As individuals, we do have the power to make a difference – in large and small ways. Over the years, the pages of our newspaper have regularly provided evidence of this, with the past two weeks being no exception. In today’s edition, we feature on the front page, a story that demonstrates the inherent compassion and generosity of our people towards each other and what we are able to do when we work together for good.

Two weeks ago, we carried a story that detailed the plight of a young family that had lost all their material possessions in a housefire. Within hours of publication of the story, we began receiving calls at SEARCHLIGHT from people who wanted to help. Individuals at home and in the Diaspora began to mobilize assistance and within days, the circumstances of a father and his three children were transformed.

In last Friday’s edition, we featured on our front page the story of a young Vincentian adult who is now hearing her own voice for the first time in her 20 years of life, thanks to an intervention facilitated by the World Paediatric Project (WPP) which itself was the beneficiary of a donation this week from the local office of a shipping company. In the two decades that the WPP has been working in St Vincent and the Grenadines, thousands of Vincentian children have benefited from lifesaving and life-altering surgical procedures that they may not have otherwise been able to access. The WPP has been able to do its work only because of the generosity of people all over the world who share their vision and want to be part of the solution.

There are other stories in today’s edition, (page 14) that speak to our willingness as inhabitants of this world to offer assistance to those less fortunate than ourselves or to be an active partner in projects that build communities and improve lives. These include the donation by a church to a beach clean-up and upgrade project; and the generosity of a University and technology company in Taiwan which has resulted in the provision of 100 laptops to teachers in St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Sometimes, when individuals at risk or in need come to our attention, or when gaps are identified in our communities in the provision of material support, the default position of some is to point fingers and ask questions with regard to institutional help – what is the Government doing; what about the churches? Look at how much we can do when we look inwards and challenge ourselves to make a difference.

This is by no means an attempt to absolve the Government of its responsibility to provide social safety nets for its most vulnerable citizens. Rather, it is a celebration of the inherent good resident in mankind that we ought to recognize with as much aplomb as when we point out societal evils.