Hillette Virgo born to serve

GROWING UP in what was deemed as a perfect home and being a devout child preacher who was highly respected in her community, Hillette Virgo explained that she left many disappointed when she became an unmarried and abandoned mother of two. Shame, she said, became her companion for years before she found a positive drive in the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF).

Being born into a Christian family that committed much of its time to community service, Virgo was happy in her job as a safe schools coordinator. She was flourishing in the role, even earning the title of the 2017 St James and Area 1 LASCO Top Cop/Police Officer of the Year and being placed as first runner-up in the islandwide competition. And so it came as a surprise some seven years later when, according to her, she was instructed by God to leave the JCF.

“I was a lover of people. I loved serving and caring for people as my parents had an active ministry in caring for people. All my life I have been in service, visiting people and watching my parents serve others. This was perfect for me as I always loved public speaking, and this was evidenced in my securing the Best Speakers Award during training school. I have conceptualised several campaigns in my tenure in the JCF then God directed me to leave the JCF. He had more for me. I couldn’t ignore the beckoning for a global impact, and so I left and went to the US on a search of self,” Virgo, who is big on answering the call of God said.

She described the move as a complete faith leap, which eventually facilitated her collision with destiny.

While overseas, the then ex-cop was introduced to a life coach, which,she explained, significantly changed the trajectory of her life.

Later becoming a certified life coach herself, she told Family and Religion that she also tapped into her gift of writing, producing her first piece, a book of affirmations for children.

“I spent a few months in the States connecting with people in the diaspora with the intention of sharing my experiences as a member of the JCF and with a view to forwarding the campaigns I conceptualised (there). Every time I connected with a person of influence, they would ask , ‘How could the JCF release such a brilliant and dynamic person as you?’

“I once presented at the Jamaica Association in Georgia, where several persons expressed interest in partnering with me to effect community change through the vision I shared,” Virgo said, adding that despite the exposure, she was missing the impact she was making as a part of the local police force.

It was then that her parents made contact, notifying her that she had received a letter from the JCF rejecting her resignation and requesting that she return to work, considering the time off as vacation.

After heeding the voice of the Holy Spirit, according to Virgo, she returned home to rejoin the force. However, things did not go quite as she had expected.

“Coming back to the JCF was nothing that I planned. Every door I knocked on was closed. I had enlisted in the Diaspora Task Force and wrote several letters to the powers that be, telling them of my value to the organisation that was based in the US, with no response,” Virgo shared adding that she began to regret her decision to return.