Nassau, Bahamas – Hundreds of students, administrators, teachers, parents and government officials gathered to celebrate ‘Universal Children’s Day.’
The thanksgiving service was held on Thursday, November 25 at the Church of God of Prophecy on East Street under the theme, ‘Bahamian Praise of Yesteryear.’ In attendance was the Minister of Education, the Hon. Desmond Bannister said that he was honoured to participate in the celebrations.
“I feel very blessed to be amongst you, the smart, talented, creative and disciplined students who hail from the public, private and special schools all over The Bahamas,” said Mr. Bannister. “Each of you is a precious gift.”
Mr. Bannister said that the chosen them was an ‘interesting’ one which evoked memories of a time in the past when good manners were the norm, not the exception.
“When I was growing up, good manners was not something you chose to have, but something that you were compelled to learn and was happy to actively practice,” reminisced Mr. Bannister.
He added that children were also taught to exercise a more heightened level of sensitivity towards animals, senior citizens, children, the sick and to those less fortunate. Minister Bannister said that students have much for which to be thankful especially with the freedom to worship freely and to access to education.
“There are children around the world, however, who are not as fortunate as you are,” said Mr. Bannister.
Some do not have the luxury of enjoying clean drinking water like some of our brothers and sisters in Haiti who are now dealing with a cholera outbreak as a result of this. Some children face starvation on a daily basis such as those in some parts of Africa and Asia while others are not allowed to go to school but are made to work at a very young age.”
The Thanksgiving service also performances by The Mighty Beacons, The Voices of Praise and cheques presentations to The Centre for the Deaf and the Stapledon School. The moderator for the service was Pleshea Abrahams, a student of Queen’s College and the sermon was delivered by Pastor Mario Moxey of Bahamas Harvest Church.
By Betty Vedrine
Bahamas Information Services
