Residents in the area now affectionately called ‘Julien Alfred Avenue’ have expressed immense pride in the achievements of the double Olympic medallist who once lived in the area.
Monkey Town, Ciceron welcomed Alfred this week for the first time since her historic performance in Paris this past August.
Alfred, who grew up in this socio-economically challenged community, defied the odds to become a world-renowned athlete.
Upon her return to her home community on Tuesday evening, she was visibly moved by the overwhelming love and support from residents.
Many who have known her since childhood were thrilled that Alfred’s success had positively impacted the neighborhood and uplifted the residents’ spirits.
“Well, I’m very proud as a Ciceronian,” proclaimed one female resident. “I’m very happy for her. Ciceron is not really a community people have mentioned or talked about and now we have a reason.”
“She did very well and that’s an inspiration for the younger children to do something because Ciceron used to have a stigma about violence and crime and different things,” another observer reflected. “She proved them wrong.”
One of the interviewed residents emphasised that Alfred’s hard work and determination, despite her circumstances, can inspire others.
“Julien Alfred has come a very long way, she wasn’t born with a golden spoon in her mouth and right now she has a golden spoon,” the resident said. “That is to show you if you work hard in what you do, you must achieve, you must succeed.”
Alfred’s return to her hometown celebrated her achievements and brought a renewed sense of pride and unity to the community.
Her journey from humble beginnings to international success is a powerful reminder of what can be accomplished through perseverance, inspiring her neighbors and the next generation.
If it had to take Miss Alfred’s achievements for the people of Ciceron to feel a sense of pride in themselves, then so be it…now the people of Ciceron must carry themselves like a community in unity, pride and rid themselves of the so called stigma… They should take that opportunity to renew their community committment to be each others keeper and live as a unit. You can only defeat crime when the people come together in love, unity and community spirit. Perhaps Miss Alfred may have just single handedly gave our entire society a life line…Her legacy is already etched on the history of humanity.
@C-WIZ wonderful post loaded with words of wisdom not only for Ciceron, but for all St. Lucians as a whole. We all need to take pride in ourselves as well as in our community on an ongoing basis. Thank you.
@jay…only in some areas of speech…others…….baseless