ROSEAU, Dominica — Hundreds of children in Dominica are being helped by a school feeding programme funded by citizenship by investment (CBI) specialist and developer Montreal Management Consultants Est (MMCE).
MMCE is paying for healthy snacks and lunches provided to hundreds of primary school children on the island to prevent mothers keeping their youngsters away from school due to a lack of proper school meals.
The scheme is being facilitated by the Melissa Skerrit Foundation, which has been set up to improve the lives of disadvantaged communities across Dominica, and a restaurant in Roseau, Pops Rotisserie and Grill, has been engaged to provide delicious and healthy snacks and meals for children. These are delivered to their school teachers to distribute.
The costs are then covered by MMCE, which is invoiced by Pops Rotisserie and Grill and pays the restaurant directly, with no third-party involvement.
There are existing school feeding schemes on the island, supported by the government of Dominica and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), where meals are prepared at the schools and provided to pupils.
The MMCE programme supplies additional nutrition, including pancakes, chocolate milk, fresh local juice, sandwiches, hot dogs and lunches.
Schools benefitting from the initiative include St Martin’s Primary School in Roseau, where 50 students receive daily snack packs.
Speaking about the project, CEO of MMCE Anthony Haiden said: “It is vital that children get the nourishment they need if they are to stay at school and get the education necessary for them to succeed and thrive later in life.
“We’re really proud to support such a positive initiative which will help hundreds of young school pupils in Dominica.
“MMCE wants to see the island of Dominica build a bright future for its younger generations.”
As part of this endeavour, MMCE plans to set up an educational scholarship that will again make direct payment to schools to fund student places.
Dominica is still recovering from the after effects of tropical storm Erika that ripped through the island in August 2015, displacing hundreds of families and all but wiping out the community of Petite Savanne, one of the island’s hardest-hit areas.
The storm brought devastation across Dominica after ten inches of rain fell in just a few hours. Communities saw landslides, the capital Roseau was engulfed by water and the island’s transport infrastructure was brought to a standstill, generating a huge repair bill for the nation.
International military support and engineering specialists were brought in to provide emergency support and to restore water supplies to cut off communities.
In the immediate aftermath, the damage repair and rebuilding costs were estimated to be in the region of $483 million – 90 percent the country’s GDP – according to an assessment by the government of Dominica in collaboration with the World Bank, UN, and other development partners.
MMCE also pioneered the Petite Savanne Resettlement programme to provide homes for hundreds of families displaced by Erica. The project in unique in the Caribbean in that it is initially financed and managed by MMCE utilising funds generated from the CBI programme without government intervention. The project will see the construction of 368 mixed-use units, with the first and second phases due to be completed at the end of 2017, and scheduled for full completion by summer 2018.
Bring back the Home economic classes; give the schools the money; obtain local products; NO STYROFOAM.Let the schools prepare their own meals/snacks. Let the students empower themselves.
Dear Mr. Skeritt,
Tho I like the initiative from your wife to get involve in a charity foundation specifically tailored to help children. I will have to agree with the comments about Nepotism. I am a die hard labourite and I supported all your actions because some of them were in accordance with mine.
However; I cannot support you on this issue. I will tell you why: this program can give young people jobs or give people that are already in the catering business a gig. Each caterer in each village should be allowed to participate once their food is up to health standards and they their food handler permit is verified.
This good initiative went down the wrong way because the contract cannot go to one restaurant. You can give Pops Rotis. atleast one day in the week and other caterers a chance to showcase their culinary skills.
This can create jobs but we have to give it a chance to do so and not conflict it in the process. Let\’s make a better plan for that program. Jah…
I’m glad you agreed with my point on Nepotism hence making his wife sister the sole caterer of this venture. In addition i agree with you bring back home economics where the schools are in control of the cash and also providing the students with the cooking skills which will help them in the long run. I think the Roseau Primary school has a good program. Where Donations are collected and the school has a volunteer cook preparing the food for the students. Ms. Roberts and her staff at that school has a good meal program i think if this initiative needs to move forward meaning the CBI meals program it should be model after the Roseau Primary meals program.
