All Saints Secondary School- No Witness, No Justice
The All Saints Secondary School received a property grant from the U.S. Embassy Bridgetown. The school received two Apple iPads, an iTunes gift card valued at US$25, two iPad Smart Cases and two Apple Care Protection Plans. The iPads are to be used in the social media campaign No Witness, No Justice. The All Saints Secondary School is located in All Saints Village, St. Paul’s Parish, Antigua & Barbuda.
Antigua Public Library- America Corner
The American Corner in Antigua received a property grant, valued at US$694.90, from the U.S. Embassy Bridgetown. The grant included 41 classic books, such as The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane and A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway. Through the U.S. Embassy Bridgetown’s support the America Corner program gives Antiguan children access to a variety of books and enables them to experience parts of American culture.
Antigua Public Library- America Corner
The Antigua Public Library’s America Corner received a property grant from the U.S. Embassy Bridgetown. The grant included five educational board games, including “You’ve Been Sentenced” and “10 Days in the U.S.A.” The America Corner allows Antiguan children to experience parts of American culture through games, books, and special events.
Betty’s Hope Windmill Restoration
Under the U.S. Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation the U.S. Embassy Bridgetown awarded a grant to the project “Restore Betty’s Hope Windmill-Antigua.” Through this grant stress factors to the 17th century windmill will be repaired by replacing old weathered sail points. The area surrounding the windmill will also be refurbished by clearing shrubbery to make way for an outdoor industrial-agricultural equipment museum, repairing the perimeter fence, and building a new guard hut to manage the site. The grant will also provide funds to revamp the interpretive center by replacing termite damaged doors and window frames and adding a new “interpretation panel” that will explain the history of Betty’s Hope Windmill. Work on Betty’s Hope Windmill is expected to be completed by March 2013. Since its erection in 1667 Betty’s Hope Windmill has been a well-known part of the Antiguan landscape, however over the centuries it fell into disrepair. A 1992 partial restoration reinvigorated the site and established it as a favorite amongst tourists. Now to prevent further damage to the historic windmill the U.S. Embassy Bridgetown is working with the “Restore Betty’s Hope Windmill-Antigua” project.
“Building the Capacity of the Sexual Assault Referral Center”- Florida Association for Volunteer Action in the Caribbean and the Americas
The Florida Association for Volunteer Action in the Caribbean and the Americas (FAVACA) was awarded a prosperity grant by the U.S. Embassy Bridgetown to support their project “Building the Capacity of the Sexual Assault Referral Center (SARC) in Antigua and Barbuda.” SARC is the only sexual assault center on Antigua and as such must be equipped to handle cases from victims across the island. In the past FAVCA has worked to develop NGOs in the Caribbean region and has established relationships with Florida groups dedicated to combating domestic and sexual violence. The grant funded the travel expenses of Pam Kelly; who visited Antigua and Barbuda from November 21 to 27, 2010 to train thirty SARC nurses and medical officers. Ms. Kelly was requested for this mission by the Directorate of Gender Affairs because of her experience with the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay.
Five Islands Primary School
The Five Islands Primary School received a property grant from the U.S. Embassy Bridgetown. The grant included 55 American children’s books that were selected from the Notable Children’s Books List, such as We Shall Overcome: A Song that Changed the World by Stuart Stotts and Ship Breaker by Paola Bacigalupi. The books will be used to improve the school library’s present list of publications. Five Islands Primary School is located in St. John’s, Antigua and Barbuda.
Gilbert Agricultural and Rural Development Center
To increase the prosperity of Barbudan’s the U.S. Embassy Bridgetown awarded the environmental group Gilbert Agricultural and Rural Development Center (GARC) a grant to conduct the project “Reintroducing the Caribbean Flamingo to the Codrington Lagoon, National Park, Barbuda-Feasibility Study.” The grant money was used to determine the most appropriate habitats in Barbuda in which to reintroduce the Caribbean flamingo, develop a monitoring plan for the extent of the project, and provide community leaders with training and support so they could participate in the project. GARC, in conjunction with the Environment Tourism Consulting firm, believes that the eventual reintroduction of Caribbean flamingos to the Codrington Lagoon will increase the influx of tourists to the area and thus promote economic development.
Hands Across the Sea
Hands Across the Sea, Inc was awarded a cultural grant by the U.S. Embassy Bridgetown to purchase fiction, non-fiction and reference books geared towards young adult with remedial reading skills. The books were distributed to school libraries in rural or outlying areas in Antigua and Barbuda; Grenada; St. Kitts and Nevis; St. Lucia; and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Hands Across the Sea co-founders, Harriet and T.L. Linskey support Caribbean students by sailing around the region delivering new books.
Health, Hope & HIV Network
The Health, Hope & HIV Network (3H) in Antigua received a US$8,038.00 human rights grant from the U.S. Embassy Bridgetown under the Ambassador’s HIV/AIDS Prevention Program. With this grant 3H successfully provided HIV/AIDS risk reduction, prevention, and HIV case management programs to men who have sex with men (MSM)/gays/transgender. 3H also provided anti-discrimination and stigmatization training to police officers and student nurses. Throughout the course of the program 3H trained 150 individuals. Following the program participating MSM have reported positive changes in the way their community is treated. More individuals in Antigua are now being tested for and receiving HIV treatment thanks to the spread of information that continued after 3H’s program was completed.
