emphasized that public input is a core part of the project’s development process: the feedback collected will be integrated into final design adjustments to ensure the completed housing solutions directly reflect the needs and priorities of the people who will live in them, while also advancing the country’s broader goals for inclusive, sustainable national development.

A well-known Caribbean hospitality brand is taking its longstanding community commitment to the next level, announcing a major new project to upgrade the pediatric care space at St Jude Hospital. Coconut Bay Beach Resort and Spa, which has partnered with the local medical facility for more than a decade, is set to transform the hospital’s children’s wing into a warm, kid-centered environment that goes beyond standard clinical care.

On March 27, senior leaders from the resort traveled to the hospital’s Augier campus to kick off the new initiative, marking another milestone in a collaboration that first launched back in 2013. That year, the two organizations signed a formal memorandum of understanding to outline shared community-focused goals, and since that initial agreement, the resort has contributed over EC$70,000 in combined financial aid and critical in-kind donations. These contributions have included life-saving medical equipment ranging from patient monitors and neonatal incubators to specialized cardiac care devices.

Mia Chin, the resort’s sales and guest relations manager, emphasized that this partnership extends far beyond one-time financial gifts. For the Coconut Bay team, supporting the hospital is an extension of the brand’s core culture of care and hospitality. “The vision for our corporate social responsibility in collaboration with St Jude’s is to bring that same warmth, that same love, that same energy that we do at Coconut Bay — the Coconut Bay way, the Coconut Bay culture — right here to St. Jude, especially the pediatric ward,” Chin explained. She added that the work is rooted in a commitment to lifting up the entire local community, with a particular focus on supporting the island nation’s youngest residents.

For leaders at St Jude Hospital, the ongoing support comes at a meaningful moment, as the facility continues to recover from a devastating disaster that struck 16 years ago. A large fire destroyed large sections of the original hospital campus, and the institution is now in the process of returning to its original location. Dr. Sybil Naitram James, head of pediatrics at St Jude, shared that she feels both relieved and optimistic about this transition, and expressed deep gratitude for the consistent backing from local private sector partners like Coconut Bay.

Dr. Naitram James outlined the many ways the resort’s support has improved care for young patients over the years. “We have benefited in terms of receiving donations, in terms of equipment, monetary, finances, and also general supplies that we need for the ward,” she said. Beyond tangible supplies, the resort has long enhanced the daily experience of patients and staff alike: for years, the resort team has organized annual children’s Christmas parties, distributed holiday gifts, and led seasonal ward and tree decorating events that the entire staff looks forward to each year.

“This is a partnership that we have embraced for quite a number of years, and it is something that we are hoping will continue… as they are going to be part of enhancing and beautifying the pediatric ward to make the area a very peaceful setting for our patients,” Dr. Naitram James added. Along with interior renovations to the existing pediatric wing, the resort used its March visit to unveil plans for a new outdoor play space that will give young patients a safe, welcoming area to play and relax during their treatment.

A quiet Sunday on the bypass road of Cul de Sac, Castries, was shattered by gun violence that claimed the life of a young St. Lucian man, leaving his family and community grappling with unspeakable grief. The latest homicide to hit the island has robbed a close-knit family of their beloved relative, 22-year-old Tarrick Isidore, a native of Dennery whose warm personality left a lasting mark on everyone who knew him.

Emergency responders who arrived at the shooting scene quickly confirmed the severity of the attack, noting multiple penetrating gunshot wounds across Isidore’s body. In the devastating aftermath of the killing, a heartbroken anonymous family member opened up about the loss to local outlet St Lucia Times, struggling to put the depth of their pain into words. “It was a devastating moment… it was just a heartbreaking moment,” the relative shared, echoing the shock that has spread across the community since the shooting.

Remembering Isidore, the family member described him as the irreplaceable “life of the party” — a young man whose vibrant energy could lift the mood of any room, bringing joy and connection to everyone he spent time with. “We miss him here,” the relative added softly, as the family continues to navigate the first days of mourning without their loved one.

