A 47-year-old legal secretary who paid back Government for his financial assistance has been hailed as “a living example” by Community Minister Glenn Blakeney.The Warwick man, who asked not to be named because he did not want publicity, paid back the $3,000 he was allocated by Government, in order to help others in need.“We’re meant to contribute to our country in a time of crisis,” he said.“It’s a bit like farming. It’s common sense that you sow what you reap. As they say in Jamaica, if you plant corn you will grow corn.”He added: “That was the norm when I was younger. The fact that I had to take that welfare went against my values. The next best thing was to pay the money back.“We have huge national debt. We have by my estimates a huge number of people on financial assistance.“Years ago, when we had a crisis or the country was in straits, people lined up to see what they could contribute, not what they could take.”He said he could appreciate that many people were in need of assistance, but that he believed Bermudians had strayed from their Christian heritage.“I believe in paying a tithe,” he said. “We pay tithes in my church.“I am a Rasta but my faith is Christian, and there is a commandment that we return a tenth back to God. It’s also helped me to save money as well.”He told The Royal Gazette that he used his time while unemployed to volunteer at Agape House, King Edward VII Memorial, Westmeath, and the Bermuda Red Cross, as well as helping collect trash.Government responded to his letter of thanks, he added.Mr Blakeney said he had been “blown away” to receive a letter from “a well-meaning Bermudian who found themselves in need, and as a last resort reached out for assistance”.The Minister added: “The fact that he volunteered as well is a remarkable testament.”Mr Blakeney said he had shared the man’s letter with his colleagues in Cabinet.“I was really moved that he was so conscientious in doing what he thought was the right thing, and which he did not have to do,” he said. “It needed to be acknowledged in spite of this man’s modesty.”