Introduction

The Turks and Caicos Islands have come a long way and I am personally thankful to God for blessing us with the best beaches in the world. As a result of this, many individuals have come to these shores to capitalize on this opportunity.    Despite the fact that many of us complain about this country, many people are benefiting from being here. If they were not benefitting they would not be here.

With that said, I want to thank those companies and individuals that contribute to the community but I believe more can be done and more should be done. If we get more involved and assimilate more in the community, it can lead to a positive outcome.

It should be an automatic response from all us to give back to the community that we live in, whether we are from here or not. As Mr. Hutchinson mentioned on Financially Speaking Show, it should be an obligation to give back to the community. There are many ways in which we can give back.

Employment

One of the simplest things some individuals can do is to ensure they are able to provide employment to the locals. Too many locals are returning home and unable to find employment. I know that there are some issues with some locals but all locals are not the same.

You can start by offering some of the local students a summer job. This is an avenue to evaluate them for potential full time employment upon completion of college or university. You will find that there are individuals who are willing to work. They just want an opportunity. On this note, let me recognize Beaches for hiring 120 students for the summer. Well Done Beaches and to all other companies that have done similar summer programs.

Support and encourage locals to build apartments to house employees of the resorts.

Most if not all developers are given concessions for the construction of hotel and condos.  Some developers however, have taken this step further and constructed apartment buildings for the use of their employees. There are no restrictions for ownership of apartments in TCI and therefore anyone can build apartments. However, developers should have some conscious and support and encourage locals to build apartments to accommodate their employees. Stop trying to grab everything for yourself.

Assimilate with the people of the community

One of the ways you can give back is to assimilate with the community you are a part of. Too many people are living in this country and do not assimilate with the locals. I understand you are comfortable with your own but if you plan to live here, get to know the people that is a part of your community. It can lead to harmony.

More volunteers

I am thankful to all the individuals who volunteer and provide service to individuals and organizations in the Turks and Caicos Islands especially those involve in sports. However, more volunteers are needed in this country.

We need volunteers to groom our young men and women in this country. Unfortunately, some of us just want to get paid and recognize for everything we do.

Support financially

Unfortunately, it appears that the same set of companies and individuals are supporting events financially and as a result this puts a strain on these companies and individuals.

It is time more of us to support events financially. Too many of us are benefitting from this country but refuse to sponsor or donate to some of these events and organization. For example, National Trust needs support. Nutrition in Demand needs support. CED needs support. I am quite sure there are many others but I highlighted these three as I am involve with them personally.

Conclusion

Many of us say we love the Turks and Caicos Islands. Well one way we can do is to contribute our time and money to the community we called Home.

If you are concern about the expenditure of the funds you donated, then be apart of the organization. I honestly believe if we come together and give back to our community and allow others to participate in this economy, we can alleviate some of the social and financial issues in this country.

We cannot expect the Government to do everything. All of us should play a role in giving to the community without looking for something in return.