The Rotary Club of Montserrat on Tuesday, January 29, 2013 handed over the donation of a table tennis board to the Montserrat Secondary School (MSS), at an Assembly session attended by all the children, teachers, print press and visiting and officiating Rotarians.
Fr. George Agger after the assembly was called to order by principal Mrs. Cherlyn Hogan led the children in prayers and gave a brief spiritual talk to them engaging them into an interaction, by asking how many were on, or rather not on Facebook. A small number of hands of the near 200 children present went up.
He engaged them, “So I kind of suspect that both of us of our generation knows either about face book or twitter or YouTube, or texting, I think everybody texts; right?”
‘Do you text during class? Don’t answer that!”
The R C priest told the students he had a very short message, inviting them to repeat after him, “I can, make a, difference,” which they did reaching a crescendo after the third attempt.
He told them they can make a difference if they turn to God: “so if you’re a Christian in God you connect to Jesus to God, and if you belong to another religion you connect with your God,” he said, as he invited them, “to three simple ways that you can do it.”
“One Speak to God in prayer, just like you’re talking to your friend, twitter them, and face book them text them, speak to God in prayer… Second listen, listen to God in his gospel, listen to God in his scripture, and listen to God In your Holy books…third, look for Him in those in need.”
“That’s the challenges that each one of us has, and you can make a difference,” he said. “You can reach out to those who are in need,” reminding them to then remember, “five words I asked you to say today, ‘I can make a difference.’”
Dr. Briamah Kassim, president of the Rotary Club here, thanked the school for having them, and told the children, “We are here to make a difference this morning and it’s on behalf of the Rotary Club of Montserrat and in keeping with the Motto of the Rotary Club which is “Service above self…with the aim that is actually to give back to the community in which we live…what we’re doing today.”
The president told the children that the aim of donating the table tennis board, “to try and engage the youths in this country and we try to make sure that instead of being on the streets, you should get into some sort of sporting activity…”
His Excellency the Governor Adrian Davis, present in his capacity as a Rotarian and one of the drivers behind the project through the mastermind of Julian Romeo, told the children that the game of table tennis is an energetic one which he learnt and played during his seven years in China, before he came to Montserrat. “…your teacher Mr. Morris will be in charge of managing it, do take the opportunity to play, get good at it,” he challenged, ending with promise, “so take advantage of the table, I hope you use it, we’ll come back in about six months’ time and we’ll have a tournament here…”.
Principal Hogan gave the thank you. “…So thank you very much for the donation of the board…quite a number of students will be on it,” promising that “between Mr. Morris and our PE teacher, Ms Buffonge, we will have a task, managing the students. We may get to good that we may need second, so thank you very much for that.”
The children showed their own appreciation with a loud applause.