Holy Trinity Primary School
The Holy Trinity Primary School received a property grant from the U.S. Embassy Bridgetown. The grant allowed the addition of 24 new children’s books to the school’s library, including Yucky Worms by Vivian French and The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. The Holy Trinity Primary School is located in Codrington, Antigua and Barbuda.
Holy Trinity Primary School
In March 2013, Holy Trinity Primary School in Barbuda received 39 new books, through an Embassy Bridgetown property grant. Many of the donated books were selected by American Library Association’s Notable Books for Children List, including I Broke My Trunk by Mo Willems and A New Year’s Reunion: A Chinese Story by Yu Li-Qiong. Information Resource Officer Magia Krause, a library resources expert visiting from Washington, DC, presented the books to Holy Trinity on behalf of Embassy Bridgetown.
“It’s a Fact”
Vividview received a human rights grant from the U.S. Embassy Bridgetown. The grant was used to produce and create 105 copies of a ten minute animated video about drug resistance and education for the series “It’s a Fact.” In the video Sgt. Carl Williams of the Royal Barbados Police Force teaches primary school children, aged five to eleven, about drugs, drug related crimes, and peer pressure. The funds were also used to produce 3,750 copies of a magazine addressing “Drug Abuse and Resistance Education” (DARE) themes.
No Witness, No Justice
As part of the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI) the U.S. Embassy Bridgetown awarded the Office of the Attorney General a US$55,565.00 grant to support the No Witness, No Justice initiative. The grant funded a training program for teachers and students across the region to teach them how to implement No Witness, No Justice in their schools. Participants also learned to utilize social media to build lasting and effective youth networks. Through No Witness, No Justice Caribbean children learn about citizen involvement, how American youths participate in their communities and how they can participate in their own countries and communities. No Witness, No Justice also serves to build a virtual connection, under the CBSI Youth Network, between Caribbean and American children wherein each can learn about the other’s experiences and communities.
Regional Youth Seminar 2011
The U.S. Embassy Bridgetown awarded the Barbados Youth Development Council (BYDC) a cultural grant. The funds were used to pay the travel expenses of six youth delegates, one each from the six OECS nations, to attend the Regional Youth Seminar 2011 in Barbados. The grant was also used to fund the rental of a U.S. Embassy Bridgetown booth at the Youth Expos, the seminar’s culminating event. The youth delegates were selected from organizations such as National Youth Ambassador Corps (Antigua & Barbuda), Dominica National Youth Council, National Youth Ambassadors Programme (Grenada), St. Kitts National Youth Parliament Association, RYC and National Youth Council (St. Lucia), St. Vincent and Grenadines Youth Council. The seminar was held August 11-13, 2011.
Roman Rudnytsky
Concert pianist Roman Rudnytsky received a cultural grant from the U.S. Embassy Bridgetown to meet with Barbadian students and perform for audiences in Barbados and Antigua. On December 3, 2012 Mr. Rudnytsky performed a sunset concert at Frank Collymore Hall. Then, Mr. Rudnytsky continued his Caribbean trip, travelling to Antigua where he met with the Antigua Girls High School and conducted a Master Class, in which he instructed the students in piano techniques. Mr. Rudnytsky also performed for a group at Antigua’s Dean Williams Cultural Centre.
Sir McChesney George Secondary School
The U.S. Embassy Bridgetown awarded The Sir McChesney George Secondary School a property grant. The school received 43 classic books, including I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou and Mr. Potter: A Novel by Jamaica Kincaid. The school received an additional grant of five educational board games, including “Word on the Street, Junior” and “10 Days in the U.S.A.” The Sir McChesney George Secondary School is the only secondary school in Barbuda.
Women’s Empowerment Tour- Meridian International Center
The U.S. Embassy Bridgetown awarded Meridian International Center a cultural grant to support the travel expenses of journalists and enable their participation in the Foreign Press Center tour on “Women’s Empowerment.” The tour included meetings with government officials, NGOs, community groups, and media representatives to highlight women’s issues. The meetings were geared towards shedding light on gender based violence. The tour lasted from January 29 to February 4, 2012.
“You’re A Star, Stella!”
In keeping with efforts to expand human rights awareness in the Caribbean, the U.S. Embassy Bridgetown awarded Do the Right Thing Limited a grant to produce a booklet geared towards teaching children about domestic violence and the steps they can take to stop it. Do the Right Thing Limited revised a booklet entitled “You’re A Star, Stella!,” produced by Voice UK, to suit the needs of children in the Caribbean. The booklet tells the story of a young girl who witnessed domestic violence and told her teacher, who contacted the police. Programs such as the “You’re A Star, Stella!” project are aimed at reducing physical abuse throughout the Caribbean.