Basseterre, St.Kitts—The Apostolic Faith Mission church, under the guidance of Pastor Lincoln Hazel, hosted its 13th annual SANITATION WORKERS APPRECIATION DAY, on Sunday 6th September.
The impressive ceremony was held at the church which is situated at #14 St. Johnson’s Avenue in Basseterre.
Pastor Hazel in his opening remarks noted that the awards ceremony was originally planned 13 years ago as a ‘one off event’ but after realizing that it was a huge success, it just continued every year thereafter.
The awards ceremony is dedicated to honouring the hard working men and women who work towards cleaning the streets and villages in St.Kitts and Nevis and ensuring health and safety for the well being of the general populace.
Two special honourees who had served with distinction, in St. Clair Roland who retired from the St.Kitts Solid Waste Management Corporation in 2014 and Mr. Daniel Henry who retired from the Parks and Beaches Unit in August, were afforded the opportunity to sit on the platform alongside the speaker for the day.
Other dignitaries present at the awards service were His Honour, S.W. Tapley Seaton, Governor General of St.Kitts and Nevis; Hon Eugene Hamilton, Minister of Health; Hon. Sam Condor, Ambassador; Mr. Andrew Hendrickson, General Manager of the Nevis Solid Waste Management Authority and Mr. Alphonso Bridgewater, General Manager of the St.Kitts Solid Waste Corporation.
An impressive delegation from the Nevis Solid Waste Management Authority was also in attendance.
Minister Hamilton in addressing the gathering, warmly congratulated the men and women who sacrifice for odd hours on a daily basis to keep the federation of St.Kitts and Nevis clean.
He used the opportunity to ask the general populace to respect them and give credence to the work that they do. ‘Their job is just as important as that of the Prime Minister,’ he opined. He also pointed out some significant happenings in the year 2015 as it relates to health and safety.
He also asked members of the general public to seek to dispose of their waste in a proper and approved manner.
The dynamic sermon of the day was presented by Major Roxroy Campbell who focused on giving thanks.
As part of the program, the praise and worship team of the church, got the worshippers moving with a lively song service and there were outstanding renditions from Zack Nisbett’s youthful string band; a steel band rendition by a youthful group; a dance by Dequana Adams and a solo by David Swanston.
Awards were presented to deserving staff members of the Parks and Beaches Unit;
The Environmental health workers; The SSWMC and the NSWMA workers.
The Nevisians receiving awards on that day were Mrs. Marjorie Claxton for outstanding service in the cleaning of the NSWMA office; Mr. Emile Claxton for his dedication to the NSWMA in the field of maintenance and repair and Mr. Curtis Morton for promoting awareness of all new initiatives at the NSWMA.
Mr. Morton currently spearheads two programs for the NSWMA: A radio program on Choice radio which is aired on Wednesday mornings referred to as REFUSE NEWS and a television program aired on NTV channel 8 on Wednesday nights known as S.W.E.E.P (Solid Waste Environmental Education Program).
The persons present were also presented with tokens of appreciation by the church, complements of the many businesses and individuals who chose to sponsor the event.
A sumptuous lunch followed.