{"id":259065,"date":"2020-11-17T15:35:44","date_gmt":"2020-11-17T19:35:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/?p=259065"},"modified":"2020-11-17T15:35:44","modified_gmt":"2020-11-17T19:35:44","slug":"freedom-speaks-the-hands-of-love-challenge-part-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/freedom-speaks-the-hands-of-love-challenge-part-ii\/","title":{"rendered":"Freedom Speaks: The Hands of Love Challenge – Part II"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Kent Vital Leader of the Dominica Freedom Party<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Last week we put out the \u201cHands of Love\u201d challenge. This is a kindness challenge; this is a love challenge \u2013 love for our fellowmen. This is a challenge to all patriots to lift our country higher.\u00a0 This is a challenge to all those who love God to also show love to others.<\/p>\n

I have borrowed the term \u201cHands of Love\u201d from Eversley Colaire who is the current president of the Men\u2019s Ministry at the church that I attend.\u00a0 While I am glad to be associated with the men of that ministry, I recognize that there is great need for various segments of our community to get involved in reigniting love and togetherness in our nation. Groups of friends could come together to show kindness to others; community groups can pursue efforts to revive community spirit; churches can redouble their outreach to those in need of a hand and comfort; workers at places of business can band together to engage in acts of kindness; families can look out for the well-being of others; neighbours can help neighbours; and individuals can certainly act by themselves to make the lives of others more fulfilled. You see, you will be rewarded for your kindness and the scripture is clear on that. But various sociological studies also show that helping others can benefit the mental health and wellbeing of those extending the help. For example, it can reduce stress, improve mood, self-esteem and happiness.<\/p>\n

I would like to suggest, some guiding principles as we embark on this challenge.<\/p>\n

First, let us do this from the perspective of \u00a0compassion rather than from a political perspective.\u00a0 When we bind together to help others, let us not let political party affiliations be a consideration in terms of who we work with or who is to be helped. As a matter of fact, this can be an opportunity to heal our communities and the nation in general from political fractures. Never-mind if some doubt your motive. \u00a0If you know that you are genuine, just proceed with those that are willing and in time others will be convinced and participate as the spirit of love takes hold.<\/p>\n

Second, there are various ways that we can be kind and helpful and we will share some examples and suggestions in the next article, but where helping others may involve physical interactions, let us be conscious of the need to follow good practices in relation to preventing or controlling the spread of COVID-19.<\/p>\n

Third, ensure that those that are being helped are comfortable in receiving the help. Do not make them feel embarrassed in any way. Let us not make them feel less than we are. Let us do everything to protect the dignity of those we will help.\u00a0 Ask yourself the question – if I were in the person\u2019s position, how would I like to be treated? Don\u2019t make the person feel like a \u201ccharity case\u201d.\u00a0 Instead, make them feel loved and appreciated.<\/p>\n

Fourth, share your experience as a means of encouraging others to get involved.\u00a0 Share your stories with your family, friends and neighbours; give a testimony at your church or share your stories with the priest and pastors so that they can speak of the works of kindness that is being done in communities and in the nation; and call the talk shows on Q95, Kairi FM and DBS radio to share your stories of kindness or share articles or post comments on DNO, the Sun newspaper, other newspapers or media outlets. When you share your stories, be conscious of the need to protect the dignity of those that will be helped; but let us change the atmosphere in our land by rebuilding neighbourliness and brotherly love.<\/p>\n

Fifth, helping others may require some sacrifice, but do not overextend yourself or neglect your family.\u00a0 It must be about extending love to others and sharing with them whatever we have as families and in that regard, our families must be pleased by efforts to reach out to others. Let not our efforts to reach out to others become a source of contention within our families.<\/p>\n

Sixth, sometimes little things count.\u00a0 Even if you may not have anything significant to share or even if you don\u2019t have a lot of time, there are some little things you can do \u2013 say hello or good morning, make eye contact and smile to someone who appears to be discouraged or depressed or just appears to be just a little too serious; offer to help someone to carry a bag or to meet an immediate physical challenge; extend road courtesy; or invite someone to your home to have lunch \u2013 someone that is not already a close friend.<\/p>\n

Certainly, we can make a difference in our nation through our kindness. We all want to live in a county that we cherish but each one of us has a responsibility to contribute to that through our kindness.\u00a0 We will continue with the discussion in next week\u2019s article.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Kent Vital<\/p>\n

