Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley has called on Barbadians to embody the values of the nation’s heroes, urging citizens to “be a hero to somebody” as the country marks National Heroes Day.
In her National Heroes Day message, Mottley reflected on the legacy of those who helped shape Barbados, highlighting the importance of service, discipline and national pride. She also paid tribute to the country’s two living National Heroes, Garfield Sobers and Rihanna, noting their global impact and continued inspiration to younger generations.
Below is the full statement by Prime Minister Mottley:
Fellow Barbadians, wherever you are today, at home or across the diaspora, I wish you a blessed and purposeful National Heroes Day. This day calls us to remember, to give thanks, and to recommit ourselves to the kind of country our heroes helped us build.
On April 28, we honour those Barbadians whose courage, sacrifice, discipline and excellence changed the course of our history and proved that this small nation would never be small in spirit.
Today also carries a special meaning as we remember the birthday of The Right Excellent Sir Grantley Herbert Adams, our first Premier, a National Hero, and one of the great founding figures of the Barbados Labour Party. For those of us who have given our lives to public service, his legacy is a charge. It reminds us that politics must be about lifting people, defending dignity, opening doors, and helping every Barbadian believe that he or she has a rightful place in the future of this country.
We salute all of our National Heroes. We salute, especially, our two living National Heroes, The Right Excellent Sir Garfield Sobers and Her Excellency, The Right Excellent Robyn Rihanna Fenty. Sir Garfield showed the world that Bajan genius could be graceful, disciplined and unmatched. Rihanna continues to show a new generation that creativity, courage, hard work and love of country can carry a Barbadian voice into every corner of the globe.
Their lives remind us that heroism is not only found in fame, ceremony or applause. Heroism is found in the values by which we live, the example we set, the burdens we carry for others, and the hope we leave in people who may never be able to repay us.
So today, my challenge to Barbados in 2026 is simple: be a hero to somebody. Be a hero to a child who is watching how you speak, how you work, how you treat others and how you rise after disappointment.
Be a hero to a young person who needs to see that decency is still strength, honesty still matters, discipline still pays, and kindness is not weakness.
Be a hero to an elderly neighbour who needs a call, a visit, a meal, a hand, or simply the comfort of knowing they have not been forgotten.
A hero is a role model in some way to someone. A hero is a person whose living, values, virtues and choices give others something positive to emulate. A hero makes another person feel that they, too, can stand taller, work harder, live cleaner, dream bigger and love Barbados more deeply.
Our National Anthem calls us to be ‘Firm craftsmen of our fate.’ That is not only a line to sing. It is a duty to live. Let us choose one person whose life we can strengthen, one young person we can encourage, one wrong we can correct, and one act of service that will leave our home, school, workplace, church or community better than we found it.
The heroes we honour today helped to give us Barbados. The question for each of us is what kind of Barbados we will give to those coming after us.
Happy National Heroes Day, Barbados. Let each of us be a hero to someone.
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