Jamaicans Urged to Honour Ancestors by Leaving a Lasting Legacy

Jamaicans are being urged to honour the ancestors not only by preserving the foundation they laid but by building a lasting legacy for future generations.

The call was made by Governor-General, His Excellency the Most Hon. Sir Patrick Allen, in an address delivered by Custos of St. Andrew, Hon. Ian Forbes, during the National Heritage Week Thanksgiving Service held on Sunday (Oct. 18), at Kingston Open Bible Church on Washington Boulevard in Kingston.

The Governor-General said the National Heritage Week theme: ‘Resilient People with a Proud Heritage,’ invites Jamaicans to look back with gratitude and move forward with responsibility.

He noted that the heritage celebrated today was shaped by resilient men and women whose courage, sacrifice, creativity and determination helped to fashion today’s Jamaica of which many are proud.

“We have inherited their music, language, traditions and faith, but we have also inherited something less tangible, that distinctly Jamaican determination to persevere, to pursue excellence and to find possibility even amid difficult circumstances,” he pointed out.

The Governor-General stated that as Jamaicans celebrate what they have inherited, they must ask themselves what kind of heritage they are creating for those who will follow.

“Our forebears endured hardship, confronted injustice and built communities so that those who followed could inherit greater possibilities. That heritage now belongs to us and with inheritance comes responsibility. We honor them not only by preserving what they left behind, but by considering what we will leave behind,” he said.

The Governor-General said Jamaicans should aim for their legacy to be one of compassion, respect, service and responsibility.

“Let us build a Jamaica in which our children and grandchildren can look back upon our generation with the same pride with which we remember those who came before us. May this Heritage Week renew our gratitude for those upon whose shoulders we stand and strengthen our resolve to become worthy ancestors to those who will one day stand upon ours,” he charged.