INSIDE GRENADA DECEMBER 25,2007 by Hon. Dr. Keith Mitchell Fellow Grenadians, Brothers and Sisters, the season is upon us once again. It is the time of year when good tidings we share. For Christians no day is as glorious and as joyous as the day we celebrate the birth of the Almighty – “the Prince of Peace” and our source of “light and life” in both good times and bad. This Christmas my thoughts are with those Grenadians who are enduring personal suffering and those who are in need. For by the Grace of God and with the full support of Government and the people, I wish in some way we are able to bring some degree of comfort and joy this season. There may be an instinct in all of us to help those in need, but in many cases I believe this has been inspired by our own religious faith. Christianity, like most other religions, teaches its followers to help others and to treat your neighbour as you would want to be treated yourself. Certainly, the need for selflessness and generosity in the face of hardship is nothing new. Our forefathers were the pioneers of this way of life. In a real sense, many of us have benefited from this type of benevolence in some way during the course of our development, and this is the opportune time for us to reciprocate. Please bring joy to someone’s life, be it for a moment. =No one says that the road to success does not have its ups and downs, bumps and bruises. We, as a People demonstrated our resilience and fortitude after Ivan and Emily and have built back better. This year with the successful staging of Cricket World Cup, and the start of developmental projects in every parish; Grenada will be able to leap-frog its development by many, many years. For this we are thankful. The birth of Jesus naturally turns our thoughts to infants and what the future holds for them. Then the business of growing up comes to mind. That is why my Government, through the unprecedented number of open-door youth programmes, continues to work assiduously at laying the foundation for a well-balanced education. On the other end of the generation gap we continue to expand our ever generous social safety nets to assist our elderly and needy. At the same time we are steadfast in our efforts to expand our health services and upgrade its facilities. When Government upholds its responsibility to the people young and old, every day to them is Christmas day. Christmas remains the time of year to put aside our differences and superficial problems to celebrate the birth of Jesus who came to bring peace and tolerance to our troubled world. Today, for good reason, we hear the call for bringing the focus on “Christ” back to Christmas. It will be a challenge, but I have no doubt that the New Year will be all the better if we do but try. What we have accomplished throughout the year could not have been done without an all-hands-on-deck approach, and as such I wish to compliment my Government, our Public Service, Teachers, Doctors and Nurses, the Clergy, the business houses, retail workers, factory workers, dock-workers, farmers, fisher-persons, our Police force, hoteliers and hotel workers, utility workers, road-workers, sports men and women, our students, our media, our vendors, our taxi and tour drivers, those who maintain the Family structure, and all other groups and individuals that have worked hard to build this blessed country. I continue to express heartfelt thanks and appreciation to the 27 international and regional Governments and institutions that have provided invaluable financial, economic and technical assistance to us during the past year. We regard them as our partners in development. Much of what we have achieved in our rebuilding process would not have been possible without their help. We thank them sincerely. Fellow Grenadians, on behalf of the Government of Grenada, and on my own behalf and that of my family, I wish you God’s blessings. Let us live the will of God with good health, confidence and renewed hope. It is with love in my heart and hope for the future that I wish every Grenadian, at home and abroad, a safe, joyous and Christ-centered Christmas and a prosperous New Year.