THE Ministry of Education, Science and Technology's 2013 Employee of the Year Chilean Burrows paid a courtesy call on Minister Jerome Fitzgerald.

Executive Director of The Bahamas Urban Youth Development Center (BUYDC) Prodesta Moore said the outreach group, which provides workshops for sex workers in the country, is noticing a steady increase in the number of people involved in the trade.
"It's definitely growing," she said in an interview with The Nassau Guardian.
"With the economy the way it is we found that more women are finding it easier to make that decision. As much as they don't like having to do it, they are finding that that's the best way that they can now possibly provide for their children.
"As long as there is a market out there and people are willing to purchase you are going to have women who are willing to sell.
"It's not just a female thing anymore, it's now transitioning also into a male thing."
Moore said the organization does not have a figure for how many sex workers are in the country, but have noticed steadily that the number of people the group surveys is increasing.
The BUYDC is a safe haven for at risk people and provides education on pregnancy and HIV/AIDS prevention.
Moore said the organization surveyed 450 sex workers in Grand Bahama and New Providence last year.
She said the group holds monthly workshops with young women to educate them on AIDS, condom negotiation strategies and money management.
Moore said some of the women say that some clients pay more money to have sex without a condom.
She said the group also reaches out to students.
"In our schools, it's more focused on transactional sex which is sex in exchange for money, whether it's lunch money or school supplies," she said.
Moore claimed that a large number of students are engaged in transactional sex.
"We can't put a number on it but it's large. It's growing," she said.
"It starts from within the schools and that's why our program is starting to reach them even from elementary.
"We've actually had where we've seen a group of young women, had the guys lined off in chairs and you would have the students in the back of the school and they would be performing, having their lap dances for 50 cents or a dollar.
"So it starts with the ring play, the gyrating and all that stuff is how it starts."

Dear Editor,

My fellow Bahamians, in the spirit of this holy season I greet you.
Christmas is a time when we all come together as a nation, with hands and hearts joined to celebrate the birth of our great king.
It is in this time of togetherness that we reflect on the past year and hope to usher in a new year with all the joys and benefits of a brighter tomorrow.
It is in that spirit that I call on each and every one of us in this blessed yuletide season to dedicate our lives to lending aid and comfort to our weaker brothers and sisters in our communities.
Let us forget the lines of division that separate us as a people and let us reach deep to assist those in our surrounding communities who are in need of our help.
Let us together lend ourselves to the promise of building a brighter and more peaceful nation. For together there is no obstacle too great, no challenge too difficult, no distance too far. Together we are an unbeatable force.
To the loving people of Cat Island, Rum Cay and San Salvador, I want to send my warmest greetings at this special time. I renew my commitment to the advancement of these wonderful islands.
I sincerely offer my special thanks to the staff at the Ministry of Works and Urban Development and affiliate departments which I serve.
Let us in our Christian charity sound the chorus of great joy that has come to us:
O come, Desire of the nations, bind
in one the hearts of all mankind;
bid every strife and quarrel cease
and fill the world with heaven's peace.
From my house to yours, I pray that you enjoy a blessed holiday filled with every favor into the new year.
My God bless the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

- Philip Brave Davis, deputy prime minister