PHILIPSBURG:--- It is never easy to identify people and acknowledge them for the work they have done over the years in any society. This year (2013) it was even more difficult because it was a challenging year for St. Maarten, when the people of this great nation had to accept three cabinets in one governing period.
It was also the year when the Dutch decided to order the Governor to conduct an investigation on integrity within government. It's the year when a politician was seen taking monies from a strip club owner and that placed St. Maarten on the frontline in every part of the world. While all the topics above were in the news almost every day both on St. Maarten and the Netherlands, we at SMN News chose to recognize the people who have taken their time to provide assistance and awareness to the people of St. Maarten. This is what nation building is about. It's about the people that chose to come together and work for the good of their country.
While we have not changed the criteria for selecting people, we chose to focus on some positive things that have been happening on St. Maarten while the persons that are working behind the scenes are not usually recognized by anyone for their hard work. For 2013, two outstanding women of this country were selected and while it is coming as a surprise for the number one candidate, she deserves to be recognized because what she has been doing since 1996 is providing a home for less fortunate children.
Persons of the Year 2013.
The first candidate that was selected by SMN News for the persons of the year recognition is none other than Cassandra "Debby" Gibbs. We are sure that some politicians and children know Debby by name and nature and some know that she is the founder of the I CAN FOUNDATION situated in Dutch Quarter, yet they choose to give her a hard time even though she is providing shelter and care for the future generation of this country. When speaking to Debby on how she started I CAN Foundation and what motivated her, some would get chills or what we call "goose bumps". According to Debby, she decided to establish I CAN Foundation in 1996 "post Luis Hurricane" when she was informed by neighbors that a woman and a baby were living under a tree behind her house.
Debby said at the time she was a school bus driver and already her heart was aching in the mornings when she picked up children to take them to school. "The parents of many children did not realize how much their children were suffering after the passing of Hurricane Luis. These parents were focusing on their material loss and trying to rebuild their lives while they forgot that the children were also victims of the category five monster that swept through St. Maarten on September 5th, 1995. When I looked at the children I was taking to school I saw the disarray and I also saw they too were suffering."
However, when she saw the woman whom she said was addicted to drugs with a baby boy living under a tree because the wooden shack she was living in got destroyed by Hurricane Luis that is when it struck her and she felt that something needed to be done. Debby said she went to the woman and she told her that she could not live under a tree with a baby and the woman moved into a bathroom. "Can you imagine the woman went to live in a bathroom? So I took it on my own and went to the Court of Guardianship and informed them of the situation because the woman was not only living in a bathroom but she was addicted to crack. At that time there were no children's home on St. Maarten and children that are placed in protective custody were sent to Curacao. The people at the Court of Guardianship took my complaint and they listened to my concerns, they even visited the bathroom where the woman and her baby were staying and when I asked them what they were going to do for the woman, they told me it was bathroom but the place was kept clean. I insisted that something be done because, however you look at it the woman was living a bathroom with a baby. Instead of helping this family, the woman and her child were picked up by immigration and they deported her to her country."
Debby said that was too much for her so she established the I CAN FOUNDATION and informed the Court of Guardianship that St. Maarten now has a home. "The Court of Guardianship was happy that I created this home because it was costly for them to send children that were removed from their homes to Curacao. The Court of Guardianship then placed the first two children at the I CAN Home, which was her home that she turned to a home for displaced children. The first two children she said were a brother and sister and they were already teenagers. Over the years, Debby who is managing the I CAN FOUNDATION with the help of nine workers helped and sheltered many children on St. Maarten from both sides of the island. Debby further explained that while she cares for so many children through the "safe haven" she created she still has serious problems getting proper funding. She even explained that Queen Beatrix visited the I CAN Foundation shortly after the home burnt down and she rebuilt the home. "The Queen assured me that the Netherlands would assist and they did by providing Naf. 400,000.00 to furnish the home, but a former employee stole that money. Debby said to date she did not get back all the money from USONA or the company that got the monies for the furniture but she still has hope because the judicial system is involved in the case. Besides that, the Court of Guardianship provides subsidy for each child that is placed at the I CAN FOUNDATION.
