The story of Easter holds out a reassuring and enduring hope for the spiritual redemption of mankind, one of the main tenets of the Christian world. It tells about the Messiah’s death and resurrection for the salvation of the human race, and here in Anguilla we join in pausing this holiday weekend to reflect on that supreme sacrifice.
Such is our commitment to the observance of the Easter season that it is still an overpowering influence in our small society despite the associated traditional and recent social and entertainment activities we enjoy today. Indeed, these pleasurable and cultural events, like boat-racing, picnics and Festival Del Mar, do not cloud out the religious side and meaning of Easter as demonstrated by the special church services and cantatas such as the cantata to be held by the St. Augustine’s Chorale. Even some of the articles in this week’s edition of The Anguillian point to the spiritual and religious importance of Easter.
While we contemplate on the spiritual hope that Easter brings, and by which we can only allow our lives to be influenced and guided, there are alsoother aspects of life for us to consider. There is a need to examine ways in which we can contribute to the enrichment of the social and physical lives of our fellowmen, particularly the unfortunate and vulnerable in our midst, and to assist in carving out a hopeful future for them.
Among those we must give some priority to, are our children who are in fact the future of Anguilla. Unfortunately, not all children enjoy normal lives or aspirations and these require special assistance.One of the most moving events in Anguilla was the recent official opening of the D.O.V.E. Centre. (D.O.V.E. is the acronym for Developing Our Vision for Education). The event was moving in the sense that here was an opportunity for otherwise hopeless children – victims of severe speech, mobility and other disabilities – to become educated and to experience a type of caring love not available anywhere else outside their paternal homes.
It was a particular angle taken by the Permanent Secretary, Education,in her address declaring open the Centre and in stressing the Ministry’s commitment to ensure “that every child has access to education”. Indeed, the Centre is a far cry from the early days when children with severe challenges were forced to languish at home and grow up to be burdens on the impoverished society. The Centre is virtually an extension of the family home with specially-trained teachers who, while using various teaching modules to educate the children, also look at their hygiene, sleeping and other personal needs, much to the appreciation of parents.
The D.O.V.E.Centre is not the only facility looking after challenged pupils. There are several others like the Blossom Centre, operated by the Arijah Children’s Foundation, and the Special Needs Centres at the Primary and Comprehensive Schools. While on this subject, it would be remiss of this editorial not to praise the many pre-schools and kindergarten facilities in Anguilla for their work in Early Childhood Education, and for their fine presentation of the children’s parade on Monday this week.Commendation must also be given to the schools involved in the just-ended sports day activities geared to their social and physical development, inter-personal relationships and part of their education curriculum as well.
On the other side of life, for a small community like Anguilla, there is a growing challenge of hopelessness, in many homes, of one kind or another. It is just for those individuals, organisations, churches and the Department of Social Development – involved in altruistic and relief work – to sort out and catalogue the various cases of human suffering and degradation in our midst and to formulate a way of assisting those who need help.
We all can be channels of humanitarian assistance to the less fortunate and challenged persons in our community, and thereby bring a measure of social and physical optimism to them. Like the spiritual significance of Easter, such assistance and caring love can be a balm of hope for the otherwise hopeless persons on our island.
