Consul General Huggins funds nurses initiative

Fitz Huggins, St Vincent and the Grenadines’ consul general in Toronto, Canada, has made a personal donation of EC$6,000 to fund an initiative involving nurses.

On Monday, Huggins handed over the money to Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves during the opening ceremony of the National Consultation for Heads of Missions and Consulates.{{more}}

Speaking at the conference room of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Huggins said that over a year ago, before the Zero Hunger Initiative was presented in the budget, he had called the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health Louis deShong and told him about an initiative he wanted to undertake, that is, a nurses’ apprenticeship program.

“A lot of nurses who have left school are at home and have not been placed in any job and I thought that it was important to get some of these nurses working on their career by going into rural clinics and being paid a stipend,” said Huggins.

Huggins’ donation will be used to pay a stipend to the nurses chosen for the programme.

“So today, I present a cheque to the Prime Minister towards that initiative. It is not coming from my excesses, but it is money I have worked hard for,” stressed Huggins, who noted that the donation was from him and his family.

He said that next year, he is hoping to do a similar programme aimed at teachers who are out of a job, while in 2018, the initiative can be aimed at mechanics or some other field.

“I am not going to challenge my colleagues to match it, but I hope they do,” said Huggins.

The nurses are expected to be paid about EC$500 a month.

In response, Prime Minister Gonsalves said that Huggins’ contribution to the Zero Hunger Trust Fund is helping the Government achieve its objective of abolishing hunger here. Gonsalves is also a personal contributor to the Zero Hunger Trust Fund.

Huggins is also trying to get more Vincentians on the Canadian farm workers programme and is aiming to expand on the employment of this country’s skilled and semi-skilled workers in Canada.(LC)