Saint Lucians and friends graced the Brighton Convention Centre last Saturday, in a wonderful 35th anniversary Independence Gala, while assisting their homeland: part proceeds in aid of disaster relief efforts in Saint Lucia.

Small wonder Consul General of St. Lucia Michael Willius noted in the Prime Minister Dr. Kenny D. Anthony speech during the disaster, “Most times a country turns to its leaders for inspiration and direction.

It is often said that the mood of the country and the response of its citizens are largely determined by the actions of the government of the day. And so it should be! But sometimes, the inspiration comes from the citizens themselves….I am proud of my country, its strength, courage and resilience, if we can continue to help one another, uplift one another, and protect one another, then we can counter any further misfortune that comes our way.”

And so Willius exhorted the diaspora that despite the distance from their homeland, if they can truly embrace and commit to the long held Christian belief that, we are truly our brother’s keeper-our actions henceforth could be “the greatest gift that we can give to our countrymen on the 25th Independence Anniversary of our beloved Saint Lucia.”

Congratulations to community stalwart Mary Alcindor, the recipient of the senior award and Che Emmanuel the young professional awardee. “I saw the need to give back culturally to the community while I was raising three daughters.,” Alcindor told The Camera. She has played a key role in several community organizations, and actively participated in the political process, lobbying for advocacy on a number of fronts.

Emmanuel, founded the Saint Lucia Knapsack Project. A community based project to provide knapsacks with school supplies for under-served children in primary school which was modelled after a Toronto-based project in place for Saint Vincent.