This week, the staff of the National Co-operative Credit Union Limited (NCCU) embarked on two outreach activities bringing Christmas cheer to the staff and residents of two institutions in Dominica.
On 20 December 2016, the NCCU Staff hosted their 4th annual Christmas party for the children at the Chances Family in Jimmit. The party was sponsored entirely through contributions received from the credit union’s staff. At the party, the children were occupied by arts and crafts projects and entertained by Christmas Carols sung by the staff with musical accompaniment by Ms. Mikisha Harrigan. The children were fed scrumptious snacks and a meal and each child received a present from NCCU’s very own Santa Claus.
The following day, the NCCU staff visited the Acute Psychiatric Unit (APU) of the Princess Margaret Hospital for its annual Christmas party. The staff members again entertained with melodious carol singing again accompanied by Ms. Harrigan and a guitarist.
The visit to the APU was the first outreach of its kind for the NCCU staff. The idea to visit was conceptualized by Ms. NCCU, Ms. Jade Romain, Carnival Queen 2017 hopeful who arranged the visit as a project for her platform which is mental illness.
According to Ms. Romain, “I wanted to organize some form of entertainment for the patients so that they know that they are being remembered during this Christmas Season as often times they are forgotten by the people who matter the most (their families) during this Season.”
Ms. Romain took the opportunity to extend Season’s Greetings to everyone and to thank her family and friends, the volunteers and staff of her employer and sponsor, the NCCU Ltd, the villagers of Gutter Village and the general public for the support she has received thus far in her journey to the throne.
Ms. Romain concluded “As we celebrate this Christmas Season and moving forward, I really hope that we would become a more supportive society for the mentally ill in Dominica and take our mental health seriously.”
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