Enid Hendricks accepts her achievement award from Sir Howard Cooke. Even after 50 years of teaching, Enid Millicent Hendricks is still not ready to give up the classroom any time soon. 72 years of unselfish service
EVEN AFTER 50 years of teaching, Enid Millicent Hendricks is still not ready to give up the classroom any time soon.
At 72 years old, Mrs. Hendricks still teaches part-time, and remains very active in her community. Her unselfish involvement in the activities of a number of educational, civic and religious organisations has been of great benefit to the Malvern community in St. Elizabeth.
"Get up early, and stay up late," is how Mrs. Hendricks said she has managed to be so involved in her community throughout the years.
Her motto has earned her this year's Governor-General's Award for the parish of St. Elizabeth.
Born on October 8, 1930, she was the second of 10 children born to housewife, Beatrice Green and railway track worker, Cyril Green. Her attendance at elementary school was often disrupted, as she had to attend to domestic chores at home and help to take care of the younger siblings.
VOLUNTEER SERVICE
She eventually passed the Third Jamaica Local Examina-tion at the Anchovy Elementary School but was too young to be a probationer teacher or to enter the civil service. However, she volunteered her service, free of cost, as the acting head teacher of the Anchovy Basic School. Later, she attended Buxton High School in Kingston, where she prepared for the entrance examination to Bethlehem Teachers College from which she graduated as a trained teacher in 1952. She began her teaching career at New Works district in Westmoreland.
OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION
TO EDUCATION
Her desire to improve her academic qualifications led her to graduate from the University of the West Indies with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1973, and, later, a Diploma in Education. Financial constraints prevented her from completing her Master's Degree. Her wide teaching experience spans from the basic school level to the training of students for the teaching profession. Her positions included being Principal of the Schoolfield All-Age School, Head of the Social Studies Department at the St. Elizabeth Technical High School and Head of the Social Studies Department of the Bethlehem Teachers College.
Mrs. Hendricks recently received the Prime Minister's Award for her sterling contribution to education. Her services have also been acknowledged by several other leading organisations including the St. Elizabeth Scout Association, the St. Elizabeth Homecoming Foundation and the Jamaica Teachers Association.
With all her years of service to education and the community, Mrs. Hendricks hardly expected any reward. This award, she said, provides motivation for her to work even harder. Now a part-time teacher at the Bethlehem Teachers College, Mrs. Hendricks plans to continue teaching until she is physically unable to do so.
"There was a time when I thought that I just worked, and many times I felt as if what I did was not appreciated, and sometimes I felt like stopping and just sitting down, but I think receiving this award is telling me that I still have work to do as long as I am able," said Mrs. Hendricks after receiving her award.
FAMILY LIFE
She has been married to Volivar Sylvern Hendriks for 43 years, and they are the parents of one son. Her husband, though blind, is very supportive of her work in the community and her dedication to serve.
"He is very co-operative and supportive, and he doesn't prevent me from doing what I am doing," she said. "And the Lord has been good to me, because he has kept me healthy most of the time."
In addition to her involvement in the Lions Club and the Jamaica Cancer Society, Mrs. Hendricks has also been the secretary at the Moravian Church in the parish for almost 20 years, and is also the organist at the church.
