Community Service the Passion of Claudette Genas

For National Badge of Honour recipient Claudette Genas, the humanitarian she is today is as a result of the community she has around her and the type of mentorship she received during her upbringing.

Hailing from the community of Roehampton in St. James, Mrs. Genas says she had a “supportive community”, particularly the church, which would go as far as helping to pack her suitcase when it was time to go off to college.

“As a result of that kind of communal support, I decided, from pretty early, the first opportunity I get I would try to replicate that which I saw – the mentorship that was given to us as girls,” she tells JIS News.

On Monday (October 16), Mrs. Genas was one of 126 Jamaicans who received national awards from Governor-General, His Excellency the Most Hon. Sir Patrick Allen.

She copped the Badge of Honour for Meritorious Service for commendable Community Service through the East Jamaica Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.

“I didn’t anticipate that I was going to walk up to shake the hand of the Governor- General; I was just helping and helping and helping, so it’s an awesome feeling. I am floating in humbleness as a result of the persons who called my name,” she says.

From an early age, Mrs. Genas was taught about service to God and to those around her.

As a child, she wanted to pursue a career in nursing, but after the strong encouragement of her school principal, she narrowed her choices to either Social Work or Teaching.

She will never forget the words of that Principal who said to her: “You’re one of the Prefects here, but I notice that when fights take place and you see blood, you run. So go get into social work or teaching.”

Taking that advice, she later attended St. Joseph’s Teachers’ College in Kingston and then the Northern Caribbean University in Manchester, where she studied Education.

She is also a trained Guidance Counsellor, Family Life Mentor, and holds a Master of Arts Degree in Education.

Mrs. Genas worked in the education sector for about 15 years where she served as Teacher, Regional Programmes Service Officer, Guidance Counsellor and Principal.

She currently serves as Women, Children and Adolescents Ministries Director at the East Jamaica Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, which spans the parishes of Kingston, St. Andrew and St. Thomas.

Mrs. Genas has received several awards for academic, professional and community achievements.

Among them, an ‘Impacting Mother Figure’ award from the Live Connections International Outreach Ministries.

She founded seven ministries, including the Girls of Eloquence Morals and Standards (GEMS), which started in 2011.

All seven ministries are still active and continue to impact the church and communities they serve.

Regarding her affinity to assist others, she tells JIS News: “You get close to people and you tell them that there’s another way out of that [and] somebody who would have been heading for the gutter is now standing tall, balancing self-esteem and extending themselves and achieving, and that’s the happiest part of my life – serving others.”

Furthermore, Mrs. Genas says that her greatest ambition is simply “to help as many persons as life lasts”.

Undoubtedly, she has made an impact on many lives.

Her friend of more than 30 years, Dolsie Allen, testified to her hard-working, creative, consistent and giving nature and just how passionate she is about the development of young people.

Mrs. Allen says that her friend is well-deserving of the national award for her work in community service.

“I am extremely happy that Jamaica has seen it fit to honour her and to acknowledge her work over all these years in such a special and significant way,” she tells JIS News.