Dame Ruth Nita Barrow,

GCMG The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

DA (15 November 1916 – 19 December 1995) was the first female

governor-general of Barbados The governor-general of Barbados was the representative of the Barbadian monarch from independence in 1966 until the establishment of a republic in 2021. Under the government's Table of Precedence for Barbados, the governor-general of Barbados ...

. Barrow was a nurse and a public health servant from

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

. She served as the fifth governor-general of Barbados from 6 June 1990 until her death on 19 December 1995. She was the older sister of

Errol Barrow Errol Walton Barrow (21 January 1920 – 1 June 1987) was a Barbadian statesman and the first prime minister of Barbados. Born into a family of political and civic activists in the parish of Saint Lucy, he became a WWII aviator, combat vete ...

, the first

prime minister of Barbados The prime minister of Barbados is the head of government of Barbados. The prime minister is appointed by the President of Barbados, president under the terms of the Constitution of Barbados, Constitution. As the nominal holder of executive aut ...

Early life

Ruth Nita Barrow was born in Barbados to a respected Anglican priest, the Reverend Reginald Grant Barrow, and Mrs. Ruth Alberta Barrow (née O'Neal). She was the second of her parents' five children, whom included Sybil Barrow, Ena Comma, and Errol Barrow.Woodie Blackman
"Obituary: Dame Nita Barrow"
''The Independent'', 22 December 1995. She trained as a nurse, midwife and health care administrator. She held a variety of nursing, public health and public administration jobs in

and

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

in the 1940s/1950s.

Education

She began her nursing profession in her early years following in the steps of her uncle and father, and completed her basic training at the Barbados General Hospital. She then began training in midwifery at the

Port of Spain General Hospital Port of Spain General Hospital is a public hospital in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. The main building was once a Colonial hospital that began construction in 1854, using local stone and imported brick facing to provide a Classical style f ...

in Trinidad. Barrow was a graduate in nursing from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

(New York),

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

, (Canada), and the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

(Scotland). She later continued her education in a specialized study at the Royal College of Nursing of Edinburgh University in 1951-52, and at Columbia University in 1962-63. As a public servant, she served as an Instructress at the West Indies School of Public Health in Jamaica in 1945 to 1950. She later became responsible in the Nursing and Public Health fields as the first West Indian Matron of the University College Hospital in 1954 and the first Principal Nursing Officer in Jamaica in 1956. Following the regional expansion of the West Indies School, she became a director of a nursing research project in the Commonwealth Caribbean. This led to modernizing nurses training and began the Advanced Nursing program at the University of the West Indies.

Career

Barrow's career began in 1964, when she became a Nursing Advisor for the Pan American Health Organization for the Caribbean area. In 1975, she became the Director of the Christian Medical Commission of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and President of the World

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...

(1975–1983). She was president of the International Council of Adult Education (ICAE) from 1982 through 1990 and Convenor of the Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Forum for the Decade of Women in Nairobi, Kenya in 1983. In 1985, at the Nairobi World Conference on Women, Barrow served as the chair of the NGO Forum. She was a member of the Commonwealth Group of Eminent Persons that visited

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

in 1986. During that mission she successfully thwarted South Africa's military restrictions, through entering the restricted area of

Alexandra township Alexandra, informally abbreviated to Alex, is a township in the Gauteng province of South Africa. It forms part of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality and is located next to the wealthy suburb of Sandton. It is commonly known as ...

disguised in African garb and head-dress. In 1980 Barrow was conferred the highest honor in Barbados; she was made a Dame of St. Andrew (DA) of the

Order of Barbados The Order of Barbados is a national Order of honours and decorations for Barbados. History The first Order of Barbados was instituted by Queen Elizabeth II by letters patent dated 25 July 1980. With Barbados becoming a republic on 30 November ...

. She was also awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the

Royal College of Nursing The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is a registered trade union in the United Kingdom for those in the profession of nursing. It was founded in 1916, receiving its royal charter in 1928. Queen Elizabeth II was the patron until her death in 2022. ...

. Barrow suffered from a massive stroke the night of her death. She was survived by her sisters, Sybil Barrow and Ena Comma.

