Basseterre, St. Kitts, September 10, 2019 (SKNIS): Sanitation workers across St. Kitts and Nevis were honoured on Sunday, September 08, at a special thanksgiving service dubbed the 17th Annual Sanitation Workers Appreciation Day organized by the Apostolic Faith Mission at St. Johnston Ave under the theme ‘Health brings a freedom very few realize until they no longer have it’.
Fifteen workers, chosen by their supervisors, were given special awards for their hard work and dedication to their respective departments and by extension the country. These awardees were Sandy Harris, Sandra Phillip, Sonia Huggins, Sylvia Berridge and Charles Zakers of the Public Health Department. Vincent Tyrell, Brenda Saddlers, Calvin Bell, Dawn Richardson and Oriel Seaton received awards for Solid Waste Management Corporation. For the Parks and Beaches Unit the awards were as follows: Best weed eater operator, Imbookeal Bryan; Best raker, Yolanda Dascent; Longest serving male, Ray Francis; Longest serving female, Patricia Nichols, and Most Dedicated employee at the cemetery, Desmond Manners.
Reflecting on the theme for this year’s celebration, the Honourable Eugene Hamilton, Minister of Health, said that it is relevant and extremely important especially as we celebrate the work of sanitation workers.
“And this is why it is important… to celebrate those who are in the forefront of sanitation work because they are contributing to the health, not only of themselves, but of this nation,” said Minister Hamilton. “As we celebrate the sanitation workers on the 17th anniversary, we give thanks to God for His goodness and His mercies. We give thanks because through all that we are doing He has cared for us, He has made sure that we ourselves, especially those of us who work in the sanitation field… are healthy and safe,” he added.
The event, which is designed yearly to celebrate the work of the sanitation workers in the Federation who work day in and day out to keep St. Kitts and Nevis clean, was hosted by Pastor Lincoln Hazell and his congregation.
Prime Minister Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris expressed thanks and appreciation to Pastor Hazell “for continuing this tradition of reaching out year after year” to celebrate the work of sanitation workers. He also used the occasion to applaud the workers.
He noted that having a healthy nation is important for future development.
“Health is critically important, and at the broad end of the development of the country the health of every individual and the health of all of us contributes to nation building. If people are sick, they can’t work or they can’t work well, they can’t contribute to the development in the country and that is why our government has been investing so much in healthcare delivery in St. Kitts and Nevis,” said Prime Minister Harris.
Prime Minister Harris assured the workers that the Team Unity Administration “values their service and applaud them for doing their best in keeping the environment clean.”
