National

“Like Any Mother, All I Want Is The Best for My Baby”

ABACO, BAHAMAS – Meet seven-year-old Royalty Newton. She has cerebral palsy, a condition that affects her movement and posture.

Published

11 months ago

April 9, 2025

Sasha Lightbourne

ABACO, BAHAMAS – Meet seven-year-old Royalty Newton. She has cerebral palsy, a condition that affects her movement and posture.

Both of her legs are affected, making it hard for her to walk or keep her balance.

And for her mother Deandra Newton, that’s meant a constant struggle just to give her daughter a normal school experience.

But Newton felt her daughter didn’t fit in at that school and pulled her out.

She tells me she spent weeks searching for a new school, writing to and calling the Department of Education but claims she’s got no response.

Amidst all of this, Royalty travels to the United States every three months for botox treatments to help manage her condition.

Eventually her mother enrolled her in Central Abaco Primary School but the challenge of getting her to and from the bathroom remained.

Determined to give Royalty the best life possible, Newton says she’s visited the Department of Education’s Marsh Harbour office several times but still hears the same thing – that there are no teachers aides available.

Newton says she believes the solution is a simple one.

And Royalty feels that way too, saying she misses her friends and learning.

We reached out to Education Director Dominique McCartney-Russell. She said she was unaware of the matter, but promised an investigation and said the ministry would be reaching out.