Five people have received awards for their acts of valour and civic duty from the Office of the Attorney General at an awards ceremony that unveiled the Gaining Stripes programme, which is aimed at promoting positive societal contributions and inspiring others to follow suit.
Two young customs officers were recognised for their instrumental role in intercepting a concealed cache of over 30 firearms and ammunition earlier this year. Janelle Inniss, a ticketing supervisor with American Airlines, received an award for her heroic act of delivering a baby despite having no prior medical experience. Karen Hutson was commended for her courageous intervention in stopping a major school fight in the northern part of the island. Cameron Edwards was acknowledged for his honesty in returning a significant sum of money found abandoned in an ATM.
Minister in the Attorney General’s Office, Corey Lane, said the programme intends to counteract negativity often prevalent in society, as he underlined the importance of acknowledging positive deeds and encouraging good behaviour.
“It was put in place really to act as a counter to a lot of the negativity out in society. And negativity breeds negativity. So we thought it important to highlight in a major way, those who are making a significant contribution to our country, and make sure that we salute them as well. When negative things happen, there’s punishment. And when positive things happen, we think equally, they should be rewarded,” he said.
“The other thing that the reason that we brought about this, and one of the other objectives, is really to inspire a nation, inspire the youth, inspire the entire country to be able to look at those who are being rewarded and say, ‘I, too, can do good. I, too, deserve a stripe’.”
(RG)
