At 103 years old, Mrs. Margaret Rivas or Miss Margaret, as she is affectionately known in her community, received a heartfelt round of applause as she collected her award for Community Service. A community stalwart, her house was the first one built in what was then known as the “La Pastora Land Settlement”. She and her husband opened up their home to be utilized as the office to facilitate the building of homes for incoming residents. She was one of the first women to vote in the Legislative Council and the County Council Elections of 1946, and was honoured at a ceremony hosted by the Presiding Officers in the Senate and House of Representatives in 2016, on the occasion of 70 years of Universal Adult Suffrage.
Miss Margaret and six (6) others from different walks of life were honoured for their contributions to the community at the opening of the newly built La Pastora Community Centre by Dr. the Honourable Nyan Gadsby-Dolly, Minister of Community Development, Culture and the Arts on Monday 24th June, 2019. La Pastora’s proud seven recipients were:
1. Mrs. Margaret Rivas (Community service)
2. Mr. Eric David Audain (Sports)
3. Mr. Rodney Noreiga (Culture)
4. Mr. Augustine Persad (Education)
5. Mr. Leo Persad (Community service)
6. Mr. Pius Apparicio (Sports)
7. The La Pastora Government Primary School (under 12 & under 15 football team) – (Sports)
The La Pastora Government Primary School also came in for high praises for their sterling example of discipline and positive community engagement. The school is the back to back Champions of the St. George East Cup in 2016, the Atlantic National Primary School under 12 Boys League in 2017, and the National Primary School under 15 Boys National Champions in 2018. The Team also made a clean sweep of 6 awards including Male Youth Champion of the Year, Team of the Year and the Fair Play Award at the Atlantic Youth Ceremony 2019. Never before in the history of Trinidad and Tobago, has a primary school copped so many prizes at this awards ceremony, nor won in both the under 12 and under 15 Boys National Championships.
Dr. the Honourable Nyan Gadsby-Dolly congratulated the awardees on their achievements and service to the community. “It is fitting for an occasion such as this to be shared in this beautiful new community centre which is now the pride of the community”. She said that, “Community centres are a space of mutual support and shared kindness, where one can share meals and special moments. It is a place for laughter and joy, new friendships to be formed and people from different generations to work together side by side to help build something they can all be proud of”.