President Luis Abinader and Vice President Raquel Peña honored three Canadian missionaries, recognized as educators and community leaders in the country, for having dedicated their lives to work in favor of young people and women in economically depressed communities in the country. The decorations were mandated in Decree 305-23.
The first to be decorated was Lenore Gibb, who received the Heraldic Order of Christopher Columbus in the rank of Knight. The President then awarded the medals to María Tiner and Joan Eileen Tinkess, who received the Order of Merit of Duarte, Sánchez and Mella in the rank of Knight.
Lenore Gibb first came in 1958 from Canada and is known as a tireless worker who has dedicated her life to teach the most vulnerable groups in the municipality of Consuelo, San Pedro de Macoris province, where she currently serves as education supervisor. She was previously the principal of the Divina Providencia School and the “Sor Ana Nolan” high school. At the ceremony she said that education is the key to growth, development and the fight against poverty.
Joan Eileen Tinkess was recognized for her work in Yamasá, Monte Plata. Born in 1934, she began her work in Yamasá in 1958 as a elementary school teacher. She founded the San Martín de Porres High School where she was a teacher and director for almost 10 years.
Mary Noreen (Maria) Tiner was honored for her work in Cutupú, La Vega and Yamasá. Tiner came to Yamasá in 1969. She returned to Canada in 1981. Together with Tinkess, in the Dominican Republic she lived a life dedicated to education and social transformation through extracurricular education directed towards rural women victims of poverty.
Legal advisor to the Executive Branch, Antoliano Peralta; Canadian ambassador Christine Laberge; and the governor of San Pedro de Macorís, Aracelis Villanueva, among others.
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Presidency
12 July 2023