Community Worker Honoured for Lifelong Service to Fellow Citizens

Ivy May Elta Hill has spent her life working for the upliftment of her Nannyville Gardens and wider St. Andrew South Eastern community.

She tells JIS News that, as a child, she was influenced to do community work by my grandmother, whom she would accompany to visit neighbours who needed assistance.

“She was an active community worker. She was also a teacher by profession and held evening classes for whosoever was willing to attend,” she tells JIS News.

As she worked alongside her grandmother, Ms. Hill says friends saw that she was making an impact and encouraged her to go into politics.

“My informal involvement in politics started as a teenager when I would follow other young people to political meetings and other activities,” she recalls.

This early foray into politics served to whet her appetite and allowed her to discover her calling.

“My real active involvement began in 1972 when I went to live in Jones Town at 31 Baker Street. Politics is not what some people think in terms of feathering your own nest. For me, it is about looking out for the well-being of others. I wanted to make a contribution. It didn’t feel like work,” she adds.

This passion has led her to serve as constituency secretary for 27 years. Little did she know that she was being noticed at the national level.

“I was walking down the road in the community with my co-worker en route to helping someone when I got a call from a lady at the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) who told me that I was selected for an award. At first, I thought it was a hoax, so I told her to let me take a minute and tell me again,” she tells JIS News.

On October 17, Ms. Hill was presented with the Badge of Honour for Long and Faithful Service for outstanding contribution to Politics and Community Development (BH{L}).

She was among 221 Jamaicans recognised for contribution to national development at the National Honours and Awards ceremony held at King’s House.

“I was just doing what I love. I never expected anything like this,” Ms. Hill tells JIS News.

Ms. Hill says that her family was overjoyed. Two of her daughters, Brenda and Appre, came down from the United States and Canada, respectively, to celebrate the occasion with her. Not to be outdone, her grandson has assigned her a new title.

“My grandson now calls me his national heroine,” she laughs.

Ms. Hill says this award is also the fruition of the teachings she has received over the years.

She recalls that “in the early days when you are sent out to take care of residents, you had to submit a written report in which you had to state the names of the families you visited, how many children, their places of work, churches they attend as well as their pressing issues”.

“Hence, this for me, is a PhD from the streets,” she notes.

Ms. Hill says she finds satisfaction in helping people.

“Recently, I got a call from a mother concerning assistance rendered towards her son’s tuition fee. He passed 12 Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) subjects as well as nine Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) subjects. I felt so good as if it were my own child. These are the things that give me great satisfaction and inspire me to continue the work of helping others,” she reveals.

Ms. Hill, who is a Christian, says she “loves to work for her Lord”.

“I am a member of the Stadium Community Seventh-day Adventist Church and I’m actively involved in its community service ministry,” she says.

She has also been a Justice of the Peace (JP) for the past six years.

As for what’s next for her, Ms. Hill says she plans to continue serving the people.

“I just want to keep on doing whatever I have been doing over the years as a servant of God and a friend to man,” she notes.