The Grenadines Initiative [Canada] and the Friends of the Grenadines Initiative [US] continue to receive generous donations from people all over the globe. When people give to us through CanadaHelps, there is an option to leave a note. Most don't, though many do, and it's been nice going over all those little notes as I work through the list, sending cards and reaching out. "I have sailed the Grenadines four times," wrote Allen Green of Toronto, "the last being in February 2020. My wife and two daughters are teachers. I understand that education is the key to success, so I applaud the Grenadines Initiative."  

Teachers and students at The Learning Center, Port Elizabeth, December 2021

He was thinking in particular of the work of the Learning Center—he and his wife donated in support of it—which has been a signature program of ours for many years, thanks in large part to people like the Greens. The Center began a decade ago when Alessandra Domina started helping children at the Fig Tree with their reading and Ray and Dawn Goodwin opened their home to tutor children. "It was fun and exciting, so exciting they forgot they were even learning in the process," wrote Tylisha Miller, who has been working at the Center from the beginning. She runs it now, and posts photos of classes and activities on Instagram from time to time. You can follow it at @thelearningcenterbequia. This is a photo she posted on Tuesday:

Ray and Dawn and Alessandra are great people. The kids and the teachers at the Learning Center are too. Through the work of so many I'm happy to say that we've been able to do a lot this year. We've supported the delivery of vaccinations, thanks to the initiative of Anne and John Clark who through immense generosity and an even greater sense of care, made vaccines available to, literally, the nation. We've delivered relief vouchers to hundreds of families—this in response to the disruptions of both the pandemic and the volcano—and in the next week, we will be delivering vouchers and supplies to 300 more. Solana headed that up. She's good people too. (In the wake of the eruption she wrote, “Ok La Soufriere lessons learnt. Things to not take for granted: Fresh air, clean water, blue/starry skies, sunsets, birds singing.”) In addition to the vouchers, we decided to distribute 100 canisters of cooking gas to families in need, and Gus Ollivierre of Ollive Cottage Trading Co. offered to drive them around.

"Bequia will always be very close to our hearts," wrote Michele Beckerleg

L to R: food vouchers; Kafiya, who we helped get a necessary surgery; the textbook drive.

This year we sadly said goodbye to Sir James Mitchell, SVG’s prime minister from 1984-2000. He was good people. He lived in Bequia and was a good friend to both us and our precursor the Bequia Mission. I reached him in July to discuss the risks associated with the pandemic and, as ever, he was a voice of both reason and wit. Of the vaccine resistance he delightfully said, “You know, termites only come into your house after you built it. [Laughs] If there’s no house, the termites remain in the bush! It’s as simple as that. So, your body is a home for COVID. You therefore have to deny COVID the right to come into your body.” So true.

Linda Sagan Harrier wrote to me this week about a family that is supporting a student, and she commented, just as an aside, that, "there are so many good people in the world." Watching the news these days it can be easy to forget that. Reading the comments from donors is a welcome reminder. Linda's right.

I'm happy for the community that the Grenadines Initiative has come to represent. From Blake Pettipas in Truro, Nova Scotia, to Elizabeth Zook in Prince George BC; from St. Clement's School in Toronto, to Susan R Holtz in Norfolk, Connecticut; from Lennart and Susan Freeman in Richmond, Virginia, to Sister Glynn in Port Elizabeth. Thank you to all of you for caring, and giving, and just being good people. Warm wishes this holiday season and all good things in 2022.

Lakefield College School