State Secre­tary for Participation and Inte­gration Jurgen Nobel will pay a working visit to Saba, St. Eustatius and Bonaire consecutively, from Sunday, September 29, until Sunday, October 6. This visit is aimed at getting to know the islands better and to per­sonally discuss the challenges and positive examples from practice.

During his visit, Nobel will meet the Executive Councils, social partners and especially the local residents of each is­land, He also will focus on the themes of childcare, participa­tion and poverty during his time on the islands. Nobel will visit various childcare centres, supermarkets, social work­places and other organisations in the social domain across the islands. Meetings will be held with various stakeholders on issues such as poverty, employ­ment and income.

To improve the purchasing power of residents on the three islands, the Dutch government has reserved 9 million euros annually to support parents with both minimum and mid­dle incomes, as was recently been announced on Budget Day (“Prinsjesdag”).

In the coming period, the cabinet will elaborate concrete measures. For Bonaire, St. Eu­statius, and Saba, the Govern­ment has also reserved 2 mil­lion euros per year to strength­en local services related to poverty and debt management.

The Daily Herald.