IN JAMAICA: Miranda Judith Townsend, foster mother of 18 children gets National Award...she has been a foster mother for over 45 years

KINGSTON, Jamaica  — Heroes Day, October 20, will be a special day for Miranda Judith Townsend, of Holly Hill in Darliston, Westmoreland as she will receive a national award — the Badge Of Honour For Long And Faithful Service to the Child Protection Sector — at the National Honours and Awards ceremony, to be held at King’s House.

Miranda Judith Townsend

Townsend, who worked as a Basic School Teacher and then as a member of the Post and Telegraph Department, has been a foster mother for over 45 years, during which she has nurtured and raised 18 Wards of the State.

While caring for the children, she has also assisted hundreds of residents, both young and old, from the communities of Holly Hill, Dillon Bigwoods, Hopewell, Darliston, and other adjoining areas.

The biological mother of three children began her role as a foster mother in 1965.  

“I was in church when I heard about a boy who was at one of the children's homes and needed a home. I enquired and got the necessary information and documents, which enabled me to become a foster mother to the seven-year-old. My new ‘son’ quickly settled in the family and stayed until he became an adult,” she notes.

Townsend attributes her commitment to being a foster mother and for serving the country, to her love for children. more