Blackman and Gollop Primary student rewarded after recognizing work of SSA employees

What started out as an ordinary classroom assignment for ten-year-old Tyler Morgan at the Blackman and Gollop Primary School not only lifted the spirits of a special group of frontline workers but resulted in surprise rewards for him on Wednesday.
Tyler, of Lodge Road, Christ Church, wrote a ‘thank you’ letter to workers of the Sanitation Service Authority (SSA), especially the crew who services his neighbourhood.

“I want to say thank you for everything that you do.

You have helped everybody this year, especially during the last two years of COVID. You don’t know what is in those bags and garbage cans but you are putting your life on the line every day of the week. You are all so special to us in Barbados. You are still doing it around Christmas time, you all are so special,” he wrote.

The letter immediately caught the attention of the SSA crew, who go by the aliases Banner, Taliban and Muslim.
Banner told reporters: “I have no kids, it touched my heart. It [the letter] was thanking us for working through COVID up to Christmastime. Big adults haven’t said that to us and he is about to set the 11-plus.”

Tyler said after his class was instructed to write letters to frontline workers, he opted to write his to SSA workers.
“Nobody else in my class chose the sanitation worker and [I did] because they come to our neighbourhood every week, well almost every week,” he said.

SSA supervisor for the area, Ryan Yarde described Tyler “as a special youngster”.

“I really appreciate that a 10-year-old appreciates some of the hard work that we do, and we hope that everybody understands what it is to be out here all day and just give us that kind of understanding through the year,” he said.
Tyler’s family was equally proud of him.

His mother, Shernelle Lynch, who had suggested that he write about the SSA team since he would always greet them and watch them work, said: “I feel really great. I know Tyler is a good boy.”

Tyler’s twin brother Teshawn also praised the SSA team.

“I think it is pretty good that they leave their home around COVID and Christmas, even if they can’t see their families and everything,” he said.

For his efforts, Tyler was presented with a football by the SSA team, a cake from Crumbz Bakery and a voucher from Ocean City. (SD)