{"id":14560,"date":"2011-11-02T08:42:15","date_gmt":"2011-11-02T12:42:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/?p=14560"},"modified":"2011-11-04T09:04:17","modified_gmt":"2011-11-04T13:04:17","slug":"youth-encouraged-to-learn-from-countrys-nation-builders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/2011\/11\/youth-encouraged-to-learn-from-countrys-nation-builders","title":{"rendered":"Youth Encouraged To Learn From Country\u2019s Nation Builders"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The 14th Annual Builders Awards Ceremony was held in the Ball Room of Government House under the patronage of Their Excellencies Governor General Sir Arthur Foulkes and Joan Lady Foulkes, Monday, October 31. (BIS photo\/Derek Smith)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Nassau, The Bahamas — Minister of Labour and Social Development Dion Foulkes called on the younger generation to learn from older persons the value of working hard to achieve success.<\/p>\n

Minister Foulkes said during the 14th Annual Nation Builder Awards Ceremony held in the Government House Ballroom on Monday, \u201cWe have allowed ourselves to get too comfortable.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have come to believe we are entitled to all of the best that life has to offer without committing to hard work.\u201d<\/p>\n

We have moved toward measuring success by what we have and not by who we are,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf ever there was a time for The Commonwealth to turn to the wisdom of our forefathers, it is now.\u00a0\u00a0 Luckily we still have many of the people who can impart such wisdom with us today.\u00a0\u00a0 It is incumbent upon us to listen to them,\u201d Minister Foulkes added.<\/p>\n

Twelve older persons were recognized during the ceremony for their lifetime of community service, which was held under the patronage of Their Excellencies Governor General Sir Arthur Foulkes and Joan Lady Foulkes under the theme, \u201cOlder People \u2013 A New Power For Development\u201d.<\/p>\n

Minister Foulkes said, \u201cWe are here to celebrate the lives of people who have lived long and hopefully lived well.\u00a0\u00a0 Appropriately, we have deemed them to be Nation Builders.\u00a0\u00a0 Upon reading the biographies of many of these extraordinary people, I have recognized several commonalities.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of them did not come from very wealthy families.\u00a0\u00a0 Most of them started working very hard and very early in their lives,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of them came from families and communities that prized resourcefulness, stick ability and simplicity.\u00a0\u00a0 These are traits that the modern Bahamas needs to revive and implant within our young people.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Minister also noted how inactivity during retirement causes diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and arthritis to worsen and increases the risk of dementia. He said older persons should stay physically and mentally active for as long as possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Government is about to launch Volunteer Bahamas.\u00a0\u00a0 The aim of this program is build a more peaceful culture in our country and restore our communities.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is my goal that many of you here today both over and under the age of 65 will join us as volunteers,\u201d Minister Foulkes said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hear so much negative news about our young people.\u00a0\u00a0 We hear that they are on drugs, or that they are promiscuous, or they lack discipline.\u00a0\u00a0 The truth is that many of them fall into bad behaviour because they lack focus and direction.\u00a0\u00a0 We need each of you to commit to teaching the next generation of Bahamians how to be better people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Minister Foulkes asked the youth in the audience how they would like to be treated and cared for when they become older.<\/p>\n

He said mortality statistics around the world are showing that people are living longer, which means older persons\u2019 participation must be included in the country\u2019s social development to avoid isolation, loneliness, neglect and rejection that can lead to mental disorders associated with aging.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne area of major concern for the Department of Social Services is the abandonment and mistreatment of the elderly in our society.\u00a0\u00a0 Older persons are seen as a burden, not as a blessing,\u201d Minister Foulkes added.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe number of older persons is growing rapidly.\u00a0\u00a0 It is calculated that a girl born in Britain this year has a 33 per cent chance of living to be 100.\u00a0\u00a0 Here in The Bahamas, I was surprise to find out that we have almost 40 people of age 100 or over.\u00a0\u00a0 This is why we must now begin to create a culture that respects the elderly.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 1991, the General Assembly adopted the United Nations principles for Older Persons, illuminating 18 entitlements for older persons relating to independence, participation, care, self-fulfilment and dignity.<\/p>\n

For the last 20 years, the Department of Social Services has been trying to change attitudes concerning the human rights of the elderly.<\/p>\n

By: Gena Gibbs
\nBahamas Information Services<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Minister of Labour and Social Development Dion Foulkes called on the younger generation to learn from older persons the value of working hard to achieve success.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_10223285771444175_51037792744":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[21,51],"class_list":["post-14560","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-educational","tag-youth"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14560"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14560\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}