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Many Caribbean Children Victims of Human Trafficking – U.N.

UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 22,CMC – A new United Nations report says a significant number of children in the Caribbean and Central America are victims of human trafficking. The report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) released here on Wednesday, says while worldwide 28 percent of trafficking victims are children, and that children account for 64 percent in Central America and the Caribbean.

Dennery Co-op Brings Smiles To Village’s Elderly

Image: A van loaded with goodies for Dennery elderly.

THE Dennery Community Credit Cooperative Society Limited continues to bring smiles to the residents of the village this Christmas. On Monday, under the Cooperative’s “Bringing Smiles” programme, 30 residents received much needed hampers. “We took the opportunity to bring Christmas joy to shut-in and elderly residents of Dennery village, La Caye and Lumiere”, a spokesman for the cooperative said.

Sandals Brings Joy to 400 Children

Image: Students at the Gros Islet Infant School with Santa.

OVER 1400 children in Saint Lucia received an early Christmas gift this year courtesy of Sandals Foundation and partners Hasbro Inc. Hasbro Inc., a global play and entertainment company committed to making the world a better place for children and their families. On November 29, the day internationally celebrated as ‘Giving Tuesday’, the Foundation launched their online and on-property campaign. Through this initiative, when consumers donate to the Foundation’s #InspireJoyWithAToy campaign from now through to December 25, Hasbro, Inc. will donate a brand new toy or game (up to 15,000 toys/games in total) to a less fortunate child.

St. Lucia to Benefit From Major Biodiversity Grant

Image of Luis Solorzano

THE Nature Conservancy is pleased to announce the completion of its $8 million private philanthropy commitment toward the creation of the $42 million Caribbean Biodiversity Fund, an endowment supporting the protection and management of 21 million acres of coastal and marine areas. In an unprecedented collaboration for a sustainable Caribbean, eleven governments, including St Lucia have signed on to the Caribbean Challenge Initiative, committing to protect 20 percent of important coastal and marine habitats by 2020 – effectively tripling the coverage of marine protected areas in the region.

A Christmas Message From Archbishop Robert Rivas, Archbishop of Castries

THE mystery of Christmas is the mystery of the light that shines in the dark, a light that darkness could not overpower. St. John in his Gospel says that the Word was the true light that enlightens all peoples (cf. John 1:9). At Christmas time we become very conscious of the divine light shining upon us and the Word breaking through God’s silence and our darkness.

Merry Christmas

CHRISTMAS is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Throughout the years, many celebrations taken place for select occasions but mostly everyone enjoys this Christmas season. What is it that gives you that special Christmas feeling? People are lamenting that the time now goes by so quickly, and so there hardly seems time to enter into the true spirit of the season. Yet there is always the special element that really makes one feel that Christmas is here.

Renwick – A Major Loss

Image of Chris Renwick

The passing on of Chris Renwick remains a major loss to the business community and by extension to St. Lucia. I write today on my personal interaction over the last fifty years, based on the transportation of cement from both Trinidad and Colombia. Chris Renwick was recognised as the “cement king” of St. Lucia and single-handedly his organisation never failed St. Lucia in ensuring that cement as a valuable commodity was always available to consumers.

Food Safety

AS the season of good cheer and goodwill consumes us all, it is very important that as consumers our guards are not lowered as a result of excessive consumption of food and beverages. At this time of the year, unsuspecting consumers are inundated with shoddy goods and shabby services at lower and enticing prices. As such, it is incumbent on consumers to exercise greater vigilance when shopping.

Holiday Anxiety

Q: Dear Regina, I have been caring for my aunt with Alzheimer for two years. She has declined a lot this year. All my family comes to my home for holidays. I do what I have to. I am a little anxious about it this year. Are there ideas to help make things easier for my aunt? A: Alz.org has great information and we are sharing this: “The holidays are just around the corner. Families are gathering for Christmas, sharing laughter and happy memories. But for families coping with Alzheimer’s, the holidays can be bittersweet times, filled with stress and frustration. Festivities can agitate, confuse, and over stimulate persons with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. Meanwhile, caregivers can feel anxious, frustrated, and lonely – leading to stress and depression. The Alzheimer’s Association – Florida Gulf Coast Chapter- has developed 10 Holiday Survival Tips for families coping with Alzheimer’s”. We at AWI have shared a few listed below

All That Glitter

THERE are so many interesting aspects of the timeless story of Christmas, of the birth of Jesus Christ. Surrounding the central element of the Virgin Birth are many layers such as the foretelling by the prophet Isaiah, the visit by the angel Gabriel to Mary, the dream of Joseph, the Star of Bethelehem, the three Wise Men, and their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. The many surrounding elements provide a wrapping for the Christmas story. In a similar fashion, we typically prepare and wrap our gifts at Christmastime, except that the surrounding elements are usually discarded and thrown away.