Thy Kingdom Come Ministry/

Anguilla Community Foundation
18 J Russell Smith Rd
Lawrenceville, New Jersey 08648

Telephone: (609) 468-8186
Contact: Edward A. McEwen III, Founder & Executive Director
E-mail: emceweniii@hotmail.com

Organization Description and Mission

Thy Kingdom Come Ministry is a non-profit organization whose current mission is to improve the quality of life for people living in the Caribbean Islands.  The organization is currently responding to requests for assistance from the government of Anguilla, which has increasingly struggled with two critical problems.  First, international real-estate companies have exploited the island by flooding it with expensive hotels, condominiums and villas.  Second, these developments have caused a mass exodus of citizens from the island of Anguilla. 

Because of exploitation and loss of population, the rest of the Anguillan economy has suffered.  Inflated food and gasoline prices exceed what most poor Anguillans can afford: the Anguillan GDP per capita is only $8,800 per year in an economy where jobs are mainly in construction and services.  Though the construction industry boomed to satisfy the expanding real-estate business, 23% of Anguillans currently live below the poverty line.  As a result, many Anguillans have liquidated the few acres of land they own because international companies are willing to purchase for $1 million per acre.  Unfortunately, building real-estate is far too expensive for the poor in Anguilla.  Thousands have sold their land and sought refuge in the United States.  While the government has asked its citizens to stop selling property to international interests, the recovery efforts have been largely unsuccessful.  Prime Minister Osbourne B. Fleming has issued many requests for assistance to Thy Kingdom Come Ministry.

Thy Kingdom Come Ministry is currently serving in a support capacity for the government of Anguilla and for the Anguilla Community Foundation.

Research Questions

Thy Kingdom Come Ministry and the Anguilla Community Foundation welcome students to visit Anguilla, if needed, to answer the following research questions:

• Because the needs of poor citizens of Anguilla are often hidden by popularized images of vacation resorts, Thy Kingdom Come Ministry would like a student to use personal interviews to tell the story of Anguillans who have moved to America.  Student researchers are welcome to visit the island for interviews, but many citizens of Anguilla now live in the United States.  Students will have ample opportunity to perform research in the New Jersey area. 

• The cost of living in Anguilla is high because of elevated prices, low wages, and a lack of relief during natural disaster situations, making life difficult for the poor.   Thy Kingdom Come Ministry is interested to know how Dutch Disease theory might apply to the situation in Anguilla.   Students could investigate possible outcomes to the economic quandary in Anguilla.  What initiatives could bring jobs into the Anguillan economy?  How can the economy be diversified?  How can expatriate Anguillans be encouraged to return home?  Students could suggest best-practice recommendations by studying countries that have faced similar problems.

• Some Anguillans who own small amounts of property on the island can become wealthy if they sell; land is worth $1 million/acre.  Accordingly, many have sold their land to international companies because they lack funding and expertise to build on their own property.  How can Anguillans take advantage of the property they own without selling to foreign interests?  Who can help them build on their land?  How can Anguillans acquire the skills needed to manage property issues?

• Thy Kingdom Come Ministry needs a student to do research that would eventually be used to create a business plan for the Anguillan Community Foundation.  The organization was founded in 1999, yet it has raised only $115k for its endowment.  The lack of funds has limited its ability to fulfill its mission to donate to charitable organizations that improve the lives of Anguillans.

• How can the government of Anguilla increase tourism and manipulate tourism to serve the needs of citizens?  How can Anguilla develop other parts of the economy so that the island is not solely dependent on tourism?  How have other countries that rely heavily on tourism addressed these two questions successfully?

• Is it true that rooftop satellite connectivity (which is commonly used in rural areas of mainland North America) is largely unavailable in the islands?  Do satellite providers like Hughes Aircraft and Wild Blue do business in the islands?  If not, what would it take to get these companies to work with the islands?  How would router maintenance work?  How can the islands decide whether they need new ways to achieve internet connectivity (such as an island service provider cooperative that would send a centrally-funded team of technicians to each island to service and update roof-top equipment?

• According to the CIA World Factbook, supplies of potable water in Anguilla sometimes cannot meet increasing demand largely because of poor distribution system.  Yet Anguilla has implemented a tax structure that encourages high levels of consumption by commercial users and low levels of consumption for domestic consumers.  As recently as 2008, the government created a new corporation with the exclusive right to distribute and price water, including permission to make special agreements with customers.  What effect will this new corporation have on prices of drinking water and how will new price structures affect Anguillan citizens?  How can better water services be extended?  How sustainable are current environmental practices on the island, especially with respect to resorts and villas high in water consumption for swimming pools and golf courses?

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