StJMC CEO urges compassion for the less-fortunate
Published:Monday | December 29, 2025 | 12:05 AMAlbert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Chief Executive Officer of the St James Municipal Corporation Naudia Crosskill has issued a powerful reminder that wealth and status offer no immunity from life’s uncertainties, as she called for Jamaicans to embrace compassion, generosity, and dignity, especially towards the most-vulnerable.
Crosskill was speaking at the Janet Richards Christmas Treat for children at the Mustard Seed Foundation in Moore Park, St James, over the weekend.
“First, I want to say big up Janet Richards. Janet has a big heart, and she is always looking out for the less fortunate,” Crosskill said, setting the tone for an address that blended realism with faith and empathy. “Now, we will always have the less-fortunate among us, and we don’t know where we might end up.”
Drawing on the example of a prominent businessman, she sought to underscore her central message that fortune can be fleeting.
“Look at what is happening, based on what we are seeing in the news,” she said.
“The point I am making is that it doesn’t matter how rich we are, we don’t know what might happen to us. We might be rich today, but we might end up at the St James Infirmary tomorrow. We don’t know what will happen to us.”
STIGMA
Crosskill also addressed the stigma often attached to disability, lamenting that some families still hide or abandon relatives with special needs.
“What I also find is that many times when persons have children with disabilities, they hide them, and some persons may leave them in the hospital,” she said. “But you also have some very strong persons who keep their children.”
She urged families to reject shame and isolation.
“If you have a child with a disability, whether it’s a child or a family member, when we start talking about it, you recognise that there are a lot of persons around us who we know who are also going through the same situation,” Crosskill noted. “So there is no need for us to be ashamed of whatever situation we might find ourselves in.”
Crosskill, who was visiting the Mustard Seed Children’s Home for the second time over the last three years, reminded patrons of the power of generosity.
“The important thing is that you get more blessing from giving rather than from receiving,” she said. “And when you give from a willing heart, God multiplies you with a lot more.”
The annual Christmas treat, which was fully funded to the tune of $900,000 by the Usain Bolt Foundation, brought joy to children living with disabilities and reaffirmed the enduring mission of compassion championed by the Janet Richards Foundation and its partners.