Traditionally, one week during the month of September is commemorated as International Housekeepers week. This is a time of celebration, as every housekeeper is lauded and fêted for their contribution to tourism.
At Sandals Grande St Lucian Spa & Beach Resort, the celebrations were held under the theme ‘Be Kind.’ Housekeepers and supervisors alike, under the leadership of Anna-Maria Noelien, threw themselves into finding innovative ways to show kindness by immediately organizing a ‘bring-an-item to give away day.’ Working with the maintenance department, the 95-strong housekeeping team donated two and a half hampers, weighing up to two hundred and fifty pounds and valued at some EC$1,000.00 to the New Beginning Transit Home in Saint Lucia.
On receipt of the supplies, the manager of the home Mrs. Avis Charles-Inglis was moved to tears, more so once she realized that the donation came from team members. “This really means so much to me, because I love a clean house. In fact, I love housekeeping. So, when I heard that it was the housekeepers who got together to plan this it really touched me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.” Mrs. Charles-Inglis was only too happy to receive the supplies on behalf of the children currently in her care at the home.
The housekeepers meanwhile, who had donated the supplies on behalf of the maintenance team, were also quite touched. “I am really glad we visited them, but I just wish we got to see the children,” said a supervisor wistfully. The visit happened while the students were in school.
On the drive back to work, the ladies reminisced on the activities held in their honour and their own deep feelings of appreciation, from their inspirational briefing and breakfast, their bed making and towel art competition, to their wellness and soca-fit day and their trivia competition. They were able to bask in their various forms of appreciation, but for all of them, there was a general feeling of contentment as they had been kind to children whom they did not know. They have plans of revisiting the home to make another donation before the year ends.