Another painful aspect for Debby is when the children are removed from I CAN FOUNDATION and placed in other homes that were created after I CAN FOUNDATION. "Teenagers are being removed even though the Articles of Incorporation for I CAN FOUNDATION clearly states that the home can accommodate children from 0-18 years old. She said several children that left the I CAN end up in criminal activities, some get pregnant way before they are 18 and some just get lost. She said a few years ago a particular social worker was the decision maker when it came to moving children but a lot has improved in recent months. The SJIB and the Court of Guardianship have structured things much better, there are more social workers and the owners of the other homes are now working together in order to provide better care for under age children that are displaced on St. Maarten.
SMN News wants to commend Debby for her determination and the effort she has placed in children; the love and care she provides for them while they are in her care and we are also encouraging her to stay focused and not be discouraged by those that do not see the need to bond with the children they care for.
The second candidate that has been selected is a young woman who is doing the best she can to bring awareness to women on cervical cancer. When most people hear the word "cancer" they immediately start thinking about death instead of seeking the right type of treatment and to fight cancer stress free. However, Keoma Latoya Hamer who lost her mother to cervical cancer on October 2nd, 2011 decided to bring about a change in the way women think by creating the KeLaHa Projects Foundation. As you can see, the name of the foundation comes from her name in memory of her late mother. Her favorite quote is "You have the Power to create Change. Why wait for it?" Keoma is an employee of the FirstCaribbean International Bank "CIBC" where she works as a customer care officer, she was born in Guyana but has been living in St. Maarten since she was 9 years old.
Keoma Hamer, a former student of the Methodist Agogic Center (MAC) and St. Maarten Academy, decided that nothing will stop her from bringing about change and creating awareness on one of the most deadly diseases to women. In getting to know Keoma, one would realize that she has a lot to give thanks for as she herself got very sick at age 19 and had to undergo two major surgeries to save her own life. During that period of illness her right lung collapsed and she was placed on life support. Therefore she gives thanks to her relatives for who supported her through recovery and the experience has changed her views on life itself.
"Though for as long as I can remember I've had an extra interest in wanting to help people, my personal experience of being ill confirmed even more my need of wanting to assist in improving others lifestyle and creating positive change. Over the years I've noted various ideas and even initiated a few projects but unfortunately neither of them reached to the point of actual materialization. My mother was diagnosed with stage 3B Cervical Cancer on September 13th, 2010 at 47 years old. Six months after mommy's diagnosis, her cancer metastasized, another six months after she passed away at home on October 2, 2011 surrounded by her children, granddaughter, niece, and daughter-in-law. She was only 48 years old," Keoma said in an interview with SMN News.
Keoma said a few weeks after the passing of her mother she began researching cervical cancer; what causes it and the symptoms of this deadly disease. After gathering enough information, Keoma made a vow to share the information she got from her research in order to save other people from what she and her family went through after her mother was diagnosed and eventually died.
"Bearing in mind all that I wanted to do years before in terms of community work and now my current goal to bring about cervical cancer & HPV awareness, I drafted the objectives of the organization, recruited members for the board, and incorporated The KeLaHa Projects Foundation on March 28th, 2012.
The first and on-going project is the "Together We Fight-Together We Win" Cervical Cancer & HPV Awareness Program. One of the first things she wanted to do was to give insight into the lives of those who were affected by the disease. She wanted to highlight their and their families' initial reaction after being diagnosed along with the changes and challenges they faced and the way she thought this could have been best portrayed would have been through video. Through personal contacts. "I managed to gather a video production team in Guyana, Antigua, St. Maarten, and New York. In Antigua we found Camela Duncan who had survived Cervical Cancer, Rema Marks from St. Maarten who is currently in New York on treatment, and my mom who had passed. These women, their families and friends agreed to sit in front of our camera and shared their stories of hope, courage, and their battle with cervical cancer on our documentary "IN THEIR OWN WORDS". "IN THEIR OWN WORDS" was produced and directed by myself, the production team included Sunshade Media Productions of Antigua, Cani Films of St. Maarten, and Cally Speed and friends of New York; among many others Cally has worked as the Production Manager of Shed Media Group's Bravo's "The Real Housewives of New York City" and currently Production Manager at 51 Minds Entertainment Bravo's "Below Deck" Season Two (2)."