Even in their overwhelming grief, the family has shared a quiet message for the people responsible for Isidore’s death, choosing to leave justice to a higher power: “I leave them for God.”

As the family grieves, law enforcement authorities have confirmed that active investigations into the fatal shooting are still ongoing. Police have not yet released any information about potential suspects or motives for the attack, leaving community members waiting for answers as they come together to support Isidore’s grieving relatives.

A milestone in public safety infrastructure for Saint Lucia was reached on Monday, April 20, when the $35 million Gros Islet Police Divisional Headquarters officially opened its doors to the public. Commissioned earlier this year by Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre on February 19, the modern facility sits on a sprawling 2.6-acre plot of land purpose-built for law enforcement operations.

Following the inauguration of the new headquarters, the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force announced a coordinated restructuring of policing operations across the northern district, with services now distributed across two key sites: the existing Rodney Bay Police Station and the newly completed Gros Islet facility. All policing units that previously operated out of the temporary Gros Islet Human Resource Centre location have completed their relocation to the purpose-built headquarters.

As part of the organizational shakeup, the Rodney Bay Police Station has been reassigned to the island’s Rangers Unit, a specialized law enforcement team tasked with safeguarding Saint Lucia’s popular coastal beaches, protected national parks, and historic heritage monuments. The restructuring does not remove regular police presence from the site, however: Gros Islet District officers will continue to maintain a joint operational footprint at Rodney Bay alongside the Rangers Unit.

The new headquarters was developed to address a pressing need for expanded and upgraded security capacity in the northern region of Saint Lucia, an area that has seen explosive growth in residential development, commercial activity, and tourism over the past 10 years. Beyond basic office space, the multi-purpose facility comes equipped with a full suite of law enforcement amenities, including on-site police barracks for officers, a secure detention holding area, a regulated armoury, an on-site gym, and dedicated office spaces for specialized units ranging from criminal investigations to traffic enforcement and special support services.

A shocking security incident that ranks among the worst breaches of a police facility in recent Trinidad history has left a female municipal police officer dead and triggered a massive manhunt after more than 60 firearms and thousands of rounds of ammunition were stolen from a station’s secure strongroom.

Trinidad and Tobago’s top police official, Commissioner Allister Guevarro, was among the first authorities to arrive at the San Fernando Municipal Police Station, located at King’s Wharf along Lady Hailes Avenue, after the breach was discovered early Sunday morning.

The victim has been identified as Anusha Eversley, an acting corporal serving with the Trinidad and Tobago Municipal Police Service (TTMPS). Preliminary investigative timelines show Eversley was last spotted on duty in the station’s charge room around 11 p.m. local time on Saturday. Nearly six hours later, at approximately 4:40 a.m. on Sunday, a fellow officer returned to the charge room and found the entire area engulfed in darkness. After flipping on the lights, the officer noticed what appeared to be blood seeping from the entrance of Eversley’s assigned quarters, and also spotted that the heavily secured strongroom had been compromised and forced open.

When investigators conducted an inventory of the secure storage, they uncovered the full scale of the theft: a huge cache of weapons and ammunition had been removed from the facility. Police sources have confirmed the missing arsenal includes roughly 52 Glock pistols, six shotguns, four MPX-style firearms, and more than 4,000 rounds of 9mm ammunition.

Responding officers found Eversley unresponsive on a mattress inside her quarters, and she was pronounced dead at the scene. Initial forensic observations note the corporal was partially clothed, and had visible bleeding from the nostrils. Investigators are working from early indications that Eversley may have been assaulted before her death, though this detail has not yet been formally confirmed as autopsies and further testing are pending.

In the immediate aftermath of the discovery, the entire police station was placed under lockdown, with senior investigative leads including Superintendent Persad and members of the Homicide Region III unit called in to lead the probe. Crime scene investigators have spent hours processing the location, collecting forensic trace evidence and running full fingerprint analyses to identify potential suspects. The San Fernando Municipal Police Station remains under heavy security lockdown as the dual investigation into Eversley’s killing and the weapons theft continues, with authorities working to trace the stolen firearms before they can be used in further criminal activity.