30 Years of Devotion: National Honour for Mustard Seed’s Darcy Tulloch-Williams

For 30 years, Darcy Tulloch-Williams has given dedicated service to the vulnerable in the society through Mustard Seed Communities (MSC) Jamaica.

As Executive Director, she has provided exemplary leadership in transforming the lives of countless children and adults living with disabilities through care and advocacy.

For her decades of contribution, she was conferred with the Badge of Honour for Meritorious Service at this year’s Ceremony of Investiture and Presentation of National Honours and Awards at King’s House on October 19.

The Badge of Honour for Meritorious Service recognised individuals who demonstrate exceptional loyalty, dedication, and long-term impact in service to Jamaica.

Mrs. Tulloch-Williams tells JIS News that she is “delighted” at the honour.

“It is something that I have seen others receive but never thought of myself in that position. It is an honour and particularly coming from your country Jamaica, that makes it even more special,” she says.

“I felt so comfortable in what I was doing because I felt I was giving back to society; I was giving back to my community and it was a most fulfilling and rewarding experience. When you see a disabled child that is unable to speak who is not able to articulate what they are feeling… and you know you have advocated and have done all you can for that child for them to live to fight another day, it is a wonderful experience,” she says.

A devout Christian, the MSC Executive Director says her faith as well as her work with prominent Jamaican Catholic priest, composer, and the founder of the Missionaries of the Poor (MOP), Father Richard Ho Lung led her to her role at MSC.

A trained media specialist, social worker, and marketer, Mrs. Tulloch-Williams began her journey with MSC Jamaica as Administrator for Mary’s Child, a specialised residential facility providing sanctuary and support for teenage mothers.

“I grew out of that position and went to a much larger facility that had at the time about 170 kids all impacted by various challenges in terms of physical, mental and intellectual challenges as well as children impacted with HIV/AIDS, and so I took on the mantle of running that programme for many years,” she notes.

“Eventually, I was asked to step up to the plate to become the Assistant Executive Director and ultimately the Executive Director for MSC for Jamaica…It has been an amazing journey making that transition from corporate into an NGO setting ,” she tells JIS News.

As the Executive Director, she guides the non-profit’s expansive national mission, ensuring that innovative programmes, standardised best practices, and a culture of unconditional love remain at the core of every home.

“From the management perspective, I think that I had very good grounding when I was in corporate, so that translated to the management abilities to MSC. In my placement here when I first started, I recognised that I needed to improve my knowledge as it relates to behavioural issues – how does one work with individuals who have experienced trauma?. I realised at the time that I was very deficient in that knowledge so I had to go back to the University of the West Indies (UWI),” she shares.

Mrs. Tulloch-Williams earned post graduate certification in Social Work, and she says the decision to pursue further studies has been invaluable in her work with vulnerable persons.

“That prepared me to deal with a lot of the anomalies and a lot of the behavioural issues that I encountered in the space not just as it relates to the residents but also as it relates to staff and being able to empower individuals, affirm them and walk them through their crises,” she tells JIS News.

“I had to literally go back to school to learn how to deal with that and that has given me a wonderful springboard from which to work and to manage in the situation I am in now,” she adds.

Her ability to foster a culture of institutional excellence has made MSC Jamaica a trusted partner for international diaspora groups, private and public sectors.

“My focus is on care, making sure that the standard of care is where it ought to be. It is also being an advocate for children, making sure that they have a voice, to make sure that the caregivers who work with the children areadequality prepared to work with this specialised and traumatised population of individuals that we encounter on a daily basis,” she explains.

She says influencing and guiding policy with respect to vulnerable persons is also a large part of her responsibilities, “ensuring that we are held accountable for what we say we deliver, which is the care of the most vulnerable in society and also the whole business of building donor bases and creating relationships because we can’t function without community”.

She tells JIS News that MSC has been successful in developing good relationships within corporate Jamaica and garnering support.

The MSC Executive Director says more public education, national support and opportunities for the needs of the vulnerable population is critical.

“A lot of the myths need to be dispelled,” she says, noting the need for proper employment of individuals who are challenged and greater interventions for children who are born with disabilities.

Reflecting on her three decades of service, Mrs. Tulloch-Williams says her mission is far from over.

Her enduring commitment proves that true service is not a career with an expiration date, but a lifelong calling.

“We have been called to serve the least of our brothers and that is what we do, this is what got me into this field, and I remain faithful to that,” she tells JIS News.