The following, was a message pre-recorded by Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, for a Student Appreciation Event, hosted by The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, in recognition of the work accomplished by students for both the Seek and Save Initiative as well as. the National Vaccination Campaign initiated by the Government of Barbados to combat the spread of COVID-19.
Hello, friends, all.
Today, I truly welcome the opportunity to say thanks to you, the students of the Cave Hill Campus of the UWI. You have been at the heart of our fight against COVID-19 in our Seek and Save Initiative. When you entered this university, it was for the purpose of learning. Through this program, though, you have taught the whole country most a valuable lesson in civics, in bravery, in compassion.
When we as a nation decided that there was immense value in bearing the financial burden of covering your education costs at this university, we did so with the clear understanding that the country would always benefit as you succeeded and as you gave back. But what you have given to our country by manning the data entry process of the national vaccination effort – even after the Operation Seek and Save initiative – both of these things have surpassed what would otherwise have been envisaged as a students repayment of his or her debt.
You have set for all of us still at this university and for those who will follow you at UWI, a new benchmark for what Operation Giveback will mean for future students. Trust me on this.
At the same time, though, I hope that the lessons of the past year have cemented in your minds, a concept that service to your community, service to our community must be a life long experience.
This, my friends, will be critical as we move forward in a post COVID Barbados and in a post COVID world because of the extent to which we will have to assist, always, the most vulnerable among us. Getting individuals and families back on their feet will require us to extend a helping hand, perhaps unmatched by any period in our modern history. Volunteerism, no doubt, will have to be a key component in our building forward better for our people.
Thankfully, your visits to almost 100,000 households across this nation during Seek and Save, would have given you an opportunity to see the good, the bad, the not so good, the not so bad, the rich, the poor, the ones in between, the healthy, the unwell, the confident and those with dismay.
As you operate the Shape App, you are not just manipulating data, you are capturing the stories of our lives. You’ve seen the anxiety and the fear, the uncertainty and the doubt. You saw first-hand where social, colour and class lines melted just before your very eyes for a vaccine whose efficacy is not influenced by where you live or how much money you have.
You have had the opportunity, my friends, to live the experiences that must be integral to the lessons for all Barbadians as we build forward better. And, yes, as we go forward, you must teach those lessons to those with whom you interact in the rest of your lives; for, you know, have a duty to pay it forward.
So again, my friends, please accept my sincere thanks – gratitude on behalf of this nation.
The war against COVID-19, yes, is still very much alive. We’ve come far from the beginning of this year. Through your efforts and your determination – working with us, we ask you use this moment always, to remind you never, ever, ever to give in to fear. When others were suggested to you that this exercise would expose you to unreasonable risk, you came forward and stepped up to the plate and don’t give in to anger for when others rejected your approach, you have shown them that by staying focused and doing what you intended to do to help others, you have contributed to our winning this battle. And we must win it each and every day. For, as I have said over and over, we cannot afford to let our guard down.
Our nation’s investment in you has therefore already paid handsome dividends.
I wish you well in all of your future endeavors, but I cannot end this note of appreciation without also recognizing the University of the West Indies as an institution. Some of my best working years have been spent as a member of the Council of Cave Hill and of the University of the West Indies. And I was delighted to join, once again, the University Grants Committee and to play my part in making sure that you, the children of this region, can stand tall and make way for other children to come through this wonderful institution that has served us so well over the course of the last seven decades.
I want to thank the Vice Chancellor of this University, Sir Hilary Beckles. I want to thank your principal, the Most Honourable Eudine Barriteau. I want to thank Dr. Dion Greenwich, Dr. Kenneth Connell, Lieutenant Colonel Brown, all of you and all who worked with you to ensure that this unprecedented national effort was a success. Thank you. Thank you.
This experience is undoubtedly a representation of the relationship we want always going forward. The real potential of our intellectual resources at Cave Hill has never been truly tapped, in my view. But we will continue to draw upon you because you are integral to this nation’s development. And at the personal level, you as a student will always come out better when you have been exposed to those difficulties and challenges that your community, your nation must face. For it is your future that depends on us being successful in resolving these challenges.
Be warned, therefore, expect the calls for national duty going forward. I’m not hiding my mouth. I am telling you upfront: expect the calls. So when all is said and done, thank you and God bless. Take care.