Skerrit keep saying D/ca doing well, yet children can go to school due to lack of food, and now there is a conflict of interest
There is no such thing as a free lunch
Tell me again what is Melissa’s role in all of this.The article states that the costs are covered by MMCE which is invoiced by Pops Rotisserie and Grill and pays the restaurant directly,with no third party involvement.Some people are just looking for glory in my opinion and Melissa clearly is doing that here.
Their are a lot other things that needs to be done in a foundation other than paying for food invoices. Open your mind.
Yes….one day my people will wake up and see the light
Dominicans need to wake up. This year is another plot to fool the minds of Dominica to think that they are doing something for the better good of the country. Firstly the PM wife should have no bearing in dealing with CBI funds since she is is wife as well as her family case in point her sister’s business Pops Rotisserie and Grill. This there is considered nepotism (the practice among those with power or influence of favoring relatives or friends, especially by giving them jobs.) Im praying for this country because its looking like a repeat of Venezuela in the making. Also Montreal Management Consultants Est (MMCE) is an offshore entitle thats being used to act as a home for all this CBI funds for the importer use..
Why every time she doing something for the country she has to have the media all over her….these ppl only doing it for the fame and not for the love of country
What is she doing. They are just filtering the CBI money through her foundation to look like its going to the better good of the country when its only staying within the family walls. SMH., Somthing needs to be done this is too glaring
This article makes no mention of the lunch program through Fisheries funded by the Swiss lady Renata. I have contributed to this program which provides fish lunches for the children. Renata, who has been in Dominica for 38 years, gets private funding from friends when she returns to her country each year. There is nothing wrong with feeding children.
Is this their way of responding to a blog posted by Mr. Kenneth Rijock here: http://rijock.blogspot.com/2017/05/the-prime-ministers-wife-and-her.html? But why did they choose today, Memorial Day in the US to respond? Did they do so thinking Rijock would be busy partying and wouldn’t see it? But here is the joke: Skerrit alone that knows how much money that coming from CBI, which includes diplomatic passports; 2. Skerrit’s wife Melissa runs a foundation to which CBI money goes into and no one knows how much; 3 They now telling us food and snacks are being served to our children by a restaurant in Roseau, by the name of “Pops Rotisserie and Grill.” But who owns this restaurant? Melissa’s sister, if not the Skerrit’s and sister running it. No matter how we look at it it is what it is corruption in your face!
It doesn’t matter which day DNO post their article you would find some rubbish to say about it. This makes the rest of your post garbage
conflict of intressssssssssssssssssssssssssssssst that stinks
So they now feeding my children with money that is from the proceed of crime? Is that their way of getting the children and parents susceptible to corruption? As a Christian I don’t take this lightly because in the book of Daniel chapter 1, when King Nebuchadnezzar wanted to brainwash the young people he took it upon himself to feed them a special diet that would make them more tolerant to his evil ways. No wonder the 3 Hebrew boys refused to eat his food! I am now going to stop my children from eating Skerrit passport food and I do hope other parents join me and like Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, (Dan. 1:1-8, let us not allow our children to defile themselves with food that is from the proceed of crime. Before CBI God provided and He will continue to provide
To call yourself a christian, you have to be like the father.. You claim to be a ‘christian’.. So you will understand
Their parents need jobs…Stop giving labourites CBI money for votes…We need an environment where jobs will be provided.
“MMCE is paying for healthy snacks and lunches provided to hundreds of primary school children on the island to prevent mothers keeping their youngsters away from school due to a lack of proper school meals.”
So much was revealed in this short article but I only want to focus on two admissions: 1. The paragraph above is confirming that no matter how Skerrit them try to paint it, they are admitting that they have made people so poor that if they don’t give the children food parents will be forced to keep their children home because of poverty. This is very serious folks because I was a child of the 50’s when things were very had and my very poor parents had 12 of us to maintain. But we NEVER skipped school because of poverty! In 2017 Skerrit got the country worse than the 70″s? That’s what they are admitting. 2 . Why should Melissa Skerrit, the wife of PM Skerrit, have any thing to do in the management of CBI money that is so crowded with controversy and lack of transparency?…
We are so blinded that we fail to see the bigger picture that children who do not have breakfast snack or lunch most of the time are being given a meal. Put political parties aside. Have you ever seen a child crying to you in the morning telling you that she doesn’t have snack and did not eat breakfast. Stop it some of all you can’t go 3 hours without eating all you stomach burn
Put your glasses on and ask the right questions:
1. Why are so many children been either sent to school or kept away from school due to a lack of meals.
2. What mitigation has government put in place to oversee the overall welfare of those children – chances are if their parents cant afford to feed them they also cant afford other bare necessities.
