Five days ago we brought you the story of Zebedee Pitterson, Belize City’s well known baker who has been providing free food for needy school children for 13 years. Well today Pitterson was rewarded for his efforts. This afternoon Minister of Education Patrick Faber made a special trip over to the Feed My Sheep Kitchen on East Collet Canal to present the first of its kind award. Faber says it is timely as it forms part of the activities for Education Week.
Hon. Patrick Faber, Minister of Education
“Well it is being entitled the Spirit of Ubuntu Award and Ubuntu, as I understand it, is an African word that speaks to those who help others and Mr. Pitterson is certainly a person who does that. I think it was Channel 7 who had the story recently on Mr. Pitterson so we are all well aware of the kind of spirit which he embodies. And we wanted to do this award as part of the activities of Education Week and we thought who else to give this award than Mr. Zebedee Pitterson who has been doing so much for his community and I am very very pleased to have offered him that award. The ceremony actually took this morning at the Radisson Fort George but he was unable to go to receive the award, simply because he was in the kitchen here making sure that these kids have something to eat this afternoon. And so we thought if he could not come to the Radisson then we should surely come to him here and to make the award to him.”
Zebedee Pitterson, Awardee
“Very good, I appreciate it. I wasn’t looking out for something so early but I appreciate the award they gave to me.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
A man of few words.
Zebedee Pitterson,
“Yes.”
Hon. Patrick Faber,
“One of the pledges that this new government has made is to institute a nationwide feeding program. It is not going to happen this year because we’re focusing our efforts on trying to get the $300 subsidy to first and second form needy high school students instituted by September but it is certainly our plan to on the longer run, before our term is up, to institute a nationwide feeding program that will see what we are terming satellite kitchens, so they will outside of the schools so the teachers will not have to be engaged in preparing meals and going out to solicit donations and all that. They can spend their time focusing on teaching our students and at the same time we can ensure that our children are getting nutritious meals that are being prepared by independent entities that will be supported by the business community and the Ministry of Education and these meals will be brought in to the schools so that everybody can have at least one nutritious meal for the day.”
Minister Faber says they hope to make the award an annual activity. Following the presentation the Minister then sat and had lunch with the school children.
