 The Embassy of the Republic of China on Taiwan, through the Simple Help Foundation, has once again demonstrated its nation's support for the government and the people of St. Lucia. On Thursday, December 9, 2021, the Ministry of Equity, Social Justice and Empowerment hosted a hand-in-over ceremony at the Grossly Human Resource Center from 10 a.m. Deputy Permanent Secretary and the Ministry of Equity, Social Justice and Empowerment Mrs. Irene Gaspo expressed gratitude to the government and people of the Republic of China on Taiwan for the timely donation. We do have a broad and an unchanged mandate and people continue to be the center of that mandate. Therefore, those that are able to collaborate with us, those that are able to give us support in whatever form beyond the Taiwanese Embassy, we want to say a heartfelt thank you, for we recognize that the Ministry of Equity, no matter how powerful we feel our team is, we are not able to do it on our own. We recognize, again, we are not in display alone. As we facilitate this official hand-in-over, I can assure you, Ambassador, that our social transformation officers, as you see, they are seated just now, but if you realize they are just on the feet all the time, they are in ready mode to distribute some of those items throughout the island. The Ambassador of the Republic of China on Taiwan to St. Lucia, his Excellency, Peter Shen, expressed his government's enthusiasm in assisting the poor and vulnerable of St. Lucia. I would like to take this opportunity to extend my sincere gratitude to Minister Harry and his team for the diligent efforts to facilitate this donation to improve the welfare of the disadvantaged people in St. Lucia. It is my pleasure to hand over nearly 200 boxes of children's stationery, crosses, soccer balls, and other charity groups to the people of St. Lucia in need. Taiwan has a robust civil society with many proactive NGOs. They provide humanitarian aid, medical assistance, and help with international efforts to eradicate poverty and disease in line with the United Nations' sustainable development goals. The donated items include shoes, clothing items, baby supplies, suitcases, mask, beach tents, bug parks, footballs, ceramic art tiles, and stationery. Minister of Equity, Social Justice, and Empowerment, Honourable John Hakem Henry, expressed his gratitude to the Taiwanese government for providing the much needed supplies. It is indeed a pleasure to welcome all of these wonderful gifts from the people of China and Taiwan. I really want to thank the Ambassador for, as I understood, that he does this annually for receiving these tokens. Our people need them, especially as we go through this COVID time and as we go through a downturn in our economy. The people who will receive these items, I know, will be extremely happy to receive them. And on behalf of the Prime Minister and Cabinet of Ministers, I wish to say thank you to the Ambassador and his government for doing such wonderful things. The items were distributed to the various social transformation officers around the island. Simple Health Foundation is a United States registered non-governmental organization that aims to provide emergency disaster relief, vocational training, shelter and care for homeless and vulnerable people. Reporting from the Ministry of Equity, Social Justice, and Empowerment, I am Chevroy Marius.