The 11 graduates were Amorelle Samuel, Beverly Prentice, Clyve Archibald, Elvis Morton, Hyacinth Cabey, Jovanna Casey, Kishma Duncan, Lynette Foster, Natasanna Morson, Sonia Liddie and Vida Maynard.
The graduation ceremony was sponsored by 2017 CDSMP graduate, Mr. Anthony Evelyn, who found the programme to be an asset and wanted to give back to the community. Mr. Evelyn also sponsored the 2017 graduation ceremony where he was a graduate.
For his selfless act, workshop facilitators and Living Healthy Leaders, Ms. Natasha Mitchum, and Ms. Samantha Browne, presented Mr. Evelyn with a small token for his unwavering generosity and support of the programme.
Ms. Chere Ann Weaver, Nutrition Officer and Living Healthy Leader, who was the guest speaker at the graduation ceremony, quoted the old adage, “Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day, teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime.”
She urged the graduates to keep the commitment they have made over the past six weeks and to continue their journey with the new lifestyle they have adopted.
“You have been equipped with the tools that have been and will continue to be a life changer. My admonition to you: don’t become weary in well-doing, remain focused and diligent and as your lifestyle and habits change, your actions will motivate someone else to change,” she said.
Ms. Weaver then left the group of graduates with an acronym for CDSMP, which encouraged them to C – care for yourself; D – dream past you and your loved one’s chronic conditions; S – simplify daily stressors; M – maintain good habits after they have been formed; and P – practice patience with the process.
“The journey continues to a better, healthier you. The CDSMP team is a family and you have made it together,” she said.