A bit late, but we got the news just in these very minutes...
Happy Birthday, Miss Ida! [*QUOTE*]
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Ministry of Health & Environment
Miss Ida Not the World's Oldest, But Among Longest Living Jamaicans
OCHO RIOS (JIS):
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at the Registrar General's Department (RGD), Dr. Patricia Holness (seated on left) presents a birth certificate to Ida Stewart (seated right), to verify that her correct age is 112, while family members and friends look on. The presentation was made at Miss Ida's home in Devon, St. Ann yesterday (Feb. 19).
Ida Stewart of Lime Tree Garden in St. Ann is not the world's oldest person, but she is one of the longest living Jamaicans.
The Registrar General's Department (RGD) yesterday (Feb.19) presented the super-centenarian, fondly called Miss Ida, with a birth certificate to verify that her correct age is 112 and not 122 as was believed.
An edition of the Jamaica Observer, dated January 7, 2009 had questioned whether Miss Ida could be the world's oldest person, after the Guinness Book of World Records had given such recognition to the late Maria de Jesus dos Santos, a Portuguese woman, who died on January 2, 2009 at the age of 115.
"We did a research and thanks to the wonderful team in the records office we are pleased to announce that Miss Ida is from the second generation of newly-freed slaves and her birth date is November 13, 1896, which makes her to be 112 years-old," said RGD's Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Patricia Holness, at the presentation ceremony, which was held at Miss Ida's home in Devon district.
She told JIS News that the search process was difficult but in the end, it proved successful, as the team worked assiduously to ensure that the results were satisfactory.
Reaching the age of 112 years is rare, and according to European data, only one in a thousand centenarians reach the age of 110 years, to qualify as super-centenarians. Furthermore, only 2 per cent of super-centenarians live to be 115.
Dr. Holness, while not giving details, indicated that there is one other Jamaican that could be as old as or older than Miss Ida.
In accepting the birth certificate, Miss Ida, said she was not too concerned that she was not 122 as she had thought. She said she has lived a long and good life and was "ready to meet my Lord, whenever he is ready."
Miss Ida was also presented with a copy of her family tree and Dr. Holness noted that the genealogical research went as far back to the marriage of her father on November 29, 1893 in Long Hill, St. Ann.
In the meantime, the RGD CEO encouraged persons to get in touch with the agency, "if you have any suspicion that the person you have been caring for or the person you have loved over these many years may just be over 100 years old."
She informed that the RGD would provide the first copy of the genealogical research free of cost and that family members could have other copies made.
Nigel Gaynor, one of Miss Ida's great-grandsons, told JIS News that he was grateful for the fact that the RGD was able to provide the records to prove his great-grandmother's correct age.
"We are grateful for the RGD and especially for the researcher, who was relentless in his pursuit to get this information and make it possible for her to get her birth certificate. We are here and rejoicing because she has impacted not only my life but on the lives of the other members of the family and I am excited to be a part of this lineage, knowing that she might now be the oldest person living in Jamaica," Mr. Gaynor said.
In addition, Mrs. Stewart's granddaughter, Myrna Benain commended the RGD for the work it has been doing over the many years.
"The Registrar General's Department is a wonderful department. They have done an amazing job over the years and they are still doing a great work because if it wasn't for the RGD, my grandmother's birth certificate would not have been found," Ms. Benain said, while encouraging the agency to continue to do its best to serve the people of Jamaica.
The RGD plays a key role in national development, as it is the only agency in Jamaica, which is responsible for registering the vital events of births, fetal deaths, marriages and deaths.
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[*/QUOTE*]
enjoy life in Jamaica:
http://www.jis.gov.jm/health/html/20090220T180000-0500_18573_JIS_MISS_IDA_NOT_THE_WORLD_S_OLDEST__BUT_AMONG_LONGEST_LIVING_JAMAICANS.asp/.
