ASL Number Exercise 6 - 10

Numbers 6-10 ASL

AIR-PAASA @ Stony Hill Community Centre

 

Press Release

 

Introducing – “Artists’ In Residence – Performing Arts After School Activities”

Starting Monday, April 4, 2022 the Stony Hill Community Centre will reopen its doors to the community with a series of activities for its citizens and children. Parents can now register to be a part of this new initiative facilitated by AIR-PAASA in the following activities:

·        Homework & Extra Lessons: Reading, Language Arts, Social Studies, Mathematics, Sciences.

·        Performing Arts: Dance, Speech & Drama, Sign Language and Music.

·        Sports: Swimming & Tae-Kwan-do

·        Internet Café: – Open to the public

Since the pandemic, the centre has been closed, just over two years. “It has the capacity to engage hundreds of children and youths per week,” one parent lament. This newly devised program is the brain child of Kofi Walker, a resident of west rural St. Andrew and artistic director of AIR-PAASA Foundation (Artists’ in residence – Performing Arts After School Activities) have engaged hundreds of children over the years supporting schools and community groups through the arts and with experienced artists. 

The performing arts program will be facilitated by Mr. Walker, swimming will be every Tuesdays at the Constant Spring Golf Club with Mr. Campbell and our Tae-Kwan-do will be held at the community centre once per week with Masters Lindo or Webb. Classes are structured to accommodate varying learning styles for children 3 – 15 years and will follow the national curriculum from early childhood to primary education.

Mrs. Trudy-Ann Jones has been instrumental in helping to establishing this initiative and have engaged a number of participants who have already registered for the dance program. Please note that due to the current Covid -19 pandemic class groups are limited to 12 or 15 depending on your chosen activity. I would also like to thank our MP. Mrs. Juliet Cuthbert-Flynn and her team Mrs. Keniesha Thomas and Councillor Miss Tosha Shwapp for their approval of the project proposal and support.

The program runs Monday – Fridays from 2:00 PM – 6:00 PM. Parents and guardians of participants 3 – 15 years are encouraged to register on line via this link or at the Stony Hill Community Centre during the opening hours. At the end of the term participants will display a talent show at a venue to be confirmed. For details please contact program facilitator Kofi Walker on 1 (876) 405-2800 or email: airpaasa@gmail.com

AIR-PAASA @  Stony Hill Community Centre

 

 

Many Performing Artists Will Survive This Pandemic! Some Won't!!!

Kofi Walker

As informative as this article is "Will Covid Shots Drive Mutated Variants?" Which I am reposting! We (Jamaicans and 3rd world countries) are powerless to the decision to take the vaccine. It is now the new policy for many companies including major government agencies requiring proof of vaccination to maintain your state of employment or to be employed! It is becoming as common as the requirement for a food handlers permit to serve food and beverages to the public. Teachers can not go back to the classroom come September unvaccinated! Pharmaceutical lobbyists as well as other invested parties are doing quite well!

My Mom is adamant she will not take Moderna nor Pfizer! She wants the Johnson & Johnson 1 shot! I have not taken any vaccines also! Admittedly I’m sceptic. Even if we were eager to take the vaccines sooner, the challenges to do so are exhausterbating. Though I have signed up online for the vaccine, we have not been contacted. Though I have consulted with our local clinic, we have been referred to go online, the number of calls to the "Covid help line" is a waste of phone credit. Majority of persons would rather save the phone credit to call their loved ones in the diaspora for help, to aid them with food, utility bills, medications for the sick, and elderly or for the dead!

I have been out of work; since March 12, 2020 and there are NO social programs for many Jamaicans who have been affected by this pandemic. Somehow, though there are serious social and economical challenges, Jamaicans in charge of governing this nation (am unsure if it is) an attempt to be strong in the face of adversity, but our political advocates seem to be ignoring a significant part of the nation that is seriously struggling and even social organizations such as churches are overwhelmed with the demands for help.

Our Finance Minister in a recent presentation on National TV expressed to the nation, 'once they are over 60 years old, have been vaccinated they can apply for a grant of $10,000.00 JA dollars!' That is not even enough for a week supply of food for many families in Jamaica. You would also have to apply online! How many poor rural families can afford to; let alone have the resources to do so? This highlights the level of disconnect between our political representatives and the common people. Dr. Clarke $10,000.00 JA dollars can't feed 50 'day ole' chickens for the layman market!

