 Fellow Saint Lucians, young people here and in the diaspora, I bring to you peaceful greetings filled with holiday chairs and blessings. During this year, we slowly emerged from the global pandemic, which crippled our way of living and adversely impacted our livelihoods. As a result, research informed us that young people were indeed the most disproportionately affected by this pandemic. Meanwhile, as the nation collectively breathed a sigh of relief on the removal of COVID-19 restrictions, we have shockingly witnessed the surge of crime that continued to erode and decay our social fiber. Notwithstanding, the Ministry of Youth Development and Sports remains resolute and continue to work assiduously for the youth and our sports people to become and remain meaningfully engaged. Ladies and gentlemen, we have embarked on the upgrading of some plain facilities around the island. These include renovation works at the Sufrem in the stadium, lighting repairs, and other structure repairs to the VG Sports Complex, the Saab Plain Field, the Goodlands Court, the Larissos Plain Field in Denry, and the Corrin Plain Field. These facilities will meet the required standards based on their ranking as endorsed in the newly minted Facilities Management Policy, which we passed earlier this year. These facility upgrades combined with the recommendation of schools competition, this term in football, cricket, basketball, netball, and table tennis, reignited the enthusiasm of our student athletes who had been restricted for the past two years. Now, as a former athlete myself, the revival of our school sport has brought me tremendous joy as we provide opportunities for young people to expend positive energy. I was delighted to see scores of children once again at the various recreational and sporting facilities to either participate or to cheer their teams on at the sidelines. This year, we will embark on volleyball, track and field, which will hopefully culminate in a rebranded weekend called Island Champs. This year, my ministry has witnessed an increased desire in the sport of boxing by students. On any given afternoon, the boxing gym at VG is filled with students who have shown a remarkable interest in the sport. In addition, at least 40 students in the South are committed to training in boxing. Now, we've received support from the equipment government who continues to be a reliable partner in our sporting development thrust. I'm pleased to announce that the ministry with the support of cabinet of ministers has initiated an alternative sports program. Now, some of the alternative sports include chess, motocross, and e-sports, among others, which would be placed on our sporting calendar. The ministry continues to expose the youth development agenda. Our aim is to provide young people with access to opportunities to enable them to contribute positively to national development. Our team of youth workers are deployed in every community. Our youth workers have reached over 2,000 children and young people through the major activities like the national summer camp, the celebration of universal children's day, leadership training, and other community activities. Youth participation writes an empowered citizenship is an unshakable foundation of their development. This was manifested through our youth parliament, where at least 80 young persons applied to become parliamentarians. In the end, almost 35 will fully engage in both the upper and lower chambers of parliament. Now, it is quite evident that youth unemployment is a great concern for young people. To address this issue, the ministry has tested a web and mobile app called Skill 758, which will be launched soon. This app will be used as a database for skills as well as employment directory that will connect skilled young people to job opportunities. The ministry has adopted the declaration of the Commonwealth Heads of Government at 2023 is indeed the year of the youth. The emphasis for this declaration will be peace, safety, and security. I am eagerly optimistic that our young people will be sufficiently motivated to be catalysts for peace in their families, communities, and this society. I look forward to your participation and involvement in the events and activities which will mark 2023 as the year of the youth. To my constituents, I express my profound gratitude for your unrivering support. We have encountered some major challenges in the year and commend your resilience in the recovery process. We continue to provide support to persons affected by the November 6th trough in communities such as Aso Kanal, Korin, Moshi, Gruseli Town, and others. The Rivamita Bridge is under construction and Rebedia Work has been instituted along the Deramo Road. Our Community Sports Initiative continues as we saw the completion of the Gruseli D Cup, the Community Futsal Cup, and we look forward to the 2023 Gruseli Community Network Championship. As such, I pledge my continued support and will advocate at all levels for more resources so that the families and businesses can return to normal. Finally, let me say a special thank you to our partners, the Sports Associations and Federation, the principals, staff, youth and sports councils, constituency council, the National Youth Council, National Lodges Authority, and other corporate sponsors that have assisted in ensuring that we have resources to continue our programs. To our followers and social media, your compliments and comments are well received as this help will improve our programs. Season's greetings to my people. Merry Christmas.