Concern and compassion best sum up what the majority of NATION online readers were feeling the past week.
When the sad news broke early Friday that Dame Olga Lopes-Seale, affectionately known as Auntie Olga, had died, literally hundreds of tributes poured in from Barbadians here and abroad for the late social and community activist, who was also a broadcaster in earlier days and a columnist with this newspaper up until her death.
Here are just a few of the kind words shared about the woman who touched the lives of many.
Nicole Marville-Massiah wrote: “Beautiful woman inside and outside. May she rest in peace.”
Lynn Marie Carneiro: “This is very sad news. She was an inspiration to us all.”
Sheneza Smartt: “The service of Auntie Olga was outstanding and will forever be remembered. She was the Mother Theresa of the Caribbean.”
Joanna Fitt-Singh said: “Every child growing up in Barbados knew of Auntie Olga. What a legend! . . . No one could ever replace her!!!”
Online readers also expressed concern when Minister of Housing and Lands Michael Lashley announced Government’s plan for high-rise urban housing in Barbados, starting early next month with 400 apartments at Mason Hall Street; The Grotto, Beckles Road; and Exmouth, Spring Garden, all in St Michael.
Al Wright: “It is something I saw in Brooklyn, and Newark, NJ. To date many of these high-rises have been boarded up, neglected, or demolished as the tenants became outraged by the lack of security and the activity of criminals who frequented the projects to ply their trade.
“With the current wave of crime in Barbados, the fact is that within a short time there will be regret for constructing these breeding grounds for crime.”
Joel Howard: “I have [seen] these high-rise homes while living in Guadeloupe . . . Martinique and French Guyana. They are well maintained (that’s the key) and not looked at with contempt. To see more comments, log on to the NATION’S Facebook page (Nation Barbados).