I’m anti-politics, but tonight I reached out to a ambitious politician who jumped ship from PNP – JLP, I offered my services to support her campaign because I am hoping to get some well needed support! Even though she is not campaigning in my area! But one has to find a way to become relevant or even more so, in this new climate, seek to find new purpose in life to ascertain acknowledgment and or maintain survival.

Today some people allegedly, spent more than 6 hours at the local clinic waiting on the dispensation of free medication. I got 5 of 9 meds! That took lots of patience… I gave in the prescription from yesterday! Others were complaining that they gave theirs in since Monday! So I was blessed, I waited less than 3 hours. I take my hat off to our frontline workers, these pharmacist at our local clinics sometimes dispenses up to 300 prescriptions per day and with accuracy (allegedly)!!!

Our PM is about to shut down the country again!!! That will without a doubt affect our DITP (Dance In the Park) activities. His security details has stepped up since the assassination of the Haitian PM also. So this region is on the verge of new realities.

I am just wondering how many more inflations, lockdowns, ZOSO's and inequality we can take before we explode? I'm trying to survive it all. And I hope you do the same!

Love, light, guidance and respect!

 

Speaking My Mind - We can do better than this!

Arm broken by her brother! Authorities unable to act in her favour!

 Corona?

How can we follow protocols when in reality there have been hardly any support for the citizens of the island? Making a fuss over 50,000 vaccine for an island of 3 million people is hogwash!

It is impossible to curve the spread of the virus if there is no monitoring of general public commute (i.e. the overloading of busses) including JUTC. All you do is lament about how much you have lost in the last year, rather than implement proactive measure to protect our people. How do you curve this pandemic, if there are no free testing? Free Testing on Red Hill Road in Kingston does not constitute the country.

Coping With Joblessness

It is the love of friends, and thankfully the positive impact I have made on the lives of some special people who have made sure that my mother and I have survived this rapid social and economic change.

I have at my disposal a piece of land, so I have been challenging myself to cultivate it! Farming is not easy, but every seedling I see pop up gives me some excitement. Clearing land has become a dance of will and a test of strength!

How Do Artists survive?

Younger Jamaican artist are more creatively aggressive than I am. Some freelance male-dancers have been applying other skills, working in construction, food and beverage, sales etc; those who are tech savvy have been sharing their dance works on-line. Others have been forced to be engaged in nefarious activities for sure. Nonetheless, I am so proud of how resilient we are as a nation, and I hope that "Dance In The Park" will be able to change lives, especially for children and young men.

Response to Covid-19: Due The Lack of Support for the Elderly & The Less Fortunate People Of Jamaica.

Some effects of this pandemic!

There is an increase in domestic violence, underage pregnancies, incest, prostitution and pernicious activities that goes against our cultural values. somehow there seem to be neglect from government towards all of the above and more...! NGO's as well as churches are overwhelmed with the demands of people reaching out to them for food, let alone all the other socially disenfranchised people they have to attend to! You will not see any of this in our local media, because we are supposed to be a proud nation. The reality is that, more people (young and old) are suffering from mental illnesses. More elderly persons are left abandoned,  some left to die in bushes by their family because they don't have the resources necessary to support their love ones.

I salute my mom for her strength and love for which I now rely on to overcome so many challenges! Even though she is unwell she gives me strength! So have many other women in my life and I thank you all for being kind, generous and giving. In one word that is LOVE! 

Now that I have rediscovered this blog, I am going to be using this as my medium for more of the Intimate and Activist "Kofi Walker" that I have always been. This will be my space for being real down to earth...! 

Please check out the other post on here before I delete them!

We shall overcome!

Love, Light and guidance!

Kofi

The Passionate One!