3. What policies has government enacted to ensure that those children, whose parents are today unable to provide them with breakfasts, do not go on to perpetuate the cycle?
4. Should passport sales dwindle, will Melissa and co continue to give those children meals or will the meals suddenly stop?
Ask yourself those questions since you want to stroll along the line of “children are being fed”. Solutions are always because of problems – solve those problems effectively and you not only eliminate them but prevent recurrences!
Stop it you singing for your next CBI meal to pal. dow worry they will put something in the food for you all foolish folks
Well…Welll Well……What”s happening. Is so we come?
This was not written by Laura Smith.
Stop using people’s names to make your senseless, foolish comments. DNO should be more responsible than that. When full names are posted put anon1234 like other anonymous sites. Those backwards a******* in this country eh! Put your own damn name
A pastor once said, that he wanted to pay off the mortgage on the church property. So asked all his members to “donate” $1000.00 each towards that purpose. Of course, most members contributed 1G. Then he turned around and held a banquet (at the Waldorf Astoria on 301 Park Ave, New York, NY, which is one of the most expensive hotels in New York) for church members and his family. My guess is, the balance on the mortgage was not that high. Unfortunately, “ministers” of all types and categories who are entrusted with monies from those to whom they take an oath to minister to, are scarcely honest with financial transaction. They willingly sell their souls for “thirty pieces of Silver.” Scripture says, “The love of money is the root of all evil.” So don’t be envious of these ministers; For the misuse of Sacrificial monies do results in generational curses – As we so often see here in Dominica. After they have corn the people, they pretend to be giving something for free and…
This thing stinks to the bone. What the hell is going on in this place? Skerrit and his wife cannot be more bold face. Dominica’s passport money is being used to fund Melissa Foundation. Are Dominicans dumb? How long will this nonsense continue?
And what is wrong with that? All you doe say CBI SHOUD BENIFIT ALL DOMINICANS NAH? Hahahahaahahahhahahahahahahhahahahahahahahaha.
Wosh. Gasa mi lay ban sot wi gasa.
Saying one thing now and another tomorrow.
All u against CBI but now all u want to tell us wat to do with CBI money? Hahaha
Now look Lennox and outgoing pal rep for roseau saying the support CBI like we sot like UWP.
We heard we know and we saw.
Please stay out of our CBI please.
All u against it and it is doing just fine without all u support.
We don’t want all u supports.
Support Rejork henly and partners and 60 minutes.
We don’t need all u support.
So wen our First Lady doing something good and spreading d CBI to D/cans shot up and stay away from it.
Y Lennox and the rest of the UWP MP’s not using their money they getting from the state for doing nothing don’t spend some to buy a pencil for a child?
All u doing nothing wat so ever to help one Dominica ur everytime a…
and meals coming from her sisters restaurant? wth
so many other persons can benefit from this program. Every week choose a different snackette to prepare snacks for the program, let everybody benefit. Why it has to be “pops rotisserie”. come on. Let’s be realistic. Why can’t you make the farmer sell his watermelon and bananas and oranges to help prepare the snack? so unfair
The choice of foods provided is just NOT the best! Pancakes, chocolate milk and hotdogs????? What is Healthy about that? I see overweight children in the near future.
On another note we are struggling with a problem of rubbish on the Island- see right Gere the food is being distributed in styrofoam. Time we stop importing this material. Create employment by hiring one to wash up after meals.
If you all mean that there is money to be used then use it wisely.
