The Prime Minister of St. Maarten the Honorable Sarah Wescot-Williams attended the Upper Princess Quarter Street Fair Last weekend.
The PM, who was joined by Minister of Education, Culture and Sports, and Youth Affairs, took the opportunity to interact with various members of the Upper Princess Quarter Community at the Event. "I enjoyed the initiative very much because I am convinced that by communities organizing themselves, the residents will show stronger community spirit and responsibility. Eventually this "love for community" will manifest itself in a sense of belonging, responsibility and ownership, all attributes that will help build a stronger St. Maarten," commented the Prime Minister.
The PM continued by stating that increasingly feelings of community and belonging have been eroding in our present society both on island and in general: "Activities such as this one are very necessary, and will always receive the necessary support for them to continue. Increasingly we are seeing a loss of a sense of community within our society, and activities such as this one can only help to rebuild that loss into us having once again a community where we all look after one another, were we all share the same common interests and needs," continued the PM.
With regards to the Upper Princess Quarter event specifically, the Prime Minister reiterated the economic component for the vendors who participated and encouraged other communities to follow suit in their own way. "I hope that this is the beginning of an island wide community movement, not only because of the sense of community a street fair like this one causes, but because all communities have a uniqueness that they can call their own and which we all should come out and taste from," concluded the Prime Minister.