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GG encourages Jamaicans to press on amid COVID fatigue

Published:Thursday | January 21, 2021 | 10:49 AM
Governor General Sir Patrick Allen - (file photo)

Governor General Sir Patrick Allen has appealed to Jamaicans who have become “fatigued and weary” after more than nine months of COVID-19 restrictions, to press on, so that they can enjoy the benefits of perseverance. 

In his greetings at the virtual National Leadership Prayer Breakfast (NLPB) this morning, Allen likened this year’s theme, “Keep Hope Alive”, to an I Believe Initiative mantra which says, “We must all be peddlers of hope.”  

“We hope that this pandemic will pass and we will get a period of respite. We hope that we will control the monster of crime, violence and lawlessness. We hope that we can re-instill good values in our children and there will be hope that one day soon we will experience the righteousness that exalts a nation and we hope that there is still power in prayer,” Allen said.

Chairman of the NLPB committee, Rev. Stanley G. Clarke shared that the pandemic brought the world to its knees and exposed human vulnerabilities.

“It made us realise how fleeting life is and how we should value life. We should not take the sanctity of human life for granted,” he urged. 

Clarke added that it has been a testing time for the church but that the body of believers continue to demonstrate that God can guide Jamaica through any storm, pandemic or otherwise. 

 “We must commend the church for its faithfulness in this time of crisis as it continues to inspire faith over fear, hope over despair, resilience and fortitude over fatalism,” the chairman said. 

Students across Jamaica will be the 2021 benefactors of the annual social outreach as the committee supports the education ministry’s Tablets in Schools Project.

“Our education system is struggling to provide our young students with the tools they need to continue their learning and to prepare for the life ahead. Education is important, so give our youths a chance to gain an education by sponsoring a tablet for a young student,” the master of ceremonies, Rev. Dr Stevenson Samuels appealed. 

Donations can be made to the NLPB’s account #22684518, at any branch of the Victoria Mutual Building Society. 

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