Ten members of the United Vincie Cultural Group of Brooklyn (UVCGB) and six non-members will leave Brooklyn on Wednesday, Jul. 17 2019 for the group’s 5th biennial mission to St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
UVCGB’s president and founder Dr. Roxie Irish told Caribbean Life on Tuesday that the group has shipped 17 commercial bins, three barrels and two crates of medical supplies, purchased from Vincentian Eugene Beach of Caribix, for distribution in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Dr. Irish, an evangelical youth minister at Miracle Temple Ministries in Brownsville, Brooklyn, said clothing, shoes, handbags, food and bibles — which were also shipped — will be distributed as well in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
While on the mission, she said UVCGB will hand over medical supplies to five clinics: Belair, Campden Park, Canouan, Chateaubelair and Sandy Bay.
Dr. Irish, a former St. Vincent and the Grenadines national netball star, said clothing will be distributed in Calliaqua, Chateaubelair and Mesopotamia; and The Lewis Punnett Home, a home for the aged, will receive a donation of pampers.
She said UVCGB will collaborate with the local Retired Nurses Association in hosting a health fair while in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Various topics to be discussed include cancer, diabetes, hypertension, HIV, mental health and nutrition, Dr. Irish said.
“UVCGB is still passionate about being a blessing to others,” she said.
“We know that ‘We are Blessed to be a blessing,’” she added, invoking the group’s motto.
After singing and performing folk songs for 14 years, UVCGB, in May 2017, finally produced and launched its first CD.
At that time, Dr. Irish told Caribbean Life, in an exclusive interview, that the CD, labeled, “Keep We Culture Alive,” was a “dream come true for us. Very momentous, indeed!
“We give God praise for His continued favor on this ministry,” she said after the launching ceremony, at the group’s annual fund-raising Tea Party, at the Golden Hall, at St. Gabriel’s Episcopal (Anglican) Church, on Hawthorne Street in East Flatbush, Brooklyn.
“This is only the beginning,” added Irish. “We’re working very hard; we have materials in the making. The mission has always been to furnish medical supplies to our homeland, but, in the process, we’re on a quest to promote our culture.”
The CD – which comprises 11 folk songs, including “Keep We Culture Alive,” written by recently-joined member Ada Johnson, a former school teacher and High Court Registrar in St. Vincent and the Grenadines — was masterminded by Gordon “Don” Sutherland, a cultural figure, who joined the group five years ago, and fellow hometown boy Randolph “Randy” Liverpool, UVCGB director.
Except for “Moonlight,” all songs on CD were written by the trio — all former teachers in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
