Bellamy-Thompson named Citizen of the Year for service to homeless

After years of tireless service to many of the island’s homeless and underserved citizens, Sharon Bellamy-Thompson has been given the Citizen of the Year Award from Kiwanis International.

The announcement was made on Monday by the first Barbadian governor in the club’s history, Dr Delores Lewis, as she and the visiting Kiwanis International president, Art Riley, and other members of the local Kiwanis club joined Bellamy during her daily rounds in The City, distributing care packages to the homeless.

Lewis said it was her task to select someone for the prestigious award, and after noting Bellamy’s acts of service over the years – including feeding the poor and organizing special parties for children in need, pre-COVID – the choice was an easy one.

“As Governor of Eastern Canada and the Caribbean, we held a virtual convention this year and…I was asked to select an individual for our Citizen of the Year Award. After thinking about it and reading about Sharon Bellamy-Thompson and the work she did, I thought that she would be most deserving of this award.

“Kiwanis is about service, and she has been doing selfless service for many years, and when I was asked to select a person for that award, I looked at a number of persons who have been doing things in Barbados and I chose to nominate her because I was most impressed with the work she has been doing, especially since much of this work was being done by herself and funds being provided for herself for many years,” Lewis explained.

Bellamy expressed thanks for being recognized for the work she has consistently been doing for the less fortunate, although she admitted the award itself was a shock.

She insisted that her task was not over, and revealed that she has plans to get a building to help with her charitable work.

“I am so excited and overwhelmed because I was doing this work for over 30 years and I was not looking for such a recognition, because God has given me a mantle and I decided to carry it on as long [as I could].

“The next step I am looking forward to is having a building to house these people, because where I am doing it from, my home, it has outgrown the home. I started with at least 20 people and now I am at a hundred and something each day, and the space is becoming limited. A building I know for sure I will have, because once God is in it and he has given me the task, I know I will fulfill,” Bellamy-Thompson said. (SB)