You are the light of the world!

Independence Message from His Grace Archbishop Cosmos Pompey

You are the light of the world, let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father which is in heaven.

Twenty six years of independence is enough to remind us, we have come a long way. As one people we celebrate with one vision to move this country forward. {{more}} Let us rise to the challenge and ask what we can do for our country and not what it can do for us. It is our responsibility as a people to work together to help fight poverty, reduce crime, promote the gospel of Jesus Christ, among others

While the criminal element continues to show its ugly head, we can take comfort as a nation in knowing that we have developed in some ways and in others the potential is there. We can feel proud as a people, through education and employment, we are seeing a reduction in poverty. The education revolution, from the cradle to the grave must be commended with Universal Secondary Education now in place. Our support is essential for the Adult Education Unit and the National Literacy Crusade. Research suggests that one person out of every five Vincentians is literate challenged; with the already hard work of Mr. Hugh Wyllie and his team, we cannot allow this crusade to fail, we must encourage those who need this help to go for it and attend a class in their community

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. St. Vincent and the Grenadines is indeed on its way to re-claim its rightful identity: “Hairouna, Home of the blessed”. President Chein Bien being impressed with our country sees us as the Jewel of the Caribbean.

Let us not allow our partisan politics to divide us because at the end of the day it will do us no good; we must rise above that and respect one another. To the politicians, keep your campaign clean; remember in all you do or say, let the Lord have his way.

Our prayers must be with those who suffered recently from the earthquake and hurricanes that claimed so many lives and leave others homeless. We want to remind them that God is in control and for those at home who continue to suffer at the hands of the criminals, and this message will be incomplete if we do not pause to remember the recent tragedy in Barrouallie, we commend the families to your prayers and those who have lost their lives, may they rest in peace.

Finally, let us come together to make this country a better place for all of us, after all, it is the land of our birth.

On behalf of the Spiritual fraternity and my family we extend heartiest congratulations to the government and people of St. Vincent and the Grenadines on the achievement of our twenty-sixth Anniversary of Independence

May God bless you.