Delivering the feature address last evening at State House, New Amsterdam during the Night of Reflection in honour of the late Carol Trim-Bagot, Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance Dr. Ashni Singh saluted Ms Trim-Bagot, municipal councillor for the New Amsterdam Mayor and Town Council in Berbice, as a cherished member of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) family. Dr. Singh recalled that Ms. Trim was not content to be a bystander in life, but instead was hungry to serve and lived her life with purpose, in service and courage.
Reflecting on Ms. Trim-Bagot’s extraordinary life, Minister Singh reiterated that Ms. Trim-Bagot never chose the easy path, but always stood firmly on the side of that which is right, good, and virtuous and that driven by this conviction, she stepped boldly into competitive politics, committing herself to the PPP/C to ensure the party delivered on its commitments to the people. of Guyana.
“She was never an armchair politician, she walked the walk and walked the streets of New Amsterdam—mobilizing, listening, caring, responding, supporting, engaging, and serving in every way imaginable,” he emphasised.
Minister Singh added that while Guyana, Region 6, and New Amsterdam are immensely and immeasurably poorer for Ms. Trim-Bagot’s departure, hers are shoes that cannot easily be filled as she left behind an enduring legacy of lessons for others to emulate. He therefore pointed out that work will continue and intensify so that her vision and dream are fully realized.
Recalling the early years of Ms. Trim-Bagot’s life, the finance minister noted the reasons for which she at some point migrated to a foreign land.
“Growing up in Region 6 in a very challenging period in our country’s history, an early independent Guyana, and a Guyana that eventually would find itself in a lot of turbulent times, Carol ensured that she stayed focused, she educated herself- coming of course from a family that valued education and understood the importance of education- she educated herself and uplifted herself intellectually, and eventually joined so many of our Guyanese brothers and sisters in the United States diaspora who, for one reason or another, mostly associated with the quest for better opportunities—because Guyana in those days, in the 1970s and the 1980s, was going through very turbulent and challenging times,” Minister Singh related further.
He noted that Ms. Trim-Bagot used her education and training and her passion for people to establish and grow a prosperous business in the United States and this alone he said was deserving of respect but he added that not on.ly was she a thriving businessperson but her business thrived in a sector where care was being provided to the most vulnerable.
“But having built a business that was successful and prosperous, Carol was not content even then to sit back and enjoy the fruits and financial rewards of her labour, she recognized that she had not only a calling, but she had the talents and prerequisites that equipped her to serve society more broadly. She established and associated herself with multiple non-governmental and civil society organizations,” Dr. Singh highlighted as he noted that OSHAG (Organisation for Social and Health Advancement in Guyana) is a towering testimony to Ms. Trim-Bagot’s work.
Minister Singh then extended heartfelt condolences on behalf of His Excellency President Dr. Irfaan Ali, Prime Minister Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips, Vice President and General Secretary of the PPP/C Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, the Cabinet, the Government of Guyana, and the entire broader PPP/C family, and thanked Ms Trim-Bagot’s entire family for sharing her with the Party.
“We could never compensate you for the time that you gave up so that she could serve our “country, but I want to assure you that her work will long outlive her mortal presence,” Dr. Singh concluded.
Last evening’s Night of Reflection was attended by Ms. Trim-Bagot’s family and friends, residents of New Amsterdam and other areas in Berbice who all gathered to reflect on her life and work while Dr. Singh was joined by Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha, Regional Executive Officer Ronald Harsawack and other representatives of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic and the Regional Democratic Council of Region Six.
