St. George’s, December 4, 2012 – MP for the Town of St. George, Peter David, says that as Christmas approaches in the midst of the ongoing economic crisis, he has begun preparations to meeting the need for help from his constituents.

David disclosed his Christmas plans as he visited several projects that were embarked upon in his constituency following the general elections of 2008.

The sites visited included the community centre at Queen’s Park that was destroyed by Hurricane Ivan in 2004.

The centre, with support from volunteers from the River Road/Darbeau Development Committee, assistance from individuals and local businesses, as well as from the Embassy for China in St. George’s, is about to be formally opened.

“When we came in to government, I decided that despite the constraints and the difficulties of financing we are going to find ways to get this community centre up and running,’’ David said.

“We solicited assistance from local donors such as Grenada Steelworks; the Chinese Embassy gave us some assistance; several individuals also assisted; and also some of my friends in the Diaspora community in New York. And, bit by bit, we did what we could to get it where it is today. Thankfully, we are at the stage now where it’s about to be opened. We are going to have some of our Christmas activities here.’’

Since his election as MP for the first time in 2003, David has made it a holiday tradition to organize children’s Christmas parties, has paid visits to senior citizens’ homes at the holidays, and distributed food hampers to the needy.

He promises that the tradition will be maintained in 2012.

“We are going to try as much as possible, even in these difficult times, to ensure that the kids and the elderly in particular,  have a wonderful Christmas,’’ MP David pledged. “We are going to be having a series of activities, and we will encourage young people to go with us to some of the elderly homes.’’

Apart from the Queen’s Park community centre, other sites recently visited by David included small infrastructural projects that at River Road, Darbeau, H.A. Blaize Street, and Tanteen.

The work at Tanteen involved Old Trafford, the LIME Children’s Playground or Swing, and the Pavilion at the Roy St. John Recreation Ground.

David said the Tanteen projects materialized through a combination of personal negotiations, Grenada government input, community involvement, contributions from New York-based Grenadians, and assistance from Venezuela and corporations like LIME.

“I’m delighted to know that at the end of four years, the Swing is being well utilized by the young people, thanks to a collaboration between myself and LIME and I want to thank LIME for that,’’ David said.

“Old Trafford is again being used for sporting activities, and the Roy St. John Pavilion is up and looking spectacular, thanks to the government and people of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.’’

David, who will be seeking his third consecutive parliamentary term at the next general elections, says among activities planned for early in the New Year are back-to-school health fairs.