ʻO ka mālama ʻana i ka moʻaukala o ka ʻāina he mea nui ia no nā hanauna e hiki mai ana e hoʻomaopopo i ko lākou hoʻoilina. ʻO ka Ka Hoʻolālā Kōkua Caribbean (CTO) ua loaʻa kahi mea haʻi moʻolelo maikaʻi loa ma Trinidad i hānau ʻia ʻo Kanada Rita Cox nāna i kākau i ka hoʻoilina Caribbean, a e hoʻohanohano iā ia me ka makana Lifestyle Achievement Award i ka wā o ka Luncheon Media Day ma Toronto maʻAukake 22.

ʻO kahi kahu puke ma kāna ʻoihana, ʻo Cox kahi mea haʻi moʻolelo kaulana a mahalo ʻia i alakaʻi i ke kaiāulu. Ua komo ʻo ia i ka hale waihona puke lehulehu ʻo Toronto ma ke ʻano he kahu puke keiki ma 1960 a i 1972 ua lilo ʻo ia i poʻo no ka lālā ʻo Parkdale kahi i hoʻolauna ai i nā papahana heluhelu a me nā hana ʻē aʻe e hoʻolaha ana i ka moʻomeheu holoʻokoʻa ma waena o Toronto. I kona wā e noho ana, ua lilo ʻo Cox i paionia i ka waihona "Black Heritage a me West India Resource Collection," i kapa inoa ʻia i ka makahiki 1998 i ka "Black and Caribbean Heritage Collection." Ua lilo koke ia i hoʻokahi o nā hōʻuluʻulu nui o kāna ʻano ma Kanada a i kēia lā, hoʻomau ʻia e lilo i kumu haʻaheo no ke kaiāulu.

"Mahalo ka ʻoihana hoʻokipa ʻo Caribbean i ko Rita Cox makemake nui no ka paipai ʻana i ka hoʻoilina Caribbean ma o ka hōʻiliʻili āna i hoʻomohala ai no ka hale waihona puke lehulehu ma Toronto a me kāna mau hanana haʻi moʻolelo e hoʻoili i kā mākou moʻolelo i ka hanauna e hiki mai ana," wahi a Sylma Brown, ka luna o CTO-USA. "ʻO kāna kūpaʻa i ka mālama ʻana i ka moʻomeheu Caribbean a me ka hoʻolaʻa ʻana i ka mālama ʻana i ka wahi i mua o ke kaiāulu ʻo Kanada i nā makahiki he nui ke kumu e hoʻohanohano nei mākou iā ia me ka makana holomua holoʻokoʻa."

Ua hoʻokumu ʻo Cox iā "Cumbayah," kahi ʻahaʻaina o nā hoʻoilina ʻeleʻele a me ka moʻolelo. Ma ke ʻano he mea haʻi moʻolelo kaulana i hoʻokipa i ka poʻe ma ka honua holoʻokoʻa, a ua hōʻoiaʻiʻo ʻo ia i ka hoʻoilina moʻolelo moʻolelo o ka hale waihona puke lehulehu o Toronto ma o ka hoʻomaʻamaʻa ʻana i kahi hanauna moʻolelo hou, a he poʻe limahana o ka waihona i kēia manawa. Ma hope o kona hoʻomaha loa ʻana mai ka waihona puke lehulehu ma Toronto ma 1995, ua koho ʻia ʻo Cox i luna hoʻokolokolo no ka ʻaha kupa e ke aupuni o Kanada.

Ua lanakila ʻo Cox i nā makana he nui, e like me ka makana lawelawe lehulehu a ka Hui Waihona Puke o Kanada a me ka makana ʻeleʻele i loaʻa (1986). I 1997, ua koho ʻia ʻo Kauka Cox i lālā o ke Kauoha o Kanada no kāna hana poʻokela i ka haʻi moʻolelo a me ka heluhelu. Ua hāʻawi ʻia ʻo Wilfrid Laurier University a me ke Kulanui ʻo York i kāna kekelē laepua hanohano.

He aha e lawe ʻia mai kēia ʻatikala:

The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) has found the perfect storyteller in Trinidad born Canadian Rita Cox who chronicles the Caribbean legacy, and will honor her with the Lifetime Achievement Award during the Media Day luncheon in Toronto on August 22.
She joined the Toronto public library as a children's librarian in 1960 and in 1972 she became the head of the Parkdale branch where she launched literacy programs and other initiatives that promoted multiculturalism throughout Toronto.
“The Caribbean Tourism Organization appreciates Rita Cox's passion for promoting Caribbean heritage through the collection she developed for the Toronto public library as well as her storytelling events that pass our history on to the next generation,” said Sylma Brown, director of CTO-USA.