The popularity of the National Democratic Congress MP for the Town of St. George, Mr. Peter David, was reconfirmed last weekend in a series of meetings with scores of constituents.
“Peter is very popular in the area and we are very happy to see him here,” said Ms. Pamela Steele, during a community event Saturday attended by Mr. David.
Saturday’s Christmas event was part of the Community Programme for the Poor organised by parishioners of the St. George’s Anglican Church.
Ms. Steele and Reverend Clement Francis are the main organizers of the programme, which includes ongoing activities such as praying, hymnal singing and the serving of hot meals.
The Christmas event, Ms. Steele said, has been operating for 22 years and it’s intended for seniors 60 years and older.
It has expanded to its current location at the lodge-owned Court Lily of the Valley on upper Market Hill and participants include men and women, and even some children. As part of the programme last Saturday, they sang carols and received dinners and food donations.
“One does not have to be an Anglican to attend,” Ms. Steele explained. “It’s a community programme and most of the people here are Roman Catholics and Pentecostalists. We have very few Anglicans in the programme.”
She said the programme has been run out of the Market Hill site for the past nine years, adding: “We’ve been doing this event with a lot of help from different people – too numerous to mention.”
Mr. David, who himself contributed food for the Christmas event, wished the organisers and programme participants a “bright and enjoyable” holiday season.
“But mostly,” he said, “I wish you a God-filled Christmas. Because we know sometimes at Christmas People get carried away and you forget the essence of Christmas. Even if you don’t have some material things that you want, enjoy the little that God has bestowed upon you.”
MP David thanked the people who have “always been very kind” to him, singling out St. George’s vendor Carmen “Cammie” Chase.
“Sister Cammie is always there,” he said. “I know sometimes things are not moving as fast as you want them to move, but life is like that. God knows best. Sometimes you don’t have all the resources, but we are committed to doing good and we will work hard. I say if we work together, we will get there.”
Ms. Steele, a former senior public servant and now Acting Manager at the Grand Anse Home for the Aged, responded by wishing parliamentarian David “all the best.”
She said, “We know you’re trying. They appreciate it here.”
On the Friday evening prior to the Anglican-sponsored Christmas get-together, Mr. David visited the Market Square and other parts of the city’s commercial district, greeting vendors and shoppers.
“My responsibility as parliamentary representative for the Town of St. George is as equally important as my responsibilities as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Tourism,” Mr. David told reporters.
“I will continue to meet with the people of the Town of St. George, to consult with them. I remain committed to giving them a voice in the House of representatives, as I’ve been doing for the past several years.”
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