An ecumenical service was held at Calvary Temple on the island of Grand Bahama to launch Child Protection Month.

The Minister of Social Services and Urban Development and Member of Parliament for West Grand Bahama and Bimini, the Hon. Obie Wilchcombe was in attendance. He told those gathered, “we have to, as a nation, look at our young people and recognize that they are the future and no one should ever be able to disrespect them and we should always provide protection for them. And we must lift the responsibilities of our children.”

Wilchcombe also paid tribute to social services workers saying, “with these individuals you see their heart, see their souls. What they do, the work, the care they put into making lives that much better.”

Also on hand at the service was Acting Deputy Director of Social Services for the Northern Bahamas District Charlamae Fernander who said, “we can make a difference in the life of an abused child if we take the time to stop the abuse early. As a nation we must galvanize our communities one island at a time to mitigate the evil and develop resilience families to stamp out child abuse.”

The sermon was delivered by Pastor Robert Lockhart.