Gingerland, Nevis – On Tuesday, June 20, 2017 Miss Eileen Smithen of Zion Village, became the 18th living centenarian within the Federation of St.Kitts and Nevis.
A church service was held in her honour at the Zion Emmaus Chapel under the guidance of Pastor Theophilus Kelly, who is her main Caretaker.
Quite a number of persons, including government officials were slated on the program to address the gathering, but when Miss Smithen, who is legally blind, learnt that the Hon. Alexis Jeffers was in the audience, she demanded that he be given the opportunity to say something because ‘I love to hear his voice.’
Hon. Jeffers, obviously taken aback, then proceeded to give brief remarks and thanked the celebrant for her vote of confidence and expressed appreciation for the fact that he had positively influenced the life of the celebrant in some little way, having observed and admired her as she traversed the street as a blind individual, while he was attending the Gingerland Secondary School.
At the end of the proceedings, Miss Smithen who is normally quite verbose, was given the opportunity to speak and surprisingly was very brief with her words.
She thanked everyone for coming and thanked all for making her day special.
However, her significant message was dedicated to the young people: “Take care of the older ones. They already looked after you,’ was her admonition.