There is no other time of year that encapsulates the feeling of joy, love and goodwill like the Christmas Season.
In Jamaica like the rest of the Christian world we look forward each year to the spirit of generosity, the gathering of family and the usual festivities to mark the closing of the year. At the heart of Christmas however is the celebration of the birth of Christ, and the light of hope for redemption and new life that he brought to the people of the world. In a sense Christmas is about children and their innocent wide-eyed hope and faith in a better future.
There is no doubt that the year 2012 has been challenging. Perhaps one of the most significant challenges faced by us as a people is abuse of the rights of our children and female juveniles. We have not been able to provide a state system that universally protects the rights of our children and provides adequately for those who are most vulnerable.
My wish for Christmas is that as a Nation we spend more time in the care and protection of our children. Let us make this Christmas about children. Let us restore their hope and faith in a bright future. Let us seek to enhance the quality their childhood recollections of the purpose and meaning of the season.
Let me extend best wishes for the season to Jamaicans everywhere. To those returning home for Christmas, please enjoy to the fullest our unequalled Jamaican Christmas, sorrel and fruit cake are two of my favourites. However take it easy on the roads.
Take time out to remember the sick and elderly, the disabled; the indigent, the homeless and all others deprived of the basic necessities for decent and healthy living.
Let us take heed of the question asked in 1st John 3 “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?
Let us reach out to them this Christmas so as to make their lives more comfortable. On behalf of the Opposition, and from my family to yours, I wish for all Jamaicans a holy and blessed Christmas.There is no other time of year that encapsulates the feeling of joy, love and goodwill like the Christmas Season.
In Jamaica like the rest of the Christian world we look forward each year to the spirit of generosity, the gathering of family and the usual festivities to mark the closing of the year. At the heart of Christmas however is the celebration of the birth of Christ, and the light of hope for redemption and new life that he brought to the people of the world. In a sense Christmas is about children and their innocent wide-eyed hope and faith in a better future.
There is no doubt that the year 2012 has been challenging. Perhaps one of the most significant challenges faced by us as a people is abuse of the rights of our children and female juveniles. We have not been able to provide a state system that universally protects the rights of our children and provides adequately for those who are most vulnerable.
My wish for Christmas is that as a Nation we spend more time in the care and protection of our children. Let us make this Christmas about children. Let us restore their hope and faith in a bright future. Let us seek to enhance the quality their childhood recollections of the purpose and meaning of the season.
Let me extend best wishes for the season to Jamaicans everywhere. To those returning home for Christmas, please enjoy to the fullest our unequalled Jamaican Christmas, sorrel and fruit cake are two of my favourites. However take it easy on the roads.
Take time out to remember the sick and elderly, the disabled; the indigent, the homeless and all others deprived of the basic necessities for decent and healthy living.
Let us take heed of the question asked in 1st John 3 “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?
Let us reach out to them this Christmas so as to make their lives more comfortable. On behalf of the Opposition, and from my family to yours, I wish for all Jamaicans a holy and blessed Christmas.