Minister Curtis Richardson
A young woman in Anguilla, who sustained a fractured hip during Hurricane Irma, is the recipient of a well-needed cash donation to assist with her continuing treatment and recovery.
She is Ms Patricia Connor of Blowing Point, a Sales Clerk at Lake’s Do It Best Hardware Department with over 27 years of employment there. She was presented with a cheque for US$2,000.00 on Monday, February 26, by Mr. Mervin Richardson, a representative of the Sandy Point, St. Kitts Benevolent Society in New York – a donor agency to Anguilla in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma. The young woman’s plight was brought to the attention of the philanthropic organisation by Mr. Christopher Richardson in cooperation with Mr. Curtis Richardson, the Elected Representative for District 7, Road South.
“After Hurricane Irma, we, as a group, were looking at how we could assist the people in the Caribbean,” Mr. Mervin Richardson told The Anguillian. “We spoke to the Anguilla Progressive Association in New York and decided among ourselves that we need to do something for Anguilla. We had Anguilla, Tortola, Barbuda and one of the other hurricane-hit islands, but we decided to make a donation to Anguilla.
“We contacted my brother, Christopher Richardson [in Anguilla], and asked him if he could find out from the Government how we could make a contribution as far as the hurricane was concerned. Two barrels from us, containing food items and clothing sent by us, are now on the island in customs; and we also had a 2,000 dollar-donation to make. I contacted Chris and he got into contact with Minister Curtis Richardson, and we decided to make a donation to this young lady, Patricia Connor.”
Ms Connor, supported by her walking stick, commented: “I appreciate it very much. I thank them very much for the donation.” Explaining her circumstance, she stated: “I got an injury during the hurricane. I slipped on some water on the floor and fractured my hip. It is now coming around pretty well. I had to go to St. Kitts for treatment and I am getting the rest of the treatment here in Anguilla. The house where I am living was pretty much damaged and I lost one of the additional rooms.”
Minister Curtis Richardson said: “I am very appreciative of this donation for Ms. Connor. My heart is touched because, as I went around the community shortly after the hurricane, I was overwhelmed by the number persons within my particular district, as well as the island on a whole, who suffered tremendous loss as a result of the hurricane. My heart went out to a lot of people as I tried to figure out how they were going to recover. I especially felt a lot of pain over Ms. Connor’s situation because, apart from losing material things, she had some personal injury and that injury put her through multiple thousands of dollars in expense.
“I had a conversation with Mr. Christopher Richardson who told me he would try to make contact with an overseas organisation to see if it would be willing to contribute to Ms. Connor. I am very happy that the Sandy Point, St. Kitts Benevolent Society in New York decided to give her a pretty sizeable contribution. Her expenses are way in excess of it but every little bit counts. As an elected official in Anguilla, I intend to keep pushing because long after the hurricane it is going to take a lot of time for people to get their lives back to normal. I would like for God to give me the contacts and the assistance so that I can pass it on to the people to enable them to bring their lives back to a sense of normalcy over the years to come.”
In wrapping up the presentation event, Mr. Mervin Richardson spoke about the work of the Sandy Point, St. Kitts Benevolent Society in New York. “It is a society that is made up of past students from the Sandy Point High School in St. Kitts,” he reported. “A group of us came together 21 years ago and formed the society. We do a lot of things for the Sandy Point High School, now the Charles E. Mills Secondary School in St. Kitts. We give scholarships to students attending the school and to past students going away to study. We also provide equipment, etc. Our Motto is: ‘We give back, so others can move forward’.”
Mr. Richardson is a Clinical Pharmacist at White Plains Hospital in New York. He is a former Pharmacist at the old Cottage Hospital in Anguilla and is the Founder of Paramount Pharmacy at the Water Swamp.
