‘It takes a village to raise a child,’ PM says at annual children’s party

Prime Minister Mia Mottley, Member of Parliament for St Michael North, reinforced the adage, “It takes a village to raise a child,” as she spoke on the sidelines of her annual children’s party. The event, hosted in conjunction with MP for St Michael Central Arthur Holder, was held on Saturday evening at the National Botanical Gardens.

Speaking to the media, Prime Minister Mottley highlighted the unity between the two constituencies stating, “Arthur and I determined long ago a line in the road cannot separate this community.”

“What we try to do is to keep the community together because at the end of the day the community is not about politics, we happen to have the communities that we do because of how the boundaries are drawn. But you can’t see boundaries or constituencies, you have to see communities of people,” she said.

Emphasising the significance of We Gatherin’, Mottley noted, “The last five years have been stressful for most people. From last year we started to see the turning of the corner.” Calling for self-discipline she said, “We want to recognise that in order for us to keep growing in a challenging world it is going to first depend on us to look inward and to develop the values and in it do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

Mottley encouraged Barbadians to make lifestyle changes and become more active, adding  “At the end of the day, if you are disciplined, you are focused, you are consistent and you are creative and think outside of the box and above all else you care and love people we can make it, but if we drop and we allow guns and  different other things to dominate then we will reap what we sow.”

The Prime Minister praised the creativity and potential of young Barbadians. Expressing pride in the young stilt walkers who stood close by she added, “The one that I have learnt is that if we give people the opportunity and people apply themselves consistently, they can be world-class. But the key is you can’t come and just do something now and drop it, and now and drop it, and it’s trying to instill in people that sense of fixing a goal and remaining focused on getting it.”

MP Holder delivered a message of unity and community care, highlighting developmental programmes on the horizon. He shared his vision for engaging young people in caring for the elderly in their communities.

“I think one of the things lacking not only in St Michael Central but throughout the constituencies is that we need to be more caring, so if we can get our young people work closer with persons in the community, the elders in the community, respect the community, so that we can bring them together,” he said.

Acknowledging the strain on social services, Arthur added, “We are burdening the welfare with things; I think if we develop the correct community programmes a lot of home care can exist.”

Addressing concerns about youth, he added, “We are always talking about the young people are wayward, even though the majority of our young people are good. There are elements in society that are bad. I think if we bring together our young people, show them their worth, that we can do a lot for this country.” He believes that it has to be a cohesive effort across the length and breadth of Barbados.

Arthur has high hopes for the We Gatherin’ activities. “I am hoping that by We Gatherin’ coming to this country where we can bring back persons from the diaspora, that all of that can be reflected in the wellness of our society,” he added.

Children from the communities delighted in a variety of activities, including horseback riding.  face painting and jumping tents. Adding to their excitement, they had the chance to mingle with their favorite characters up close. (STT)