NEWS AND VIEWS BY DIONNE JACKSON MILLER

FIVE TAKEAWAYS FROM THE SHANIQUE MYRIE CASE October 7, 2013

As most people in the Caribbean know by now, the Caribbean Court of Justice has ruled that the state of Barbados breached the right of entry of Shanique Myrie, a Jamaican (and CARICOM) national, when she tried to visit that country in March 2011. The CCJ awarded her damages of B$75,000.00 in non-pecuniary damages and B$2240.00 in pecuniary damages (damages that can be valued). You can read the ruling here and an executive summary here. Here are a couple of points to note. 1. The Treaty of Chaguaramas established the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and Common Market and was signed in 1973. The treaty was revised in 2001 to include the Single Market and Economy. The CCJ emphasized that by virtue of the Revised Treaty, and a 2007 Decision taken by CARICOM Heads of Government, CARICOM nationals now have a right of entry into member states. Yes, a right of entry! Article 45 of the Revised Treaty states that: Member States commit themselves to the goal of free movement of their nationals within the Community. Article 46 provides for free movement of skilled community nationals like University graduates, media workers, sportspersons, artistes and musicians. This therefore initially applied to a fairly restricted group. But then, in 2007, CARICOM Heads met and “agreed that all CARICOM nationals should be entitled to an automatic stay of six months upon arrival in order to enhance their sense that they belong to, and can move in the Caribbean Community, subject to the rights of Member States to refuse undesirable persons entry and to prevent persons from becoming a charge on public funds.” The Revised Treaty, and the 2007 Decision, the CCJ said, altered the rights of states like Barbados to refuse entry to visiting CARICOM nationals. “The basic presumption of the Barbados Immigration Act is that persons who are not citizens or permanent

Parliament building (west wing) in Bridgetown,... Parliament building (west wing) in Bridgetown, Barbados (Photo credit: Wikipedia) residents of Barbados have no legal right whatsoever to enter the territory. As a general proposition this is a correct reflection of international law regarding immigration…The RTC, however, and more particularly the 2007 Conference Decision brought about a fundamental change in the legal landscape of immigration…” 2.Based on the 2007 Decision, there are only two bases, therefore, on which a CARICOM national can be refused entry to a member state, if he/she is deemed undesirable, or it is determined that he/she will be a charge on public funds. But even these two reasons, the CCJ said, must be construed very narrowly. “Undesirability is meant to be concerned with such matters as the protection of public morals, the maintenance of public order and safety and the protection of life and health… … the Court holds that no restrictions in the interests of public morals, national security and safety, and national health should be placed on the right of free entry of a national of any Member State unless that national presents a genuine, present and sufficiently serious threat affecting one of the fundamental interests of society. In relation to whether the visitor may constitute a charge on public funds, the CCJ said several factors must be considered by officials: “It appears that this is often understood as requiring the national seeking entry to have sufficient cash at hand. The Court notes that not having sufficient funds available does not necessarily mean that the individual concerned will become a charge on public funds. Generally speaking, however, it would seem reasonable for the authorities to assess whether the visitor has funds available and whether these funds would suffice during the time the Community national intends to stay in the country, taking into account factors such as the availability of a credit card and whether or not the visitor is staying with a private person or at an establishment as a paying guest.” 3.The CCJ found Miss Myrie to be a truthful and sincere witness. While the Jamaican leg of the trial was taking place, the Jamaican media made heavy weather of quite minor inconsistencies in Miss Myrie’s testimony, declaring her discredited. The assertions were always incorrect. The lawyers representing Barbados did indeed hammer away and managed to elicit some inconsistent testimony from Miss Myrie. But as the adage goes, over the course of a trial, memories fail. Miss Myrie’s memories did fail her on some points, but they proved to be quite insignificant. The core of her testimony, as outlined in her witness statement, was never shaken, indeed, was never even tested on cross-examination! That witness statement contained her very detailed, believable account of her ordeal in Barbados, including her treatment at the hands of Barbadian immigration officials, and the humiliating cavity search she was forced to endure. The CCJ acknowledged her as a witness of truth. “(The) inconsistencies… appear to arise more from a blurred and imperfect recollection of events that took place long before her witness statement was prepared than from any deliberate attempt to deceive. Inaccuracies of this kind are understandable but they are neither of great consequence nor decisive provided that the witness’s assessment of the facts in their entirety and all the surrounding circumstances strike the fact finder as honest.” The Court pointed to specific aspects of Miss Myrie’s testimony, including her accurate description of a room which the Barbadian officials insisted she had never entered, and her description of the cell in which she was held, which was corroborated by other Jamaican witnesses who had also been detained in Barbados, while, on the other hand, noting the identical, word for word, witness statements produced by the Barbadian officials. “Given the totality of the evidence and its overall consistency, the Court was impressed by the sincerity of Ms Myrie and accepts the credibility of her evidence,” the Court said. 4. Importantly, the CCJ found that CARICOM Conference decisions do not need to be enacted into domestic legislation before becoming legally binding at the Community level, a decision that will have significantly implications for future meetings of the Heads of Government and may go a far way to addressing the so-called “implementation deficit” which has dogged CARICOM for decades. In support of this part of the ruling, the Court invoked article 240 of the Revised Treaty which states that: 1.Decisions of competent Organs taken under this Treaty shall be subject to the relevant constitutional procedures of the Member States before creating legally binding rights and obligations for nationals of such States. 2. The Member States undertake to act expeditiously to give effect to decisions of competent Organs and Bodies in their municipal law. This, the Court held, necessitated the enactment of legislation if CARICOM nationals are to be able to invoke Community law in national courts. “Although it is evident that a State with a dualist approach to international law sometimes may need to incorporate decisions taken under a treaty and thus enact them into municipal law in order to make them enforceable at the domestic level, it is inconceivable that such a transformation would be necessary in order to create binding rights and obligations at the Community level,” the ruling said. “Article 240 RTC is not concerned with the creation of rights and obligations at the Community level. The Article speaks to giving effect to such rights and obligations in domestic law. This is clearly reflected in its second paragraph which requires Member States to give effect to decisions of competent Organs and Bodies in their municipal law so as to enable Community nationals to enforce their rights at the national level and in the municipal courts. If binding regional decisions can be invalidated at the Community level by the failure on the part of a particular State to incorporate those decisions locally the efficacy of the entire CARICOM regime is jeopardized and effectively the States would not have progressed beyond the pre-2001 voluntary system that was in force.” 5. While accepting Miss Myrie’s testimony that she had been subjected to jeering remarks from Barbadian officials directed at her nationality, the CCJ ruled that there was not enough evidence to prove discrimination based on nationality. The Court noted that there were 27 other Jamaicans on Miss Myrie’s flight to Barbados but only one other was refused entry, there was no evidence suggesting that a significant number were taken out of the line for secondary inspection, and the statistics produced by Jamaica showed that the overwhelming majority of Jamaicans are allowed entry to Barbados, and that the percentage of Jamaican refused entry was only 2% more than other nationalities. This is a judgment that will be studied minutely by lawyers and nationals throughout the Caribbean. The implications go far beyond Shanique Myrie’s personal situation, and affect us all as CARICOM nationals. The resulting actions – or inactions – of member states will need to be examined closely.

