By Wallace J.A

The great Chinese philosopher, Confucius, once said: To be able under all circumstances to practice five things constitutes perfect virtue; these five things are gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness and kindness.

Many times, we become so preoccupied with our everyday duties and responsibilities that we fail to recognize people in our communities who practice these five noble qualities. Sometimes, the news we get are so negative that we tend to forget that there are many good people around us doing positive things to assist in building stronger communities within our tri-island state. This week, I intend to focus on one such individual, Mr. Starlen Romain, from the rural village of Mt.Horne, St.Andrew.

Mr. Romain has a long history of community involvement and many people within the constituency of St.Andrew’s North West, as well as in the parish of St.Andrew, can attest to his indefatigable work in helping to promote community development. He is and has always been a very honest, humble, and likeable person who is easy to talk to and tries his best to assist others whenever and however he can. Moreover, he is young, energetic and exudes charisma.

As the NNP’s present caretaker for the St.Andrew’s NW constituency, Mr. Romain has continued to promote unity, because he sees it of pivotal significance in improving the socio-economic well being of the people in the area. There is strength in unity and it is his intention to develop the area in such a way that everyone benefits. This, he believes, can only come about as a result of strong resolve, synchronization of effort and unity of purpose.

Apart from offering physical assistance as well as psychological support to people in the area that have suffered from the ravages of Ivan and Emily, Mr.Romain has been doing quite a lot of work in the area of youth development through sports. As a sportsman himself, he knows the value of sports in building character, values and a positive outlook on life. He intends to give the young people in his constituency a sense of purpose and hope for the future.

Mr. Romain has provided support, in the form of cricket gears, to the senior and junior cricket teams in Mt.Horne, as well as to other teams in his constituency. He has also made donations of cricketing paraphernalia to two primary schools: the St.Mary’s R.C. School and the St.Michael’s R.C. While handing over the sporting gears, he spoke to the young school children about developing positive attitudes through sports. It was also his commitment to have all the playing fields in the constituency cut and ready ahead of the 2006 cricket season in St.Andrew, a goal that was realized.

Yesterday (Sunday February 26, 2006), Mr. Romain handed over prizes to teams that participated in a football tournament that he sponsored. Some ten teams would have participated in that competition. He is also providing support to many of the primary schools in the area as they prepare themselves for their various sports meeting coming up during the course of this term.

The Mt. Horne playing field is presently getting a ‘face lift’ with the construction of a small pavilion so that people who come to witness sporting events and other functions at that venue would not be unnecessarily inconvenienced by the hot sun or rainfall. Mr.Romain has played a leading role in the materialization of this pavilion. The list of good deeds and community development projects can go on and on, and he has only just started.

It is against this background that I take my hat off to Mr. Romain and applaud him for all the energy that he has expended and all the hard work that he has contributed towards the building of a strong community spirit in his constituency of St.Andrew’s NW. May the Good Lord richly bless you with health, strength and long life so that you can continue your good work.