THE GLEANER, SATURDAY, MARCH 5, 2022 | www.jamaica-gleaner.com | NEWS A8 Mr. Richard Barriffe is not an employee of Portmore LPG Supplies and is not authorized to transact business on the behalf of the company. NOTICE JOHN JOEL Joseph, the former Haitian senator linked to the assassination of president Jovenel Moïse, and his wife and two children, who are all charged with illegal entry, were further remanded until March 10. Joseph, his wife Edume, 38, and their sons Schopenhauer, 17, and Abaku, nine, are to return to court on the said date to get an update on the asylum application that has been made for the wife and children. When they appeared in court Thursday, a representative from the Passport Immigration and Citizenship Agency informed Senior Parish Judge Lori-Ann Cole Montague that the application has been received and is being processed, but that the agency needs to conduct an interview with the applicants. As a result, the family’s lawyer, Donahue Martin, had agreed for the accused to be interviewed Thursday afternoon. The lawyer pointed out that the application for refugee status was sparked by concerns for his clients’ safety. He said they fled the country after a gunman had attacked his wife. FRUSTRATION OVER DELAY The judge, however, expressed frustration over the delay in the matter which would have otherwise been speedily dealt with given that it is a case of illegal entry. “But the older gentleman, I don’t want himhere for too long,”she said. Martin, however, highlighted that he had made the application from February 3 and that the process should not have gone beyond a month and asked the judge to supervise the process since the matter is a sensitive one. He also told the court that he plans to await the decision on the asylum before dealing with the case for the Haitian senator. The Josephs, who were apprehended on January 14 during a police operation in Warminster district in St Elizabeth, were then advised by an interpreter that their matter would be adjourned until March 10. John Joel, 59, is reportedly listed among five fugitives who are wanted in connection with the president’s assassination. He is accused of reportedly renting four vehicles that were used by the Colombian assassins on the night of the deadly attack. Moϊse was killed at his private residence overlooking the capital on July 7, 2021. He was reportedly shot 12 times and had bullet wounds to his forehead and several to his torso. His left eye had been gouged out and bones in his arm and in his ankle had reportedly been broken. His wife, Martine Moϊse, was also shot in the incident but survived. The other key suspect in his murder plot, ex-Colombianmilitary officer Mario Antonio Palacios, was deported from Jamaica on January 3 in keeping with an order by the Supreme Court here after his immigration breach conviction. Palacios was intercepted in Panama by US law enforcement agents and taken to Florida, where hewas chargedwith various crimes related to Moïse’s assassination. tanesha.mundle@gleanerjm.com Haitian senator, family remanded until March 10 Albert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer WESTERN BUREAU: S TUDENTS FROM The University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona Western Jamaica Campus (WJC), in collaboration with Caribbean Producers Jamaica (CPJ), donated much-needed grocery items to the Garland Hall Memorial Children’s Home in Anchovy, St James. According to Koretta McNab, vicepresident, properties and special initiative at The UWI Mona WJC Guild, stemming from the negative impact of the coronavirus on the country’s economy, students came up with the idea to pool their resources towards helping children in a childcare facility who are deemed as less fortunate. “We just wanted to give back to Garland Hall Memorial Children’s Home because of what has been happening in the economy,” McNab said following the presentation of an assortment of items recently. “When you give back, there is a feeling of accomplishment, knowing you have done something in helping someone along the way,” she told The Gleaner. The donated items included a variety of basic food supplies and toiletries, which McNab noted, was made possible through a partnership forged with CPJ and comes as part of the need to make life easier for the children and their caregivers. The UWI WJC Guild is the governing body of students that attends to student matters and affairs. And for approximately seven years, the guild of students has been paying it forward for many children in State care across western Jamaica by way of donating cash and other grocery items through their outreach programmes. HAPPY TO BE APART OF GESTURE McNab noted that while this donation is a drop in the bucket, the committee of the guild of students is happy to be partaking in this gesture and looks forward to a lasting relationship with the administrators of the home. “For this year, Garland Hall Memorial Children’s Home was selected and we contacted CPJ and their employee benefits officer Shanique Sands, who was delighted to hear about this initiative and immediately jumped on board and donated the necessities and toiletries,” McNab explained. Human resource clerk at CPJ, Shanice Facey, expressed delight in partneringwith The UWI Guild in making this outreach project possible. “We want to continue to contribute to this cause. It is such an honour to be here with these children and it really touches my spirit. We are willing to assist further,” said Facey. In welcoming the timely donation, Lorna Gordon, matron for the Jamaica Baptist Church, which owns and operates Garland Hall Memorial Home, said: “The UWI students were determined to give to us, and they fought to make it happen. “Our children will be better off, with this donation and for that, as their caregivers we are overwhelmed,” Gordon told The UWI Mona, WJC Guild. Gordon noted that The UWI and CPJ are now official friends and partners and that their donation will go a far way in ensuring that the children are properly cared for, as the COVID-19 pandemic has made things a little harder for many other donors. However, she is wary of those who are refusing to give to causes such as this, by using the pandemic as an excuse. “We are very happy because COVID has provided for many an excuse for not sharing, but these students made a bridge, they have found a way to cross over it.” PRIVATELY-RUN HOME Garland Hall Children’s Home is an orphanage/children’s home that is privately run by the Women’s Federation of the Jamaica Baptist (WFJB) Church. It is named after ElisabethGarlandHall, a Baptist missionary and the founder of theWFJB. Today, Garland Hall Children’s Home provides a safe place for up to 30 children, most of thembetweennine and13 years old. Most of the children at the facility are brought in by the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA) mainly for three reasons: abuse, neglect, or the death of their parents. Gordon said most of the children will stay for a couple of years, some their entire childhood. “If there are biological parents present, the CPFSA and a court might decide that the children can spend some time with them, especially during school breaks.” Continuing, she said: “Whenever the parents’ living circumstances improve, the children might be able to go back to their parents after some close inspection and supervision by the agency.” “They are everywhere,” Gordon said proudly, when quizzed as to the involvement of past children of the home. “They work in the media, in our hospitals, in the classroom as teachers, and every now and then, they come home and share with the children,” she said. albert.ferguson@gleanerjm.com UWI donates to Garland Hall Children’s Home Shanique Sands, employee benefits officer at Caribbean Producers Limited displays some of the items donated to the Garland Hall Memorial Children’s Home as part of their partnership with The UWI Western Jamaica Campus Guild of students. From left: Shanice Facey, human resource clerk, Caribbean Producers Limited; Koretta McNab, vice president, properties and special initiative at The UWI Mona Western Jamaica Campus Guild; Halsian Smith-Murray, assistant matron; Dadrian Forbes, teacher and counsellor at the home; Shanna-Kay Brown, chairwoman of the guild committee and Breantt Sanderson, guild committee librarian. CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS ‘Joseph, his wife Edume, 38, and their sons Schopenhauer, 17, and Abaku, nine, are to return to court on the said date to get an update on the asylum application that has been made for the wife and children.’
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