Speaking to the Senior Citizens’ Fathers’ Day luncheon in Providenciales on 18 June, the Governor, Peter Beckingham, encouraged the fathers of Turks and Caicos Islands to remember the value of encouraging education, sport and tradition among their children and grandchildren.
“Education is probably the single most important gift we can present to our children” the Governor said “and the more we can do to stimulate an interest in school and college work the better. I’m in no doubt my parents made sacrifices to stimulate my education, and I was fortunate in the attention they gave to this.
“But as well as education it would be great if fathers could encourage their offspring to spend more time developing their sporting prowess. Delano Williams has set a wonderful example for every child in Turks and Caicos, not least with his forthcoming participation in the world’s greatest sporting event, and I hope more fathers will as a result inspire their families to spend more time on the sports field. We still have some catching up with other countries”.
Finally, the Governor reminded his audience of the long term value and importance of passing on their family history and traditions to their children. “I regret not asking my late father more about his contribution in the Second World War, when he parachuted into France and served in Bombay, India. Fortunately we were able to piece together more about my father-in law’s service for the Royal Air Force. I hope that every father and grandfather will pass on his memories of earlier times in Turks and Caicos, so that the wonderful history of these islands is preserved for our successors. If we don’t we will lose a major part of our heritage. ”
