Teenager Lillyan Williams, whose act of kindness has inspired the nation, was summoned to the Office of the Prime Minister yesterday and mingled with the Prime Minister and his Cabinet Ministers.
Speaking after the meeting, the grocery packer at JTA supermarket said she was in awe when she met Rowley for the first time yesterday.
“I felt so excited and it was an honour to meet Dr Keith Christopher Rowley for the first time in my life and I felt very happy when he told me thanks for shining a light to our nation,” Williams said.
She said Rowley motivated her by saying she had made everyone proud.
Williams said her dream was to one day join the Coast Guard as an electrician.
“The Prime Minister offered best wishes towards my future and he told me he could already see me in a Coast Guard uniform. He hopes I will get through. He is very proud of me,” Williams said.
She said helping others was something she was accustomed doing.
“I am always helping the elderly, going to homes and dropping off groceries. It was nothing new to me but to the public it was a nice gesture and I am grateful for all the thanks and encouragement I have received,” she said.
Williams encouraged other young people to follow their dreams and not to throw away their future.
She said she was re-writing new CXC subjects and had to do over mathematics.
“I am studying now and I hope for the best results. Once I get through I will be moving towards my goal to join the Coast Guard,” she said.
Williams, shot to fame after she was photographed feeding a disabled man as he waited for a bus at Cross Crossing, San Fernando.
Her story was highlighted on the front page of the T&T Guardian on October 12, headlined Grocery Angel.
Williams collected groceries for a disabled customer, known only as Mr Deoraj, and then fed him as she waited with him for a Public Transport Service Corporation bus for the disabled to arrive to collect him.
Williams has already received commendations from her employers at JTA supermarkets as well as San Fernando Mayor Alderman Kazim Hosein and differently-abled activist Dr Kriyaan Singh.
RADHICA DE SILVA