Sunday, April 27 marked the launch of Vaccination Week on Anguilla which runs from April 27 – May 3, 2014. A delegation of nurses, led by the renowned Nurse Janice Hodge, joined with the congregation of Dominion Faith Centre in a lively service under the theme: “Vaccination: Your best shot!” Nurse Janice Hodge commented on the nurses’ desire to start the week by giving God praise and thanks. The focus of the initiative is to particularly offer vaccinations to at-risk individuals such as senior citizens and school students. Ms. Hodge outlined that vaccinations are free for persons of any age and encouraged the community to get involved in any way possible to ensure a healthier populace. The amiable Nurse Cassandra Webster-Sosa presented the scripture reading, taken from Psalm 27.
Among the many visitors, Mrs. Kim Cutler, Project Officer for the Governor’s Office, was also in attendance. Mrs. Cutler’s poignant remarks included her opining that as a mother of 4 children, she was very pleased to have been invited to this special service of thanksgiving and voiced her full support of the efforts. She gave a very detailed account of the life of an American polio survivor and vaccination activist, Janice Nichols, who in 1953 lost her twin brother and many of her young classmates to the ravages of polio in less than 48 hours from initial diagnosis. She further indicated that the recently cleared graveyard in South Hill was a dedicated burial location for small pox fatalities that affected Anguilla decades ago. Thankfully, these grave and vicious diseases can now be easily avoided with a simple vaccination shot.
Pastor Dexter Welcome’s rousing sermon, “The Power of Love”, focused on how the church and community at large needed to be pro-active versus reactive in all aspects of life, but flawlessly connected this concept of proactivity in the national support vaccinations. Touching on the relevant biblical scriptures, I Corinthians 13 verses three to 13, Pastor Welcome continued by applauding the efforts and daily sacrifices of nurses and medical practitioners who show love every day to the sick and hurting, even at times when they may also be sick and hurting. Pastor Welcome emphasized that love and caring for each other, being our “brother’s keeper”, is what brings national healing. Pastor Welcome ended his sermon by praying for the nurses in attendance and those in the medical field in general.
– Press Release
(Published without editing by The Anguillian newspaper.)
