WASHINGTON, DC – Jamaica’s ambassador to the USA Her Excellency Audrey Marks has hailed the founders of the 74-year-old West Indies Social Club of Hartford Connecticut as visionaries who’ve over time created a unifying and enduring spirit of the Caribbean diaspora.
Since 1950, when the WISC was fashioned by a bunch of farm employees from the Caribbean, the Membership has cultivated a tradition of togetherness and demonstrated the collective energy of our diaspora.
Addressing the 74th annual anniversary gala of the West Indies Social Membership of Hartford Connecticut, On April 20, 2024 on the group’s headquarters alongside foremost avenue in Hartford, Ambassador Marks informed the over 400 attendees that the event was well timed.
Jamaica’s Ambassador to the USA Her Excellency Audrey Marks addressing contributors on the 74th Anniversary gala of the West Indies Social Membership of Hartford, Connecticut | (Derrick Scott Photograph)
“This 74th Anniversary Gala and Awards Banquet is an inspiring second in time. It’s a tangible show of dedication and dedication. This 12 months’s theme of “Ignite Unity” is essential. It underpins the notion that there’s power in numbers, which is embodied within the mottos of a number of West Indian nations together with Jamaica’s, “Out of many one folks,” she mentioned.
Invitation to tenth Jamaica Biennial Diaspora Convention
The Jamaican Ambassador used the chance to “invite all Jamaicans and mates of Jamaica… to come back house to the 10th Jamaica Biennial Diaspora Conference. Marks additionally emphasised the efficiency of unity, beneath the theme “United for Jamaica’s Transformation: Fostering Peace, Productiveness, and Youth Empowerment.”
“I’m inviting you to come back, see, and take part within the vital strides we’re making as a rustic, from the enlargement of our airports, highways, entry to extra talent coaching for our youths to the dramatic enchancment in our macro-economic framework.
“We’re being hailed as a turnaround story by the main international monetary establishments in what we now have achieved in chopping our nationwide debt from 149 % of debt to GDP to now 74%, greater than half, so we will now begin investing in our infrastructure, colleges, well being companies, safety, housing and many others. ‘massive tings a gwaan’!
She emphasised that “the Convention is the place to satisfy with the Authorities of Jamaica and have an enter in the way forward for the nation and to utilize alternatives that at the moment are obtainable to do enterprise or to return for retirement. I look ahead to seeing a lot of you in Jamaica in June,” Ambassador Marks mentioned.
She thanked the president of the Membership, Mrs. Beverly Redd and the WISC government for upholding the imaginative and prescient. Plus, persevering with within the footsteps of the founding fathers by fostering a “house away from house” for West Indians within the diaspora.
Jamaica’s Ambassador to the USA Audrey Marks Her Excellency Audrey Marks receives a heat welcome to the town of Hartford Connecticut. L-R: Ms. Beverley Redd – president of the West Indian Social Membership, Arunan Arulampalam – Mayor Metropolis of Hartford, Ambassador Audrey Marks and Jamaican born Mayor of close by Bloomfield, Connecticut, Danielle Wong. | (Derrick Scott Photograph)
Institution of a Museum
President of the Membership Ms. Redd introduced the institution of a museum. The museum will probably be positioned on the West Indian Social Membership Advanced which will probably be opened in October. It can show numerous gadgets of historical past within the constructing of the West Indian group in Hartford.
“Our historical past is a tremendous story as a result of we now have been igniting unity inside Hartford for 74 years of our existence persistently. The West Indies Social Membership was born between the Nineteen Forties and 50s, in an period which was indicative of social injustice and inequalities.”
Within the US, the West Indian migrants had been granted the chance to work within the agricultural sector of the USA beneath the British West Indies Short-term Alien Labour program as farm employees in Connecticut’s tobacco trade.
Former president of the New Jersey based mostly Assist Jamaica Medical Mission Dr. Rudolph Willis (L) receives an award from the President of the West Indian Social Membership of Hartford Ms. Beverley Redd for his excellent service to well being care. At proper is Ms. Marcia Anderson-Esson | (Derrick Scott Photograph)
She identified that on account of the trials and tribulations that they encounter beneath the programme, the founding fathers got here collectively to ignite unity in what was a really oppressive society by placing apart their variations and constructing stronger connections for survival. Therefore the formation of the West Indies Social Membership.
“They got here collectively, they bridged the gaps and constructed collective power that transcended the boundaries, and to do that, they needed to focus,” President Beverley Redd declared.
