Day: April 14, 2023

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Centro Semillero Offers Two Master’s Programs and Endless Possibilities

Houston, Texas, April 13, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — You may have heard the motto, “Those who dare to teach must never cease to learn.” This principle strongly applies to two Houston-area educators who, through Centro Semillero at University of St. Thomas-Houston (UST), have confirmed their callings as teachers and fortified their faith. Moreover, they are applying the academic program’s four pillars — kindness, discipline, knowledge, and community — to everything they do.

Angel de Jesus Garcia, Current Master’s Student

One of them is Angel de Jesus Garcia, a college advisor at Houston Independent School District and currently enrolled in Centro Semillero’s Master of Sacred Scriptures Program.

“When my friends told me that St. Thomas was about to launch a master’s degree program in Spanish, I went to orientation and decided to give it try,” Garcia said. “That’s how I became part of the first generation of Spanish-speaking theology students, and I thank God for that decision.”

Garcia made this decision because it perfectly supported both his profession as an educator and his after-work role as a leader at his parish’s youth ministry where he attends pastoral meetings, plans retreats, and creates Christian formation programs.

About Centro Semillero

Centro Semillero was created in 2019 as a graduate studies program in pastoral and biblical studies theology at the UST School of Humanities. Offered online and 100% in Spanish, Centro Semillero offers two postgraduate programs: a Master’s in Pastoral Theology and a Master’s in Sacred Scriptures.

“Centro Semillero,” according to its director Father Dempsey Rosales Acosta, “is inspired by the book of Proverbs 2:2-3 when fulfilling the invitation to incline our hearts to the understanding and study of God to grow in his love. Our center offers the opportunity to fulfill this goal of personal and professional growth by obtaining a postgraduate degree in pastoral or biblical studies at UST from the comfort of your home with our 100% online programs.”

Iris Lai Nayas, MAPT ‘21

For Iris Lai Nayas, a 9th-grade Spanish teacher at Pasadena Independent School District, and a graduate of the Pastoral Theology program in 2021, the concepts she learned have opened a door for dialogue with colleagues from other religions.

Nayas said, “The program has helped me find pastoral strategies for interacting with my colleagues, who are not necessarily Catholic. The strategies enable me to dialogue with all of my colleagues and live experiences of faith without losing the essence of mine.”

Most importantly, the program has made her realize that through her interactions with her students and peers, she can be a testament to God’s presence.

“Today, schools they have taken God out of the classroom but thanks to this program, I understand that God has never been outside, and it is up to me to present him, through values, justice, love, prudence, prayer, and faith,” adds Nayas.

Thanks to her graduate degree, Nayas is also a facilitator in the Small Communities of Salt and Light of Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers.

How to Enroll

Centro Semillero has open enrollment for new students. To learn more about Centro Semillero click here.

Attachments

Sandra Soliz
University of St. Thomas - Houston
713-906-7912
solizs@stthom.edu

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 8807777

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Health anti-corruption forum makes progress

The Special Investigating Unit has instituted civil proceedings worth some R1.6 billion as part of the Health Sector Anti-Corruption Forum’s (HSACF) role in fighting corruption in the healthcare system.

The forum includes civil society, law enforcement agencies, regulators, government and the private sector with the corruption busting unit as its chair.

According to the unit, the R1.6 billion currently before the courts includes “approximately R500 million that is linked to an investigation in the affairs of the Office of the State Attorney on medical negligence claims and legal service claims”. This is related to legal practitioners who rendered services to the Gauteng and Eastern Cape health departments.

“One of the legal practitioners being pursued by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) is Advocate Hassan Ebrahim Kajee, who served as a lawyer for the Office of the State Attorney. Kajee was arrested early this month on various charges of fraud.

“[The] SIU investigation revealed that Adv. Kajee inflated invoices, invoiced for services not actually rendered and overcharged for alleged services rendered. The SIU has instituted civil action in the Special Tribunal against Adv. Kajee to recover approximately R27 million for damages suffered by the State,” the SIU said.