The Academy Dance Poster

Beat, Mind & Alive

Beat Mind & Alive Association was created in July 2013 following a youth exchange in Graz Austria. This "Youth In Action" project about Hip Hop featured young professionals from France, England, Austria and Poland. This collective group of international artists joined together by music & hip hop have a passion for their art form and wish to share it with as many people around the globe.

Artists in BMA are skilled in a variety of pop-culture disciplines which include, Hip Hop, Rap, Djing, Dance, Graff, Beat making and Beat boxing etc. They wish to bridge the cultural gap between popular and traditional cultural expressions of arts through the individual and collective experiences of the group. One of the common thread of all the performers of the group is utilizing this art form as a medium for conflict resolution, improve communication and expression of self.

BMA activities include seminars, workshops, simulation exercises and live performances that includes parents and children. BMA look at the challenges youths experience such as juggling family life, school, peer pressures and trying to make decisions about what their professional life should be.

BMA is supported by the Youth In Action program of the European Commission. Promoting integration, cohesion and mobilization of European youths. We have been given the chance to explore further afield and wish to do so in the Caribbean starting with St. Martin, in the French West Indies. This would maximize our interest in cultural exchange. We want to continue to promote positive relationships between Europe and the Territories that boast rich and vibrant cultures.

BMA hope to visit St. Martin in February/March 2014 for a period of 10 days. This period will be used to develop a training program that focuses on the values and principles of hip hop, its origins, impact and benefits. The workshops are designed for children, teens and adults; so parents are invited to sign up with their children. The seminar will culminate in a performance and all participants are welcome to perform at the end of the period.

There will be two Jam Sessions that will include dance, singing, dj, the graff, draw, video, photography, beat boxing etc. In return we hope to share in the local knowledge of traditional dance, music and history of the island.

Persons and groups wishing to participate in BMA 2014 Seminar please send email to airpaasa@yahoo.com / tel: 876-942-9693 mob: 876-405-2800


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