It is not often that one finds a young, talented athlete spending almost an entire day with those who are being nursed back to health and strength.
But that is just what happened on last Tuesday when Guyana’s number one female athlete Alika Morgan paid a visit to the Red Cross Convalescent Home.
She did not go empty-handed. No! Morgan took a total of 70 gifts with her to give to the children of the Red Cross Convalescent Home and then she went a step further by spending the remainder of the day with the children sharing in their joy and in the excitement of being able to receive a gift at Christmastime.
Morgan, it seems, was not content to make her fellow Guyanese proud of her achievements on the track. She wanted them to be proud of her as a fellow human being.
Alika Morgan has a humanitarian side that ranks alongside her budding talent.
At just 18-year-of-age, Morgan showed that she has the heart and maturity of someone much older and that she understands the spirit of Christmas and what the gift of a toy or two means to not only small children but also those who are less fortunate.
With a heart as good as gold she brightened up the hearts of every little child at the Red Cross Convalescent home who received their early Christmas presents.
Most of the gifts were toys, some were story books and other educational literature to help nurture and impart knowledge to their young impressionable minds.
But I am sure that Morgan made the biggest impression.
Morgan confessed that she has always loved children.
She said that since this has been the best athletic year of her career thus far, it was only suitable that she gave something back to the less fortunate as a way of not only showing how much she cares but at the same time to appreciate how far she has risen.
“I just though that I should give back to the children who are less fortunate since Christmas time is the season for giving.
“Many great things have happened for me this year and since God has blessed me, I think that I should do something to help others in need,” she modestly confessed.
Morgan revealed that she was able to make this contribution by utilizing the prize money that she acquired from her outstanding performances in the Run Barbados Scotia Bank Half Mwarathon and Run Barbados 10km road races.
Some of the highlights from Morgan’s triumphant year includes a remarkable victory in the female 1500m at the international Grand Prix in March, a silver and a bronze medal from the Junior Carifta Games in April, a successful title defence at the Caricom 10km, first place at the Antigua Invitational 10km road race, and complete dominion in all the local events that she participated whether it was at the club or at the school level.
As she concludes an immensely successful year in athletics, Morgan and her coaching staff, thought it fit that the benefits of her season finale should go towards a greater good.
The convalescent home not only satisfies the purpose of caring for children who are now recovering from illness, it also doubles as a children’s orphanage as many of its occupants are either homeless or abandoned.
One can only imagine how delighted those children might have been to have one of the country’s athletic ambassadors visit them during the season. And while she may have generated a whole new fan base, each of those little hearts that she blessed will surely hold her in their thoughts synonymously with Santa Claus.