Other highlights for the HSACF include:

The Fusion Centre, which reported to the HSACF, made recoveries on 10 of 76 medical matters with a grand total of approximately R445 million.

The Forum has received a report of 51 matters in court, with 45 matters resulting in convictions.

Some 29 allegations of corruption that were referred to the HSACF have resulted in formal investigations

More than 100 officials have been referred for disciplinary action

Some 30 referrals have been made to the National Prosecuting Authority for further action

“Despite having only 10 meetings since its inception almost five years ago, the HSACF has made inroads in collaborating with international bodies such as United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

“The partnership…aims to implement corruption prevention initiatives in the health sector, which include strengthening whistleblowing mechanism and corruption risk assessments. The collaboration also includes a pilot project that will be implemented on strengthening the internal whistleblowing/reporting channels and National Department of Health where corruption risk assessments will be implemented around procurement.

“With just less than three years until the planned implementation of the National Health Insurance, the HSACF will ensure that there is minimal room for corruption in both the public and private health sectors and help ensure that South Africans have access to a functioning and stable healthcare system,” the SIU said.

Source: South African Government News Agency

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Gauteng Roads and Transport corrects misinformation on arrest of g-Fleet employee

Gauteng MEC for Transport and Logistics, Kedibone Diale-Tlabela, has noted with concern misinformation and falsehoods being peddled in the public domain regarding the arrest of a former Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport (GDRT) official and an accomplice on charges of fraud, theft and defeating the ends of justice.

MEC Diale-Tlabela would like to categorically state that the arrest and subsequent appearance in court of the two suspects was a culmination of an investigation spanning six years by the GDRT’s Fraud and Anti-corruption Unit, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations and the National Prosecuting Authority.

Following the investigations, the pair were further charged with the use of state vehicles without authorised consent.

The former employee was a regional manager for both the Eastern Cape and Durban regions of the g-Fleet (the fleet management entity of the GDRT), which is in the business of renting and leasing vehicles to state departments.

“We would like to once again reiterate our commitment to fighting fraud and corruption. Officials who continue to shamelessly use state resources for their nefarious activities to their own benefit will meet the wrath of the law. The arrested official thought this net would never close in on her and her accomplice, but their day came. This is a clear message to those who abuse their positions of trust and steal from the people that their day will come,” MEC warned.

She added that as the Department continues to root out fraud and corruption, Gauteng residents can be assured that the trust they have bestowed on the Department will not be betrayed.

“While our intervention has led to the arrest of the official in KwaZulu-Natal, our net is cast wide to those dark corners where officials think they can get away with leeching on the resources of the democratic state for their narrow personal gain. We have fired only the first salvo to looters of state resources, those who hollow out resources that are meant for the people of Gauteng for their personal gain. I want to take this opportunity to warn these elements that their days are numbered,” the MEC warned.

For more information, please contact Ms Melitah Madiba on 073 644 9935 or Mr Lesiba Mpya on 078 314 7987

Source: Government of South Africa

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Gov’t On Course To Improve Prison Infrastructure

There is need to improve the standards of infrastructure in correctional facilities to cater for prison officers and better rehabilitation of inmates, State department for correctional services Principal secretary Mary Muthoni Muriuki has said.

The PS said her department was keen about the welfare of officers and prisoners in their facilities, hence the commitment to improve on their human dignity through provision of improved facilities.

We want to come up with best way forward to improve Prison facilities to ensure they are habitable for officers as well as prisoners as one way of improving the welfare of our officers and inmates, said Muriuki, while on a visit to Ngeria Prison in Uasin Gishu County on Thursday.

Muriuki observed that many of the Prisons infrastructures currently existing were either constructed during the colonial era to punish Africans or in the early sixties when the country attained independence.

‘Many of the infrastructure is so dilapidated, calls by counties to relocate some of the Prisons is not just to move them to new sites, but we are looking at a wholesome long-term process aimed at not only improving the infrastructure but also looking at improving other rehabilitative sectors such as training that will benefit the inmates once reintegrated back to the society,’ said the PS.

