Newly-appointed chairman of the Government Industrial School (GIS) Apostle Dr Lucille Baird is not listening to critics who suggest that she is not the right person for the job.
In fact, in response to those who have questioned her role in light of her strong views on marijuana and homosexuality, she told Barbados TODAY that her many years working in communities across the island, along with her strong morals and values, make her a suitable candidate for the key position.
Dr Baird, one of the first persons to be appointed a rehabilitation officer in the state prison, remains adamant that she is qualified and equipped with the relevant knowledge and skills.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Senior Pastor at Mount Zion’s Missions, Rock Dundo, St James, said the significant contribution she has made to nation-building, should also speak to whether she is qualified to be chairman of the Board.
“My work in Barbados speaks for itself. My work in Gall Hill, Christ Church, Deacon’s Farm, Eden Lodge, New Orleans, Chapman Lane, in the prison, from one end of Barbados to the next, speaks for itself and it tells you clearly if I am qualified or not to sit on the board. My work speaks loudly.
“There isn’t a parish or a community in this country that I haven’t touched. So I would tell the critics to go and see the blind. The blind see, the lame walk, the deaf hear.
“The manifested work is what speaks for itself. And my work in Barbados is manifested work that I am qualified over and above to do anything that I am called upon to do in terms of rehabilitation or reformation,” she said.
Last weekend Minister of Home Affairs Wilfred Abrahams announced that Baird would be heading the board tasked with making sweeping changes at the institution.
The girls’ wing of the school which is located at the former Barrow’s Children’s Home in St Lucy was thrown into the national spotlight after reports surfaced that a 14-year-old was placed in solitary confinement naked.
Dr Baird said she was prepared to follow all the rules and regulations as she executes her responsibilities.
The chairman said she is embarking on her new assignment totally reliant on God and the full support of the other board members.
“I will work assiduously with the other members of the board to get the job done. The change must come and we will do that. But right now I am trying not to listen too much. I am just waiting for when the investigations are done to go in and do what needs to be done,” said Dr Baird. (anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb)
