GREAT BAY (DCOMM):--- The Minister of Education Hon. Silveria Jacobs was invited to read a 'bed time' story to children having a pajama party at the Philipsburg Jubilee Library.
This was part of the story time program that the library hosts on a weekly basis. The Minister read a book entitled 'In the Time of the Drums'. The story was centered on a young boy and his grandmother during the slave trade.
The boy and his parents resided on an island similar to Sint Maarten where slaves were brought from Africa to pick cotton. Themes such as slavery, retaining old traditions, being true to one's self and know where you came from were all presented in the book.
Minister Jacobs tied the events of the book to the Emancipation celebrations of last week Monday. She urged the children be aware of who they are and to believe in themselves. In addition she underlined the need to know where there roots were; where they came from.
In closing Minister Jacobs urged the children to develop a love of reading. She emphasized that reading is the key to learning and understanding who we are as a people and that knowledge acquired can never be taken away.