MANY BARBADIANS are of the erroneous view that holders of the office of Governor General have mere functionary and ceremonial roles. They have no concept of the consultative and advisory responsibilities that come with the position, and the volume of documents that have to be read and reviewed, often against tight deadlines.
The visits by Governors-General to Barbadians on the day of their 100th birthdays, which have increased considerably over the years, often define rather narrowly in the public’s mind, the job of Head of State.
But over the past three years, Governor General Sir Elliott Belgrave broke new ground when he determined that he would undertake visits to all of the 68 primary schools administered by the Government of Barbados.
This began when in 2013 he visited St Philip’s Primary School. He honoured his alma mater at Boscobelle, St Peter in March 2014, and then spread out his visits all over the island.
By his action and, indeed, by the phenomenal success these tours have turned out to be, Sir Elliott has defined a more activist role for his tenure and hopefully for future holders of that important office – an influence of service that inspires beyond the traditional visits of recognition to those citizens who reach centennial status.
Sir Elliott has chosen not only generously to shower compassion on the aged, but to extol the young. He has not only reflected on the glory of the seniors in our society, but is stimulating the future generation with a much-needed appreciation of hope.
These well-publicised visits signify to the young ones that they are precious in the eyes of the person who is the head of this country. In themselves, the visits offer impressionable minds the opportunity to regard themselves as a “somebody”, thus reinforcing values of self-regard that are critical to self-attainment within the walls of the school, as well as at home and elsewhere.
In addition, this man of eminence never loses an opportunity to tell the rousing story of his own life: “I did not start at the top, but on the lowest rung of the ladder and any success that I have achieved is as a result of hard work and dedication,” he told pupils who listened to him at Welches Primary School in St Thomas on Monday.
This point was reinforced by Lomer Rock, district education officer, who said: “The journey of His Excellency started with a small rural school in Boscobel and with discipline His Excellency was able to overcome countless obstacles to reach the pinnacle of being the Head of State of Barbados.”
American author and humorist Thomas Bodett once commented: “They say a person needs just three things to be truly happy in this world: Someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for.”
Sir Elliott has selflessly offered our children something to hope for. The rest is up to parents and the rest of us.