I am a labourite but you can give somebody a chance wii my girl.
carmem i’m glad one of you all labourite opening you all eye
https://dominicanewsonline.com/news/homepage/news/general/businesswoman-to-launch-school-feeding-program-in-2017/
“As of January, I will be implementing the school feeding program,” she said.
Skerrit-Poponne will also launch her foundation in the new year.
THOUGHT THIS WAS HER FOUNDATION; DIDN’T KNOW THAT IT WAS SUSTAINED BY THE CBI
I know is that I read and I am a labourite.
Corruption made public.
So, it seems MMCE is a CBI peddler with ability to pay invoices without any oversight. The way this is set up, it looks like money laundering with a touch of nepotism. MMCE gives CBI money to the Prime Minister’s wife’s foundation which then requests the services of the Prime Minister’s sister-in-law who gets paid by MMCE, no questions asked. This money laundering leads to conversion of state resources into the personal coffers of the Prime Minister’s family. Dominicans are supposed to be blinded by what looks like a good social program. That’s boldness on a grand scale.
hahaha, look it…. dumbinican children so hungry that passport money must be used to feed them…. when the cash cow run short i wonder what next
You are damn right.
Woow, so people who can afford to send their kids to St. Marten cannot afford to feed them? Most of the students there are from the more affluent members of our society.
PAPA things are really bad in Dominica.
I would have more of a positive thing to say about this initiative if it provided schools with the necessary funds to include a kitchen program for their students. Further to that, many of the schools already have a school feeding program – why not upgrade their kitchens and access to food instead of attempting to duplicate that system?
A healthy meal for a child at those primary school age ranges includes oats, fibers and fruits – not hot dogs and pancakes. Those processed foods are causing hyperactivity in a lot of children and that type of diet should not be fed to a child on a daily basis!
When you trying to be MICHELLE OBAMA but you don’t have two ivy league degrees or don’t understand the concept of nutrition and a balanced meal..
I fully agree with you,instead of moving forward with progress, we round and round like a dog following it’s shadow..
Your statement is very un-intelligent.
Thou I agree with what you were TRYING to say. You didn\’t say it.
Woow, so people who can afford to send their kids to St. Marten cannot afford to feed them?
@ oNETIME my post must have struck a nerve!
Read the statement in full and understand! The inference here isn’t that persons who send their kids to st martin should automatically be able to feed them – it is the fact that 90% of the students (if not more) who attend that school are children of the more affluent members of our society, the school also has the benefit of the Catholic organisation to shelter it.
Why then should they have such a high percent of their students missing school because their parents cant feed them, so much so that Mrs Skerrit had to choose them as her pet project? (I am of course assuming that MRs skerrit did her research on which schools were most in need of that particular “feeding program”)
“Woow, so people who can afford to send their kids to St. Marten cannot afford to feed them? Most of the students there are from the more affluent members of our society”.
“The best social program is a job”. …. Ronald Reagan
“We should measure welfare success by the number that leaves it,not the number of people added”
Ronald Reagan
And all the money is being invoiced to Pops Rotisserie and Grill, Melissa Skerrit sister place. They always look for ways for their own prosperity under the pretense of helping others. The rich will always get richer…
WTH?! This is beyond disgraceful and insulting to Dominicans.
1st – MMCE makes commission (tax payer’s money) by selling DOMINICA’s PASSPORTs.
2nd – Part of the commission is used to pay Melissa Skerrit’s sister to make junk food for kids.
3rd – Melissa Skerrit slaps her name on styrofoam (not environmentally-friendly) containers & smiles for the camera to start fooling those children and their parents of the “benevolence” of the Skerrits!
Dominica this is a new low. Your own money taken by a family to contribute to the degradation and garbage heaps around Dominica, make our children unhealthy, while their families (Skerrits and MMCE’s) can access great healthcare elsewhere.
Open your eyes Dominicans! Please! This joke has gone far too far!
Nepotism!!!!!
Same thing we cried down UWP for
Anything to fool us we
yes. they sell our passports. make their big money. and then turn round and come up with all these “schemes”.
And look at the beneficiary of those schemes, “Pops Rotiserire”. Owned by a sister of Melissa….Carry on