GREAT BAY (DCOMM):--- Minister of Education, Culture, Youth Affairs and Sports Hon. Silveria Jacobs, on Saturday evening, attended the fundraising gala dinner organized by the Be Able Committee under the auspices of Top Promotion Foundation.
The dinner is a first in a series of events geared towards building awareness among the St. Maarten citizenry of the abilities of the disabled.
Be Able Committee will be hosting several professional wheelchair athletes from abroad in a tournament here on St. Maarten and this venture is indeed a noble one, Minister Jacobs said.
"Many of our disabled on St. Maarten are invisible, are shut in, depressed and only taken out on occasion. Promoting an awareness of the abilities of the disabled can only serve to bring confidence and encouragement to them as well as bring a sense of compassion and understanding for those of us who should support them.
"It is a measure of a country how we treat those who are less fortunate in some way. The Government of St. Maarten commends the efforts of the White & Yellow Cross, Sr. Basilia Center, Prins Willem Alexander School and all other organizations and institutions that care for the disabled in some way on a daily basis," Minister Silveria Jacobs said.
Top Promotions and the Be Able Committee are also commended for the lengths they have gone to in order to bring more awareness to the plight of the disabled, by focusing on the positive - what they can do. Much success is wished to them in this very noble endeavor, Minister Jacobs concluded.
