Nataly Linzey one of the Pearl Award winners

Three Windward Islanders won a Dutch Caribbean Pearl Award in Rotterdam on Saturday: Nataly Linzey, Shirma Rouse and Quinsy Gario. This writes The Daily Herald. Linzey won in the category Student Pearl, Rouse in the Music & Entertainment category and Gario in the category Community. The Most Outstanding Pearl, the public award, was won by Jeffrey Williams, a student of Aruba who initiated the Caribbean Student Association CSV in the Netherlands. The winners were called forward to receive their award on stage in front of a large crowd after a member of the jury read the motivation.

During the Pearls of the Dutch Caribbean, the social successes are celebrated and honoured of the Dutch Caribbean community. Young professionals and high performers of the Dutch Caribbean community were nominated in various categories for their special contributions and achievements in the past year. This was the third edition of the annual Pearls of the Dutch Caribbean, an initiative of the Consultative Organ for Dutch Caribbean persons in the Netherlands OCAN.

Linzey was the first winner called forward. Linzey, born on St. Maarten and raised on Saba with Curaçao roots, is a law student and was a member of the Caribbean Netherlands team at the Kingdom Youth Parliament held on St. Maarten last month. Linzey is the founder of the Student Support Group Saba and a board member of the Soualiga Foundation in the Netherlands.