Political Leader<\/p>\n

Dominica Freedom Party.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Last week we put out the \u201cHands of Love\u201d challenge. This is a kindness challenge; this is a love challenge \u2013 love for our fellowmen. This is a challenge to all patriots to lift our country higher.\u00a0 This is a…","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":226028,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","footnotes":""},"categories":[273,77,235,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-259065","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-freedom-speaks","category-homepage","category-homepage-carousel","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFreedom Speaks: The Hands of Love Challenge - Part II - Dominica News Online<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/freedom-speaks-the-hands-of-love-challenge-part-ii\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Freedom Speaks: The Hands of Love Challenge - Part II - Dominica News Online\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Last week we put out the \u201cHands of Love\u201d challenge. This is a kindness challenge; this is a love challenge \u2013 love for our fellowmen. This is a challenge to all patriots to lift our country higher.\u00a0 This is a...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/freedom-speaks-the-hands-of-love-challenge-part-ii\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Dominica News Online\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-11-17T19:35:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Kent-Vital.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"946\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"756\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/homepage\\\/freedom-speaks-the-hands-of-love-challenge-part-ii\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/homepage\\\/freedom-speaks-the-hands-of-love-challenge-part-ii\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/71cd1f1f2accca6a7c47573faafb74b4\"},\"headline\":\"Freedom Speaks: The Hands of Love Challenge – Part II\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-11-17T19:35:44+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/homepage\\\/freedom-speaks-the-hands-of-love-challenge-part-ii\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":866,\"commentCount\":1,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/homepage\\\/freedom-speaks-the-hands-of-love-challenge-part-ii\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/Kent-Vital.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Freedom Speaks\",\"Homepage\",\"Homepage Carousel\",\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/homepage\\\/freedom-speaks-the-hands-of-love-challenge-part-ii\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/homepage\\\/freedom-speaks-the-hands-of-love-challenge-part-ii\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/homepage\\\/freedom-speaks-the-hands-of-love-challenge-part-ii\\\/\",\"name\":\"Freedom Speaks: The Hands of Love Challenge - Part II - Dominica News Online\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/homepage\\\/freedom-speaks-the-hands-of-love-challenge-part-ii\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/homepage\\\/freedom-speaks-the-hands-of-love-challenge-part-ii\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/Kent-Vital.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-11-17T19:35:44+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/71cd1f1f2accca6a7c47573faafb74b4\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/homepage\\\/freedom-speaks-the-hands-of-love-challenge-part-ii\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/homepage\\\/freedom-speaks-the-hands-of-love-challenge-part-ii\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/homepage\\\/freedom-speaks-the-hands-of-love-challenge-part-ii\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/Kent-Vital.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/Kent-Vital.jpg\",\"width\":946,\"height\":756,\"caption\":\"Kent Vital, Economist\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/homepage\\\/freedom-speaks-the-hands-of-love-challenge-part-ii\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Freedom Speaks: The Hands of Love Challenge – Part II\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/\",\"name\":\"Dominica News Online\",\"description\":\"The most popular news site in the Commonwealth of Dominica\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/71cd1f1f2accca6a7c47573faafb74b4\",\"name\":\"Admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3c1b110e3014e3476f4152480a3d3069d1b1344862bb7e77d87392410ac870c0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3c1b110e3014e3476f4152480a3d3069d1b1344862bb7e77d87392410ac870c0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3c1b110e3014e3476f4152480a3d3069d1b1344862bb7e77d87392410ac870c0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Admin\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/author\\\/joni-durand\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Freedom Speaks: The Hands of Love Challenge - Part II - Dominica News Online","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/freedom-speaks-the-hands-of-love-challenge-part-ii\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Freedom Speaks: The Hands of Love Challenge - Part II - Dominica News Online","og_description":"Last week we put out the \u201cHands of Love\u201d challenge. This is a kindness challenge; this is a love challenge \u2013 love for our fellowmen. This is a challenge to all patriots to lift our country higher.\u00a0 This is a...","og_url":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/freedom-speaks-the-hands-of-love-challenge-part-ii\/","og_site_name":"Dominica News Online","article_published_time":"2020-11-17T19:35:44+00:00","og_image":[{"width":946,"height":756,"url":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Kent-Vital.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Admin","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/freedom-speaks-the-hands-of-love-challenge-part-ii\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/freedom-speaks-the-hands-of-love-challenge-part-ii\/"},"author":{"name":"Admin","@id":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/71cd1f1f2accca6a7c47573faafb74b4"},"headline":"Freedom Speaks: The Hands of Love Challenge – Part II","datePublished":"2020-11-17T19:35:44+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/freedom-speaks-the-hands-of-love-challenge-part-ii\/"},"wordCount":866,"commentCount":1,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/freedom-speaks-the-hands-of-love-challenge-part-ii\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Kent-Vital.jpg","articleSection":["Freedom Speaks","Homepage","Homepage Carousel","News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/freedom-speaks-the-hands-of-love-challenge-part-ii\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/freedom-speaks-the-hands-of-love-challenge-part-ii\/","url":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/freedom-speaks-the-hands-of-love-challenge-part-ii\/","name":"Freedom Speaks: The Hands of Love Challenge - Part II - Dominica News Online","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/freedom-speaks-the-hands-of-love-challenge-part-ii\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/freedom-speaks-the-hands-of-love-challenge-part-ii\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Kent-Vital.jpg","datePublished":"2020-11-17T19:35:44+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/71cd1f1f2accca6a7c47573faafb74b4"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/freedom-speaks-the-hands-of-love-challenge-part-ii\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/freedom-speaks-the-hands-of-love-challenge-part-ii\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/freedom-speaks-the-hands-of-love-challenge-part-ii\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Kent-Vital.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Kent-Vital.jpg","width":946,"height":756,"caption":"Kent Vital, Economist"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/freedom-speaks-the-hands-of-love-challenge-part-ii\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Freedom Speaks: The Hands of Love Challenge – Part II"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/","name":"Dominica News Online","description":"The most popular news site in the Commonwealth of Dominica","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/71cd1f1f2accca6a7c47573faafb74b4","name":"Admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3c1b110e3014e3476f4152480a3d3069d1b1344862bb7e77d87392410ac870c0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3c1b110e3014e3476f4152480a3d3069d1b1344862bb7e77d87392410ac870c0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3c1b110e3014e3476f4152480a3d3069d1b1344862bb7e77d87392410ac870c0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Admin"},"url":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/author\/joni-durand\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Kent-Vital.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259065","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=259065"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259065\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":259068,"href":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259065\/revisions\/259068"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/226028"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=259065"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=259065"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=259065"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}