Taking time to give back this holiday season

As the year comes to an end, many of us are thinking of what to buy for those close to us. The streets and malls are increasingly filled with shoppers despite these depressed economic times and despite the fact that we are still not out of the woods yet, though pandemic fatigue has long set in.

New Providence streets were gridlocked in many directions yesterday. Despite existing restrictions, many appear to be in full holiday mode, determined to make merry and to have as close to normal a Christmas as possible during this period that is anything but normal.

In these days before Christmas, we should all also consider giving of our time and resources to those who are less fortunate. There are many people in our communities struggling to make it, and not for lack of trying. Hard times could hit any of us at any time.

This year has been particularly brutal for many left unemployed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced the closure of many businesses and resulted in others downsizing. The tourism industry was brought to its knees with many thousands furloughed.

Unemployment is still high. Many cannot afford to keep their electricity on, and to pay other bills. Some can barely afford food.

The lingering impact of the pandemic is expected to be with us for some time to come.

The government’s recently released Fiscal Strategy Report stated that unemployment in The Bahamas will likely remain elevated in the medium term with levels not projected to dip as low as pre-COVID-19 numbers until 2023.

Business owners and executives can attest to how desperate many Bahamians have become as they fight to provide for their families in this protracted period of uncertainty. Many are now willing to take just about any job that is available.

The partial reopening of Atlantis and Baha Mar and the opening yesterday of The Pointe’s One Particular Harbour are among the positive signs on the horizon, signaling some hope, notwithstanding the fact that an economic rebound is still far off and the airlift needed to bring in visitors and beef up business is just not there.

We, in good standing, who have kept our jobs and have faced little economic impact as a result of the pandemic, should give back this holiday season.

Help those who have little to nothing. A small gift of money or time could put food in the stomachs of a struggling family, or gifts under a small Christmas tree for children in a bad circumstance. And those gifts may be the only ones those children receive this year.

There are many reputable charities and agencies in The Bahamas: The National Food Assistance Task Force, the Ranfurly Homes for Children, the Children’s Emergency Hostel, the Salvation Army, Hands for Hunger, Bahamas Feeding Network, the Bahamas Association for the Physically Disabled and Great Commission Ministries are just a few of the organizations doing good work to help those in need.

Inquire. Ask how you could help.

Take time to give this holiday season. Lighten the burden of another. Put a smile on the face of a child who thinks no one cares. Make an effort to spread holiday cheer beyond those in your immediate circle.

There are also those who are grief-stricken and those who are suffering still from the isolation caused by the pandemic. The elderly and disabled in particular come to mind. 

They need and deserve to feel loved and welcomed this holiday season too, though the need for existing health protocols to still be observed cannot be overstated.

As the saying goes, how a society treats its most vulnerable is always the measure of its humanity.

There has not been another year in recent memory that has tested our national resolve on the level experienced in 2020. We have all been impacted on some level — psychologically and emotionally, if not financially.

Even many who weathered the economic storm thus far are nervous and anxious as January 1, 2021 will likely be more of a change in date, and not a change in circumstance for the national economy and our collective psyche.

As we face a new year, may we do so with hope that our economy and our people will prove to be resilient. In the meantime, let us do what we can for those who remain mired in the darkness of 2020.

We could all use a little cheer after the kind of year we have had.

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