St Joseph ‘heroes’ honoured with Pride of Barbados

Eleven outstanding citizens of St Joseph received The Pride of Barbados Award on Wednesday, in recognition of their exceptional dedication to community service in their parish and Barbados as a whole.

The awardees were among the recipients on the We Gatherin’ 2025 Honours List, and received their award from President of Barbados Dame Sandra Mason, during a brief ceremony at State House.

The We Gatherin’ awards celebrate Barbadians who embody the spirit of service, resilience, and excellence.

Member of Parliament for St Joseph, Attorney General Dale Marshall, praised the awardees, describing them as “heroes and heroines”.

“Our awardees this morning are really the heroes and heroines of St Joseph. Many of them have served our communities with all that they had for their entire lifetime, and it is important for us to acknowledge their contribution before they pass on,” he said. “Quite frankly, I’ve come to know pretty much all of them very well, and the one thing that has always impressed me has been the way in which they have demonstrated a commitment and a passion, for serving other individuals, whether it is through acts of personal generosity, whether that generosity is in terms of time or opportunities. They’re all people of whom Saint Joseph is and can be very proud.”

He added that while only 11 individuals were selected, many more were deserving of recognition and he encouraged future nominations.

Among those honoured was retired nurse and midwife Ava Griffith, who has long been a pillar of the St Joseph community. Renowned for being among the first responders at the Joe’s River mass casualty event, Griffith was recognised for her decades of volunteerism and service.

She told the media, “I feel elated this morning and very honoured. Tomorrow I will be 66, and it is really an honour to be nominated for this award. I continue to be a community person as usual; I’ve always been a community girl and worked in nursing and midwifery, teaching nursing, and my door is always open, my telephone is always available for anybody in my district.”

Ryan Brathwaite was acknowledged for his work in community restoration and outreach to both youth and the elderly. He expressed gratitude for the award, saying, “I am humbled by the award this morning. I am 36 years old so to be recognised at 36 for community service I think is a humbling experience. I just want to give God thanks and praise for what he has done for me, and empowering me with the resources to help my community. It is something that I will continue to do.”

Caleb Hinkson was honoured for his philanthropic acts, including home repairs after hurricanes and helping others access healthcare.

“I feel honoured and I also feel very humbled to be the recipient of such an award,” he said. “There are some things that you never think are going to happen, and I never thought that this would happen to me today. I also know that service that I was able to give, not only to the hospital for 42 years, but I think I got my giving nature from my mother. She would give her last and go without. I think that if there is one thing that I inherited from her, it is that.”

Another honouree, Victor Grant, dedicated over four decades to education, tutoring many children in St Joseph free of cost.

He said:“I feel really happy and honoured to be awarded; it was not something that I was looking forward to during the time that I gave my service, but I am very grateful and appreciative of it. I spent some 40 years in the government teaching service, and as the citation said, although I was not assigned in St Joseph, I did lessons free of cost for many young people in St Joseph over the years, and when I reflect on many of their lives now, it’s really an honour and privilege [to have] done it.” (SB)