AUC, Ministry VSA & Positive Foundation Hosts Free Breast and Health Screenings for Women.

PHILIPSBURG (DCOMM):---  Women ages 18 and older across Sint Maarten are reminded to register by September 30th for free breast and health screenings on Saturday, October 3rd.  

The American University of the Caribbean (AUC) School of Medicine will host the screenings on October 3rd and November 28th from 8:30 am to 3:00 pm.  The registration deadline is three (3) days before the scheduled event.

AUC medical students will conduct the health screening. They will check height, weight, vision, blood sugar, blood pressure, and total cholesterol, while a board-certified AUC physician, oncologist Dr. Naira Chobanyan, will perform the breast exam.

AUC is conducting these screenings, with support from the Positive Foundation and the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labour (Ministry VSA) to help the Sint Maarten population understand the prevalence and risk factors associated with breast abnormalities, including breast cancer.

During this free screening opportunity, participants will also be educated and informed on:

1.     What are the signs and symptoms of breast cancer?

2.     What can be done to decrease the risk?

3.     How the risk is evaluated.

4.     How the risk can be calculated.

While there is no sure way to prevent breast cancer, it is our hope that through education and results from this research project, Sint Maarten women can be empowered by knowledge resulting in earlier detection and treatment. The Positive Foundation urges women to take steps to “Feel It, Find it, and Fight it” early, when it’s easiest to treat.

“These screenings are about more than examinations; they are about empowering women with information that can lead to earlier detection and better outcomes,” says Shelly Alphonso, President of the Positive Foundation.

“The Positive Foundation is honored to support this initiative alongside AUC School of Medicine and the Ministry of Public Health – Collection Preventative Services (CPS). 

“We encourage women to participate, not only for their personal health, but also because the findings from the project could help shape future breast screening guidelines for St. Maarten.  Every woman who participates contributes to a healthier future for our community.”

The results from this research project may provide a basis for screening guidelines for Sint. Maarten, which could lead to earlier detection for all women on Sint. Maarten.

To make an appointment, call: 721-545-2298 ext. 404 2248 or WhatsApp: +1(937) 450 3948, or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

The screenings will take place at the office of Collective Prevention Services, Vineyard Office Park, 33 Buncamper Road in Philipsburg. The organizers encourage women who have not participated in past AUC breast screenings to participate.

Sint Maarten Library strengthens Dutch Caribbean collaboration during successful exchange week in El Salvador.

pjl14092026PHILIPSBURG:--- The Sint Maarten Library joined the other libraries of the Dutch Caribbean—the CAS islands (Curaçao, Aruba, and Sint Maarten) and the BES islands (Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba)—in taking an important step in the further development of their shared network during a week-long conference in El Salvador. Together, they signed their joint network plan, setting out how they will collaborate on shared ambitions. While in El Salvador, the Sint Maarten Library and its Dutch Caribbean partners also exchanged knowledge and experience with local library professionals as part of an international exchange, separate from the network itself.

The National Library of the Netherlands (KB) and Rijnbrink attended the conference as network partners. 
The conference marked an important turning point in building a strong and sustainable network among the libraries of the Dutch Caribbean. By getting to know one another better, sharing knowledge and experience, and formulating shared ambitions, the libraries are laying a solid
foundation for long-term collaboration among themselves. In doing so, they can strengthen one another and collectively make a greater impact on their organizations and communities.

Joint network plan signed


The Sint Maarten Library, together with the other libraries of the Dutch Caribbean, is building a strong and sustainable network guided by Common Eye and rooted in their needs, experience, and ambitions. Signing the network plan is a significant milestone. Among other things, the shared ambitions focus on strengthening the positioning of the Dutch Caribbean libraries and on developing future-proof libraries. With their signatures, the libraries—including the Sint Maarten Library—confirmed the ambitions and agreements they have formulated together.
The KB, the national library of the Netherlands, the BES islands, and Rijnbrink are partners of the network. As a knowledge and expertise partner, Rijnbrink contributes to the organizational and substantive development of the Dutch Caribbean libraries. The KB and Rijnbrink support the libraries in advancing the ambitions set out in the network plan.


Learning with and from libraries in El Salvador
Alongside the further development of the Dutch Caribbean network, the week also included an international knowledge exchange with local libraries, a separate part of the program, not an expansion of the network itself. The Sint Maarten Library, together with the other Dutch Caribbean libraries, Rijnbrink, and the KB, visited several libraries in El Salvador and gained insight into their working methods, activities, and experiences.
Library professionals from Sint Maarten, the wider Dutch Caribbean, and El Salvador shared their knowledge and practical experience during these visits. The exchange provided space to explore similarities and differences and to draw inspiration from one another.
Connection as the foundation for further collaboration: The combination of joint network development among the Dutch Caribbean libraries and the
international exchange with El Salvador made the conference particularly valuable. The Sint Maarten Library and its Dutch Caribbean partners look back on a successful week in which connection, encounter, and mutual learning were central. In the period ahead, they will work on the shared ambitions set out in the network plan and continue to shape collaboration between the islands.

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