The Tribune

THIRTEEN outstanding Bahamians with an accumulative 1,118 years of age were awarded with Nation Builder Awards for their outstanding contributions to the development of The Bahamas.

The 13 included Rev Bosfield Bethel, JP; Lillian Dean-Humes; Leonard Edward Knowles; Louise Smith; Mildred McNeil; Lovelyjane Miller; Monis Alexander Moss; Ercin Eugene Gibson; Pearl Moxey; Veronica Pintard; Mildred Allen-Thompson; Mary Justina Toote and Beryl Mae Wright.

Sir Arthur Foulkes, Governor-General, presented the honourees were with their awards, during the 15th annual Nation Builder Awards ceremony held in the Ballroom of Government House.

Dean-Humes, at 96, was the oldest honouree. Mary Justina Toote was the youngest recipient at the age of 82.

Minister of Social Services and Community Development Melanie S. Griffin said the honourees were all worthy of their selection.

“When we talk about nation builders, we immediately recall persons like the Sir Lynden Pindling, His Excellency Arthur Hanna, Sir Milo Butler, Sir Randol Fawkes, Dame Doris Johnson, Dr CR Walker and Sir Arthur Foulkes, to name a few, whose contributions to the building of our nation are well known and documented for future generations,” Minister Griffin said.

“These and many other prominent and well-known persons are widely known and accepted as nation builders but we know that there are so many others whose efforts are not so widely known, but that their ongoing contributions to the building of our nation undergirds the work of those who were at the forefront. Persons who in their own quiet and unassuming way have helped to make our country what it is today. We have come today to recognise thirteen such persons who are indeed worthy of our praise,” Minister Griffin added.

Minister Griffin said the 13 persons honoured that day all possessed an element of humility for their friends, neighbours, country and the community at-large.

“From their profiles you will note that our honourees were not selfish in just attending to their needs and those of their immediate family. They very often extended themselves and their limited resources to others in their various communities. It is saddening that this is a quality that is disappearing in our country,” she said.

“Educational opportunities for the majority of them would have been limited, as most had to leave school at an early age to work to help support the family. For many of them life would have been an uphill struggle given the times in which they lived; but they made do with what they had until they could do better.

“Further, they resolved that their children would have a better life and educational opportunities they never had, hence they worked hard and long and sacrificed to make this possible. I believe there were times they got up and did what they had to do through sickness and pain, sunshine and rain, whether they wanted to or not because they knew their families depended on them to see them through,” Minister Griffin added.

The Social Services Minister said those values are in direct contrast to what is currently occurring in The Bahamas.

“The sad reality is that too many of us are only looking out for ourselves and our families and as long as ‘me, my and mine’ are taken care of, all is fine,” Mrs Griffin said.

“This has not been the case with our honourees today. They are of the generation who made sure that whatever they had, they shared with others. Whatever the field yielded, whether it was cassava, corn or peas, everyone got their little packet. When the bread was baked, everyone got their loaf and when the soup was cooked, everyone got their little bowl.

“I wish to God, we could see more of that today. Instead, we live in a high tech world where everything is at our fingertips, with the push of a button or click of a mouse; but we have become insensitive to the needs of those around us.

“That is why it is so important for the story of our honorees to be told, so that those of us who come behind can be shown the right path,” Minister Griffin added.