Sister Jolaine Richardson was the proud recipient of the Union of Taxation Employees Humanitarian Award for "being the change she wants to see in the world". Instead of summarizing her many accomplishments, we are including her award nomination which speaks volumes.
In the photo: Darlene Bembridge, President of Local 60005 Saint John presents the $2,500 UTE Humanitarian award to Jolainre Richardson
December 15, 2011
A child wakes with a whimper in a cold sweat, heart palpitating. It’s dark. He feels alone. He gasps, remembering the nightmare of the vicious beating he suffered at the hands of his “master”. He vividly recalls the torture suffered in those moments when he just couldn’t keep up with the hard work and long hours expected of a grown man, despite his small frame and his tender age of 10 years. But he is no longer alone – a kind, gentle woman comes to comfort him. He has escaped the slave labour that he endured for most of his life and has been given a precious chance to transform the nightmare into all of his best dreams. He is at a school for rescued child slaves in Ghana’s Lake Volta District, operated by Partners in Community Development Programme (PACODEP), a non-governmental organization. This school was built with love, dedication, and hard work of people like Jolaine Richardson, an Accommodation and Telephony Administrative Support clerk at the Saint John TSO.
hu·man·i·tar·i·an
adjective
- having concern for or helping to improve the welfare and happiness of people.
- of or pertaining to ethical or theological humanitarianism.
- pertaining to the saving of human lives or to the alleviation of suffering: a humanitarian crisis.
noun
- a person actively engaged in promoting human welfare and social reforms, as a philanthropist.
- a person who professes ethical or theological humanitarianism.
dictionary.reference.com/browse/humanitarian
In my version of the dictionary, there is a picture of Jolaine Richardson next to the word “humanitarian” because she exemplifies the concept perfectly. In her home, in her workplace, in her community, in the world, Jolaine is a true humanitarian. Please accept my heartfelt nomination for Jolaine for the Union of Taxation Employees Humanitarian Award.
I first met Jolaine Richardson in 2005 when she joined Taxpayer Services at the Saint John TSO in the midst of some significant organizational changes. Her warm personality, quirky sense of humour, enthusiasm for work, and eagerness to help anyone around her was infectious and quickly became something I looked forward to each day. In her day-to-day, Jolaine is a living example of compassion in action. Her willingness to share her talents, her ethical beliefs, and her passion has had a profound and positive impact on her co-workers and the many recipients of her acts of kindness and generosity.
Over the last several years, I have had the honour and pleasure of watching Jolaine blossom as a humanitarian. Within the first month of her career with Canada Revenue Agency, she initiated what has now become an annual tradition within the office of sponsoring families from a local women’s shelter for Christmas. By the next Christmas, the office was buzzing with excitement as Jolaine spread “puppy love”– six of her co-workers have enjoyed the enrichment of a Golden Retriever puppy in their lives, bred by Jolaine’s dog, Ginger. Jolaine built upon the community spirit that had been created by coordinating periodic “dog reunions” and photo sessions which provided people throughout the office with a unique opportunity to develop special friendships.
As a resident photographer within the TSO, she has used her outstanding talent for photography and scrapbooking to commemorate special moments in the lives of those around her – from weddings, births, family reunions and other life events, to work functions such as the UTE Christmas Children’s party and Public Service Week events. Her photography has been featured in many editions of Interaction. She has also used her exceptional skills to help ease the heartbreak of parents of critically ill or stillborn babies through her work with the non-profit foundation, Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep. As an NILMDTO-affiliated photographer, Jolaine donates her time and talents to provide professional and sensitive portraits at no cost to families facing the untimely death of their baby. The families receive professionally retouched heirloom photographs that capture their bond with their lost child. Jolaine believes that remembrance photography is a compassionate act to fix the memory of a tiny face in the minds of the families who held and loved them intensely, but all too briefly. In this way, the precious image endures.
Jolaine is very active in her church community, volunteering extensively wherever needed and teaching children from grades 2 to 5 at the Kings Valley Wesleyan Church. She has counseled a number of others through personal strife. She promotes awareness of issues surrounding child advocacy, poverty, abuse, and human rights. By sharing her profound insights and philosophical reflections, she has touched thousands of people around the world who subscribe loyally to blogs on her personal website. While Jolaine is driven by her Christian faith, she leads by doing rather than by preaching. She is always very careful to ensure that those around her do not feel pressured or judged by her strong faith but rather inspired by her compassion for others and her desire to make a real difference in the world through small and simple changes.
In 2010, Jolaine travelled to Honduras with Compassion International as a child advocate and had the remarkable chance to meet one of the 13 children she and her family sponsors in 9 different countries. Many of her co-workers became enthralled by the story and enthusiastically donated much-needed items for the children she would meet. She successfully raised awareness of child poverty issues by using this opportunity to share the Honduras journey with the world through daily photo essays and blog posts. These inspirational installments demonstrated the harsh reality of the situation while profiling the endurance of hope in these families and the positive contributions of the Compassion International initiatives. A number of children received sponsors from around the world in response to these featured website posts.
Many years ago, Jolaine began sponsoring a young child named Ato Sam who seemed doomed to a desperate life. With the support of Jolaine and her family through Compassion International, Ato Sam received the education necessary to break the cycle of poverty. He is now a young man and a leader in his community in Ghana. When he learned that Jolaine had travelled to Honduras with Compassion International, he persuaded her to make another trip – this time to his native African country. Jolaine conducted some research on the issues facing children in Ghana and was shocked to discover that many Ghanian children are sold into slavery, forced to work in harsh and dangerous conditions, and suffer abuse at the hands of their masters. She was compelled to get involved with Partners in Community Development Programme (PACODEP), a non-profit organization which negotiates the freedom of child slaves and operates a school to ensure that the children are rehabilitated and have a safe home in which to receive a quality education. In November 2011, Jolaine, accompanied by her 12-year old son Josh, travelled to Ghana for a three week excursion to the islands where children are held captive. They successfully negotiated the release of a 7 year-old girl and an 11-year old boy, and began negotiations for the release of a third child. There are estimated to be another 7,000 waiting for such a second chance at life. Jolaine also created and successfully executed a fundraising campaign to raise the $30,000 necessary to build an expanded school facility to ensure adequate space is available for this worthwhile effort to continue.
Jolaine loves her work in Finance and Administration, and her enthusiasm is contagious. She excels in her role and is always willing to help her co-workers. She has provided valuable coaching to many of her peers and took the initiative to develop job aids to assist those new to the division.
Jolaine is a public servant with a day job, just like you and me. She is a loving mother of three and a compassionate friend who chose to take the first step to making a difference in someone’s life - and seeing the impact it had, took another, then another, until she was running for humanitarian causes. She doesn’t speak loudly of what she thinks others should do, but digs in and improves the lives of those around her through quiet dedication to “being the change she wants to see in the world”. Though her actions, she has motivated many people around her to contemplate how they can also improve the lives of others. She is a UTE member in good standing and deserves the recognition of the UTE Humanitarian Award. She would certainly ensure that the financial contribution would be best-invested. She is an “awe”-some inspiration and a truly exceptional humanitarian.
Respectfully and sincerely submitted,
Jennifer Ingersoll
Regional Program Advisor, Atlantic Region