Barrouallie residents give SOE pleasant surprise

Supervisor of elections Sylvia Findlay fought back tears last Friday after she was surprised by residents of Barrouallie, who have been rallying and supporting her since the December 9, 2015 general elections.

The surprise, spearheaded by sports ambassador and Barrouallie resident Lance John, saw Findlay being presented with a cake, a bouquet {{more}}of flowers, a card and gift as a gesture of support.

Fighting back tears, Findlay expressed her gratitude for the support she has received during this period.

“I really do appreciate this, it is not possible for me to say thanks to everybody….I want to thank everybody, those at home in St Vincent and those overseas, because it means a lot to me.”

She noted that the past seven weeks have been very difficult, but it is the support of persons, some whom she doesn’t even know, that has helped her carry on.

“…Even persons that I don’t know would call me or come or send a message to say they are with me. Even when I felt it was not possible for me to take anymore, I felt that there were so many people who were there bearing me up that I couldn’t first of all let them down, because

they didn’t expect me to bow under this pressure,” a teary eyed Findlay said.

The supervisor of elections also stated that this ordeal has especially tested her faith as a Christian.

“People always say to me, ‘Oh you are a strong person,’ but I know that this situation has really tested my strength as an individual, as a public officer and maybe most importantly as a Christian.

“We could say we are Christians; we could say we are professionals, but it’s times like these that we really know who we are and what we are,” Findlay also stated.

While presenting the gifts, sports ambassador Lance John told Findlay, “We highly respect your strong personality and your professionalism shown over the years. We have been praying for you all along…and I know the good Lord is alongside with you to the very end.”

A former student of Findlay, who was on the delegation from Barrouallie, told her that despite the hateful words that are being said about her daily, she knows that Findlay is a good woman and she has a lot of support and people behind her.

Since the December 9, 2015 general elections, supporters of the New Democratic Party, who are alleging there were widespread irregularities in the poll, have been staging protests outside the office of the supervisor of elections.(CM)