PM hails UWI volunteers in Operation Seek and Save

By Shamar Blunt

Volunteerism and the dedication of citizens to selflessly give of their skills to serve their fellow Barbadians will be a key part of the nation’s blueprint for jumpstarting the economy, Prime Minister Mia Mottley said Monday as she praised student volunteers on the COVID-19 frontline.

She was speaking at a virtual appreciation event to recognise the work of UWI Cave Hill students on the Government’s recent Operation Seek and Save Initiative and the National COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign.

The Prime Minister thanked the students for their efforts during the last several months to make the two campaigns a success. Over 400 students were chosen out of 900 volunteers, who after receiving the call for assistance, showed immediate interest in participation, she said.

Mottley in thanking them said: “I hope the lessons of the last year, have cemented in your mind the concept of service to your community, service to our community, must be a lifelong experience.

This, my friends, will be critical as we move forward in a post-COVID Barbados and a post-COVID world because of the extent to which we will have to assist always the most vulnerable among us.

“Getting individuals and families back on their feet, will require us to extend a helping hand, perhaps unmatched by any period in our modern history. Volunteerism no doubt will have to be a key component, in our building forward better for our people.”

She praised the students for being brave and determined while facing the daunting tasks of performing their duties during the height of the COVID-19 second wave earlier in the year.

“We ask you, use this moment always to remind you to never give in to fear,” the PM said. “When others suggested to you that this exercise would expose you to unreasonable risks, you came forward and stepped up to the plate.

Don’t give in to anger, for when others rejected your approach, you have shown them, that by staying focused, and doing what you intended to do to help others, you have contributed to our winning this battle.”

Outgoing principal of the Cave Hill Campus, Professor Eudine Barriteau, also thanked the students for their sterling service in uncertain times and gave the assurance that their efforts did not go unnoticed.

“This public health intervention project in which they played a vital role, may well be a global precedent. Hundreds of young men and young women, Cave Hill students, confronted danger daily to help this country and region, fight a worldwide threat, the likes of which we may not see again in our lifetime.

“It is for this reason that as head of this institution, I am both pleased and honoured to spearhead the campus’ acknowledgement of their courageousness and self-sacrifice, of juggling their studies and placing service before self.

Barbados recognizes that it was nothing short of bravery, sheer bravery, which you exhibited by volunteering to participate in the UWI, Government of Barbados Community Evaluation and Testing Project, which was branded Operation Seek and Save.”