HMC, JCDC award unsung heroes in Hanover
WESTERN BUREAU:
SOME 22 PERSONS, 17 from the Hanover division of the Jamaica Fire Brigade’s Emergency Medical Services (EMS), and five from the Hanover Municipal Corporation’s (HMC) Poor Relief Department were presented with Heroes Awards during Thursday’s monthly meeting of the corporation.
The ceremony, which was a joint initiative between the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission’s (JCDC) Hanover office and the HMC, was a follow-up to a similar event that formed a part of the parish’s Heroes Day celebration, which saw 20 persons from the Hanover health services being awarded.
Those who were awarded are said to be some of the unsung heroes of the parish, who are on the frontline on a day-to-day basis, leading the fight to contain the spread of deadly coronavirus.
Shiyan Williams, the JCDC parish manager for Hanover, said the awardees are all worthy of the recognition they have received, based on the work they have been doing.
“They have been on the forefront of the COVID-19 battlefield, always showing commitment and providing exceptional healthcare to persons in need of care,”said Williams.
In October when the Noel Holmes Hospital and Hanover Infirmary personnel were awarded at a pre-Heroes Day ceremony, Lucea Mayor Sheridan Samuels had apologised to the EMS personnel for their non-inclusion in that ceremony. He said they were equally deserving of recognition and would be recognised in a future event.
“I would like you to extend my apology to the EMS personnel for them not being included in today’s function, and I give my personal commitment that they will be duly recognised at next month’s (November) meeting,” Samuels had told Raymond DeSouza, the deputy fire chief for Hanover.
Samuels and the JCDC personnel redeemed themselves with Thursday’s presentation of awards to the EMS personnel. The ceremony took on special significance as November is Local Government Month, and the Jamaica Fire Brigade, with its EMS facility, falls under the local government ministry.