A loss to grassroots people of Trinidad and Tobago

THE EDITOR: We mourn the tragic and untimely passing of our friend and comrade, Lisa Morris-Julian, Member of Parliament for D’Abadie/O’Meara, and her children.

On behalf of my family and stakeholders involved in agricultural advocacy and community development, I extend our heartfelt condolences to her family, colleagues, and friends during this time of immense loss and grief.

I will remember Lisa for her leadership in grassroots engagement and advocacy. In many conversations, she was the family and household personified. She was a tireless supporter of initiatives that uplifted communities across TT.

As the mayor of Arima, Lisa demonstrated her belief in entrepreneurship and women’s economic empowerment. Within that period, I was unemployed. Her Worship, at that time, reached out and supported my wife as a breadwinner and entrepreneur.

Lisa would purchase decorated cookie baskets and other baked treats for activities with her staff and burgesses in various community-based activities. She provided meaningful encouragement and visibility to local small businesses, whenever possible.

Even until recently she would often ask me probing questions about how we can similarly inspire other families to find their pathways to earn respectable livelihoods.

In those years, and as an MP, her engagement with our Breadfruittrees.com initiative, lead by my comrade Raul Bermudez, which focuses on promoting food security and sustainable agriculture through the planting and utilisation of breadfruit trees, was a testament to her unwavering commitment to inclusive development and community empowerment.

Lisa assisted us in distributing plants to constituents. She shared the simple belief that breadfruit trees empower people to feed themselves; putting food in the hands of people who need it the most.

Even until recently with the publication of The Breadfruit Three, more than a story but an invitation to embrace the beauty of nature, the strength of community, and the enduring bonds of family centred on our food and agriculture; she assisted us in getting a copy into the hands of our MPs and was in discussion for us to place copies in every library, or in schools, around the country.

Lisa was a friend, comrade, and one of us.

Her legacy of advocacy and her dedication to the people of this country will not be forgotten. May her memory inspire us to continue the type of work she was so passionate about.

We stand united with her family and all those who knew and loved her, holding them in our thoughts and prayers during this incredibly difficult time.

May her soul rest in peace.

DR OMARDATH MAHARAJ

agricultural economist