Legacy

The Errol & Nita Barrow Educational Trust raises funds and make financial awards to enable Bajans and Commonwealth Caribbean citizens to pursue a course of study that will further the development of Barbados and the Caribbean. The ICAE created the Dame Nita Barrow award which supports regional and nation adult education organizations that have made a great contribution towards the empowerment of women. Die Nita Barrow Collection, a collection of documents about Nita Barrow's life and times, has been inscribed into UNESCO's list on world documentary heritage, the

Memory of the World Register Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembered, ...

Positions

* Nursing and Public Health positions in Barbados and Jamaica (1940–1956) * Chief Nursing Officer, Jamaica (1956–1967) * Public health advisor to the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

and the

Pan-American Health Organization The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is an international public health agency working to improve the health and living standards of the people of the Americas. It is part of the United Nations system, serving as the Regional Office for ...

(1963–75) * Nursing Advisor, Pan America Health Organization (1967–1971) * Associate Director, Christian Medical commission of World Council of Churches, Geneva (1971–1975) * President of the

World YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...

(1975–83) * Director/Health Consultant, World Health Organization (1981–1986) * President of the International Council for Adult Education (1982–90) * President of the

World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most juri ...

(1983) * Ambassador to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

(1986–90) * Honorary Fellow,

* Governor General of Barbados (1990–1995)

Honors and awards

*1975 Doctor of Laws,

University of the West Indies The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 17 English-speaking countries and territories in th ...

*1980

Fellow of the Royal College of Nursing A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned society, learned or professional society, professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. ...

*1980 Dame of St. Andrew, by Order of Her Majesty

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

*1982 Doctor of Science,

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood and Westdale, adjacent to the Royal Botanical Ga ...

, Canada *1983 Gamaliel Chair Lecturer,

University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a public urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropolitan area and a member of the University of Wiscons ...

, USA *1984 Spirit of Caribbean Award, Caribbean Resources Foundation *1985 West Indian of the Year, ''Bajan Magazine'' *1986 Caribbean Prize for Peace through the Struggle for Justice, Caribbean Council of Churches *1986 Outstanding Citizen of the Year Award, Kiwanis Club of Barbados *1987 CARICOM Women's Award *1987 Doctor of Laws,

, Canada *1987 Doctor of Human Letters, Morris Brown University, USA *1988 Doctor of Humanities,

Mount St. Vincent University Mount Saint Vincent University, often referred to as the Mount, is a public, primarily undergraduate, university located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and was established in 1873. Mount Saint Vincent offers undergraduate programs in Arts, S ...

, Canada *1988 Doctor of Laws,

University of Winnipeg The University of Winnipeg (UWinnipeg, UW) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, that offers undergraduate faculties of art, business and economics, education, science and kinesiology and applied health as well as gr ...

, Canada *1988 Presidential Medal,

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls about 15,000 undergraduate and 2,800 graduate students on a 35-acre campus. Being New York City's first publ ...

, USA *1988 Honorable Doctor of Laws,

Spelman College Spelman College is a private, historically black, women's liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia. It is part of the Atlanta University Center academic consortium in Atlanta. Founded in 1881 as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary, Spelman re ...

, USA *1989 The

Christiane Reimann Christiane Elisabeth Reimann (May 6, 1888, Copenhagen - April 12, 1979, Syracuse, Sicily) was a Danish nurse. She is especially remembered for being the first Danish nurse with a graduate degree in nursing. She was the first paid secretary ("Execu ...

Prize,

International Council of Nurses The International Council of Nurses (ICN) is a federation of more than 130 national nurses associations. It was founded in 1899 and was the first international organization for health care professionals. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerl ...

, Geneva, Switzerland *Honorary Doctor of Law, Queen's University, Canada *Honorary Doctor of Literature, Wilfrid Laurier University

Sources

# Blackman, Francis Woodie. ''Dame Nita: Caribbean Woman, World Citizen''. Kingston, Jamaica: Ian Randle Publishers, 1985.

External links

Dame Ruth Nita Barrow
Caribbean Community (CARICOM) website
Photo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barrow, Nita 1916 births 1995 deaths 20th-century Barbadian women politicians 20th-century Barbadian politicians Dames Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Recipients of the Order of the Caribbean Community Governors-General of Barbados Permanent Representatives of Barbados to the United Nations University of Toronto alumni Knights and Dames of St Andrew (Barbados) Honorary Fellows of the Royal College of Nursing People in public health Barbadian midwives Barbadian nurses Women nurses Barbadian women ambassadors People from Saint Lucy, Barbados