One was the six-week Primary Schools Football Tournament, sponsored for the 16th year by the National Bank of Anguilla. It is not the publicity the bank derived, during the considerable long period, that matters but the positive benefits it provided for large numbers of young children and adults from across the island. They thoroughly enjoyed a really good and incident-free time.

It was a pleasure to see the youngsters, both male and female, engaged in a sport that not only brought them fun and gave them something to look forward to (and to do in the evenings), but also teach them discipline, healthy competition and self-development. It may eventually result one day in some of them achieving scholarship awards and becoming football stars to the pride of Anguilla. The bank’s decision to further sponsor a football competition, from next year, for students entering the Comprehensive School will help to ensure the survival of, interest in, and passion for, the sport.

The annual tournament in the primary schools lends itself to a number of other sporting activities on the island which are greatly assisting in the development of young people and keeping them out of trouble. The sponsorship of these events by other private sector businesses on the island whether for sporting competitions at the national, regional or international level, are to be complimented. Certainly, the Government cannot do it all. The business community and the public in general in Anguilla must contribute to national development.

The second event was the just-completed Annual Optimist Race Against AIDS which highlights a grave malady in our world today and the need for awareness, caution and sexual responsibility. The increasing support that the undertaking is receiving is a tribute to a very hard-working community club, spearheaded by young adults involved in a labour of love for young people. To be an optimist, one must look at the bright side of life and our club members certainly believe that if they can provide some guidance for the teeming youth of the island, they may help to save Anguilla.

The Optimist Club deserves the wholehearted congratulations of everyone. The members, like other non-government organisations on the island, have little or no financial and other resources of their own for their work programmes in the community. They are also a non-profit group, relying on sponsorship and donations to fund their projects. The work of the Optimists is aimed at enhancing and protecting the lives of the youth who are the future of Anguilla. Every effort must be made to assist them in their noble undertakings. The business places and individuals who are continuing to assist them are to be commended. We are all stakeholders in our island and must not miss an opportunity to stand up and be counted.

The third event was the honouring of our nationals, during the current Tourism Week for their service and other contributions to the tourist industry and Anguilla generally. Tourism is the island’s main engine of economic growth. Without our people, facilities and varied connected businesses to deliver the quality of service expected in an up-market destination, such as ours, our industry would be stillborn and for that reason unproductive.

The recognition accorded to the honorees by the Anguilla Tourist Board and the Anguilla Hotel and Tourism Association, is an encouragement to them to continue their excellent work in the interest of national development. It also encourages other persons on the island to seek opportunities in which they too can do something praiseworthy for the good of their homeland and from which they too can gain something – if only the satisfaction it brings.

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