 Scores of marginalized and less fortunate households on St. Lucia have begun benefiting from close to US$100,000 in items donated from the Taiwanese Embassy to the Ministry of Equity, Social Justice and Empowerment. The handover ceremony, which took place on January 26, 2023, at the Grossly Human Resource Development Center, included shoes, toys, speakers, face masks and sanitary wipes among others. In expressing gratitude on receiving the donation, Deputy Permanent Secretary Irene Gasper said the special effects items which will be distributed to needy families by the Community Services Unit of the Ministry will help improve the living conditions of endogen households across the island. This official handover of a number of special effects items donated by Simply Health Foundation through the Government of Taiwan is not the first, and happy to say not the last. From the year 2015, the Simply Health Foundation commenced its generous act to pay St. Lucia people through the Government of Taiwan and the Embassy of Taiwan to St. Lucia. Every year since then, the Ministry of Equity is pleased to be in receipt of a 40th container of various special effects items for use by our people. Taiwanese Ambassador to St. Lucia, His Excellency Peter Shen, said his government was again delighted to play a lead role in helping to change lives for the better. Here on St. Lucia. As our Prime Minister, Deputy PM mentioned, St. Lucia is now recovering from the pandemic, and Taiwan Government is here to extend our utmost support to the economic stability of St. Lucia. Therefore, among these 850 boxes of donations, there are not only anti-pandemic necessities, but also nursery bags, children's t-shirts, walking shoes, toys, curls, etc. And now Taiwan is still in the new year period, so this is definitely a new year gift. Seizing every opportunity to collaborate and work with other sectors, donors, funding agencies and governments in meeting its mandate of poverty alleviation, Equity Minister Hon. Joakim Henry said it was with ease that his ministry collaborated with Taiwanese officials. The handover ceremony, he said, spoke volumes and deepening faith in the notion that life can be made easier with the intervention of others. We are not a very rich country, in fact, we are considered to be one of the poor countries, so that the government takes care of the school, the government takes care of our hospitals, we have to pay our teachers, we don't give them a lot of money, but they are happy to serve. Right, teachers? I heard them say, yes, that's right. And the nurses and the doctors and the police officers and the firemen. And we build a school so that you can go to school. But that's not enough for you to survive, you need food, but you also need to be happy. So what we do, sometimes it is not enough for my money to give my kids everything that they need, and for me it's not able to give you everything that you want. And therefore, friends come by to help us, to serve us as we serve you. The ministry's social transformation officers have already commenced distribution of the items to vulnerable households, island-wide.