Latest news with #Falmouth-based
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Cornish singer to make stadium debut with two exclusive performances
ACCLAIMED Cornish singer-songwriter Will Keating will take the stage for two exclusive performances at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham. Known for his unique blend of Cornish folk songs and shanties, Will will perform at the iconic rugby stadium on Saturday, May 2. The performances will coincide with the inaugural Royal Navy Vs Army rugby fixture. The two ten-minute sets are scheduled to take place during key intervals at the stadium's packed event schedule (Image: Supplied) His performance will mark his debut at the stadium, and Will promises to deliver powerful moments of live music to thousands of fans. The two ten-minute sets are scheduled to take place during key intervals at the stadium's packed event schedule, offering attendees an 'intimate musical experience' amid the day's high-energy atmosphere. Even more special is that Will is a Royal Navy Veteran and an ex-rugby player. 'I'm thrilled to be performing at the Allianz Stadium for the inaugural Royal Navy Vs Army rugby fixture,' said Will. 'The event is steeped in history at the home of Rugby Union, and I am honoured to be able to share my music with such a vibrant crowd. 'I'm looking forward to creating something memorable in these two short but powerful sets.' With a loyal fanbase, Will continues to enchant audiences with his heartfelt performances and deep connection to his beloved home of Cornwall. 'I'm thrilled to be performing at the Allianz Stadium for the inaugural Royal Navy Vs Army rugby fixture,' said Will (Image: Supplied) Will is part of the popular Falmouth-based male vocal group The Oggymen, celebrated for their humour and beautiful four-part harmonies. In 2016, inspired by Cornwall's traditions and the songs of his mentor, Harry 'Safari' Glasson, Will began performing solo with his acoustic guitar and stompbox. His repertoire includes a blend of Harry's compositions, his own songs, and traditional Cornish and Celtic folk
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Maine nonprofit's work in Haiti hampered by USAID shutdown
Feb. 8—A Falmouth-based nonprofit announced Friday it was closing a long-running prenatal and newborn care program that served thousands in northern Haiti due to the Trump administration's attempt to shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development. Konbit Sante had to stop its maternal care work at a public hospital serving a poor neighborhood in Cap-Haitien, the country's second-largest city, under orders from USAID, which provides it with $220,000 a year to buy medical supplies and pay 32 nurses and community outreach aides. "Like everybody else, we were expecting some instability and tried to plan and prepare for it, but we never thought the country's entire foreign aid program would be eviscerated in the first two weeks of the new administration," said Perry Newman, Konbit Sante's executive director. Newman had hoped last week's 90-day stop work order was temporary while President Donald Trump's new administration evaluated USAID programs, but that hope was dashed when the agency put all but a few hundred of its 10,000 employees on leave and recalled its overseas workers. Trump left little doubt of his plan for USAID Friday. "CLOSE IT DOWN!" he said on his Truth Social page. The closure has met with strong criticism from many Democrats who claim it is unconstitutional, and many international leaders who worry about the vacuum created by the withdrawal of the world's largest provider of foreign assistance. It is likely to be challenged in court. Konbit Sante is not the only Maine nonprofit to be hit by the dismantling of USAID. MCD Global Health of Hallowell has had to halt its mission to combat malaria in Mozambique, Uganda and Niger. MCD is the recipient of a five-year, $27 million USAID grant. USAID spent $240 million in Haiti in fiscal year 2023, federal records show. Humanitarian grants funding emergency food and disaster relief got the highest spend, at $89 million. Health care funding was second at $66 million. Maternal health care programs accounted for $15 million. The loss of the funding means Konbit Sante will have to withdraw from Fort Saint Michel Health Center, a public hospital that serves a community of about 5,000 people who live in fragile dwellings built on garbage. Tuberculosis is the biggest public health challenge in this flood-prone community. In 2009, Konbit Sante helped the 24-hour emergency clinic expand into women's health services by adding gynecology, obstetrics, and prenatal and postnatal care. In 2012, it funded the addition of a 17-bed maternity ward to the center's existing surgical room, laboratory and tuberculosis clinic. USAID funding provides training, supplies and salaries to eight nurses and 24 community health workers who visit people in their homes to promote neonatal and postnatal referrals, malnutrition treatment and vaccinations and encourage pregnant women to give birth in the hospital. Konbit Sante will continue to pay these employees through the end of the month out of its own funding, Newman said. But the program's closure will eventually put those nurses and health aides out of work in a country where unemployment hovers around 15%. The facility staff that remain will be able to use up the remaining USAID-purchased medicines and medical supplies, but those will soon run out, Newman said. Konbit Sante is working with non-USAID agencies in Haiti to take on their maternal health care clients. "It's a very bleak picture," Newman said. "With the stroke of a pen, an entire community will suffer. Others will step in to try to help, but they won't be able to fill the void. These women and children will suffer. Many lives will be changed, and sadly, some lives will be lost." Fort Saint Michel Health Center is the only Konbit Sante program funded by a USAID grant. The rest of the organization's $750,000 annual budget comes from private contributions, Newman said. Konbit Sante will continue its maternal health care work at three other Haitian health centers. The organization will direct some patients to a neonatal intensive care unit it is building at a health center 2-1/2 miles away, Newman said. It can take up to an hour to travel that distance by motorbike or flatbed truck taxi because of potholes, traffic jams and overturned vehicles. "Imagine you're that mother on that bike with a sick child on your lap," he said. "Haiti is a high friction society. It's hard to find anything that can be easily accomplished here. But losing the ability to care for sick children where we find them, when we've been doing it for 20 years, it's soul crushing and it's cruel." Konbit Sante has a long history in Haiti. It was founded in 2001 by Michael and Wendy Taylor of Portland, a dermatologist and marketing manager. Konbit Sante is a Haitian Creole phrase that means working together for health. Copy the Story Link
BBC News
31-01-2025
- General
- BBC News
Cornwall lifeboat retires after 23 year of service
A lifeboat which is "retiring" after 23 years of service was launched more than 500 times, saved 12 lives and helped hundreds more, the RNLI Falmouth-based Richard Cox Scott was sent off in style from the town for the last time on was named by Queen Elizabeth II in 2002 during her Golden Jubilee celebrations and was called out within 24 hours after she came into lifeboat operations manager Nick Lewis said it was emotional to see her go and added that the boat had "served the town immensely well over the last 23 years". She was launched 537 times, saved 12 lives and helped 718 other people in distress over her 23 years of service. In 2005 the lifeboat was involved in the rescue of eight people from the cargo vessel Galina which lost power in storm force conditions five miles south east of Dodman Point. Ovaltine drink The lifeboat was given as a bequest from Ruth Marygold Dix Scott and was named after her late husband who was a banker. Mrs Scott worked for a time as a commercial artist and designed the Ovaltine drink couple had retired to Cornwall in the Scott swam and canoed on the Helford River and asked for the lifeboat to be stationed near her Mawnan Smith home. Deputy second coxswain David Nicholl said: "We didn't know that she was leaving the money to us."That money has really been used to benefit the community."He said crews had an affinity with the lifeboat."You trust the boat - it's the boat that takes you to sea in all weather conditions."You have quite a close bond to it." 'End of an era' The Richard Cox Scott was sent off in style on Friday. Lifeboats from Fowey, Lizard and Penlee and dock tugs, pilot boats and passenger ferries wished her farewell at Pendennis Point. Mr Nicholls said: "It's nice that she is being taken back up to Poole to retire."Hopefully she may develop another life after that. For us it's the end of an era and we move on."The Richard Cox Scott has been replaced by a temporary lifeboat from the relief fleet and the station's own Shannon lifeboat will arrive later this year.