When correcting an individual, she added, it is important to show them empathy. ‘We are not out to punish inmates in our facilities, they need to be in an environment that is conducive for them to function psychologically,’ she said.

To ensure human dignity in correctional service facilities is at par with international standards, the PS said they were proposing the one prisoner, one bed, one mattress to ensure inmates sleep on a bed with beddings instead of sleeping on the floor.

The PS who was accompanied by Uasin Gishu County Commissioner Dr. Edison Nyale added that they were also aiming at decongesting the prisons saying 50% of inmates currently were remandees who were occupying space with lots of government resources being spent on them.

Source: Kenya News Agency

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RVIST Tips Farmers On Ways To Beat Climate Change Effects

For the past two years the Rift Valley Institute of Science and Technology (RVIST) has been running an ambitious program focusing on mitigating effects of climate change.

Teaching staff and students have been visiting the countryside of Nakuru, Baringo and Narok Counties and training farmers on sustained innovation in drought-resistant seed varieties, environment friendly practices and better post-harvest management to reduce losses.

The team has also been engaging the communities in activities such as tree planting, soil conservation, climate smart farming methods and clean-up of water bodies.

This noble cause has caught the attention of the Governing Council of sixth edition of the World Federation of Colleges and Polytechnics (WFCP) 2023 TVET Excellence for All Awards that has nominated RVIST for the award of Sustainable Development Goal- Championing mitigation on climate change.

According to the institution’s principal Dr Sammy Chemoiwo, climate change has become a threat to food security the world over. Its effects include unpredictable rains, leading to decreased yields and increased production costs.

Dr Chemoiwo, a career educationist in technical education, has also been nominated for the Leadership Award. Winners for the awards will be announced during the WFCP World Congress to be held in Montreal, Canada from April 25-27.

The congress, touted as the largest professional and technical education event in the world, will be attended by more than 700 delegates from 50 countries and six continents.

Researchers and students at RVIST are also exploring the use of technologies and innovations like solar irrigation, digital agriculture, climate-smart agriculture and climate-smart breeding, as ways to tackle the negative effects of climate change.

Other technologies the institute is rooting for include bio-fortification and use of climate-smart seed varieties.

‘The climate is changing so fast that current technologies won’t be able to keep up. Innovators in climate smart technologies must up their game,’ Dr Chemoiwo explains.

He insists that there is a need for concerted efforts among private and public industry stakeholders to give more attention to research.

In undertaking the climate change mitigation program RVIST has been collaborating with Climate Smart Agriculture Youth Network Global, the United Nations, Geothermal Development Company (GDC) and Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen).

The institute has trained 30 students who are each allocated at least 30 smaller holder farmers who they encourage to grow the drought-resistant and highly-in-demand crop

‘We want to empower farmers to make informed decisions such as planting at the right time and the right crop,’ Dr Chemoiwo points out.

The Principal observes that the use of climate-smart agriculture innovations and technology is often limited to large scale farmers.

‘Knowledge dissemination to small scale farmers is critical,’ he adds.

The Principal says unless farmers embrace climate-smart agriculture, production will continue to dwindle, leading to decreased incomes, job losses and hunger.

Dr Chemoiwa indicates that there is a need to step up efforts to train farmers to embrace innovative practices.

‘New pests and diseases have cropped up,’ Dr Chemoiwo notes.

He further highlights the importance of ‘orphaned crops’ such as millet, sorghum, indigenous African vegetables, arrow roots, cassava, sweet potatoes and yams, in enhancing food and nutrition security, especially for the rural poor.

‘With climate change, varieties will need to respond to hotter and drier conditions, but also more weather variability and extreme events, higher salinity with rising sea levels and more attacks from pests and diseases as higher temperatures increase incidence and severity,’ explains Dr Chemoiwo.

He notes that apart from scaling up emerging technologies in agriculture, there is an urgent need to invest in policies and training.

‘Transformation of food systems will require interventions beyond the disruptive technological innovations such as continued investments in low-tech interventions, creating new and bold policies, and influencing consumer behaviour,’

Source: Kenya News Agency