The goal Keoma and her team is aiming for is to end cervical cancer, which is a disease that affects women worldwide and is the second leading cause of cancer related deaths among women. Many of you may not know this but half a million women are diagnosed with cervical cancer every year, of that; more than quarter of a million die worldwide. Every year approximately 31,700 women in Latin America and the Caribbean die from cervical cancer; this region also has the highest burden of HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) in the Americas. So it's a cancer that can strike women everywhere and it strikes women during their most productive working years. This is the reason why people should be concerned about this type of cancer.
Keoma said from the moment they started the awareness program to the present, they have remained very fluid in the community with continued efforts to raise cervical cancer & HPV education and awareness. Though the organization has been funded by Keoma, several small community fundraising events have been held to assist in maintaining the programs as well as contributions from community members and corporate bodies. "We continue to host workshops throughout the year at various venues, such as youth groups, businesses, churches, as we believe awareness should be an ongoing process." They also supplement these events by conducting home and hospital visits to those who have reached out to them by making monetary or time donations, as well as other contributions in various areas of need.
KeLaHa has partnered with the Government of St. Maarten and The Healthy Caribbean Coalition a regional organization that focuses on chronic illness, as a participating NGO at the "Cancer and Aging, Collectively Improving Our Local Cancer Care and Responsibility" conference held in October, 2012 and the "Cervical Cancer Advocacy" workshop held in March 2013. Through these workshops they established relationships with various Caribbean Cancer organizations and have also become members of the Healthy Caribbean Coalition in Barbados, which is a civil society alliance to combat chronic diseases.
They have formed partnerships with various companies such as Sunshade Multi Media in Antigua, Cani Film, Gitridge Marketing, and Zamar Musical Productions all of St. Maarten. These companies have been working with us from inception and have fully dedicated their services to us thus far at absolutely no cost.
KeLaHa Projects is one of the supporting organizations of the first regional Cervical Cancer e-petition which aims to send a message to Caribbean Heads of Government to make Cervical Cancer screening more affordable for Caribbean women. They encourage readers to support them by signing the e-petition; connect to www.endcervicalcancernow.org and help make cervical cancer screening more affordable for Caribbean women.
Through unrelenting efforts to bring awareness of Cervical Cancer & HPV to the community, KeLaHa has positively Influenced legislation as the local government launched the HPV Vaccine for nine (9) and ten (10) year old girls in September 2013. This is a major accomplishment as leaders are beginning to see and understand why they do what they are doing. The efforts and awareness created by KeLaHa has exposed the seriousness of cervical cancer and the burden it continues to place on families as women are dying at alarming rates from a disease that is preventable.
In August 2013, they launched KeLaHa YOUTHS with a total of six members with intentions to expand its membership. This platform allows youths to engage other youths not only in the awareness of HPV and cervical cancer but to also in other community and self-enrichment programs.
The most immediate goal for the organization is the establishment of an office space where they will be able to operate full time and be even more available to community members. This will allow them to freely expand more programs locally and to other territories throughout the region and also facilitate work with various regional and international organizations and individuals. They also intend to start a program where they would be able to raise funds to assist uninsured women in paying for PAP Smears and HPV tests as well as initiate a counseling and support group program for cancer patients and their families.
While Keoma has been recognized for the work she initiated on the awareness of cervical cancer and HPV by other organizations overseas and here on St. Maarten, SMN News thought it fitting to also recognize Keoma for her bravery, her dedication and the way she chose to keep the memories of her mother alive.
To the two women selected this year by SMN News, Cassandra Debby Gibbs and Keoma Hamer, we want to congratulate you on your achievements and mostly for catching our attention as a news organization on St. Martin/St. Maarten.