Hero showered with gifts; offered jobs
Published:Monday | September 11, 2017 | 12:00 AMCorey Robinson
From risking his life to save a young boy to deciding which job offer he should accept, Trench Town hero Tremayne Brown was yesterday showered with gifts from several companies bubbling with appreciation for his valiant effort in saving a drowning 12-year-old last Friday.
"There's so many things going through my head, so right now, me nuh know. Tonight when I sit down and go through everything, I will know," laughed Brown, minutes after Catherine Goodall, marketing manager, beverages at LASCO Distributors, made him a job offer during a special ceremony at the church on First Street in the community where his father is the pastor.
Brown, 24, who said he holds a diploma in health and social care, and was trained in construction in England, said he was deported to Jamaica six months ago after migrating to the European country at age six.
He was barely making ends meet as a labourer at the nearby Boys' Town Vocational Training Centre, Friday, when he saw young Renaldo Reynolds, a student at Jones Town Primary School, being swept away in the rushing waters with onlookers desperately shouting for help from the gully banks.
Though he could not swim, Brown jumped into the rushing gully as onlookers shouted in desperation. He held the youngster for several metres, and together they were carried by the debris-filled water through a tunnel under Spanish Town Road and deep into the May Pen Cemetery.
The two were found minutes later by residents - Brown with one hand clinging to an overhanging limb and the other clutching the child who broke out in prayer as his saviour grew tired from his ordeal and the many cuts and bruises he sustained as he tried to grab on to the sides of the gully.
... JDF impressed, wants hero to be soldier if overseas background checks out
Yesterday, Major Basil Jarrett, civil military cooperation and media affairs officer at the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF), said Brown's courage was beyond question.
"As an organisation that values courage in its members, I was personally very impressed by Mr Brown's disregard for his own life as he attempted to save that young man. It is the type of selfless heroism that impresses us here at the JDF," said Jarrett, noting that there may be a place at the institution for him if his criminal background overseas checks out.
While Brown said he is interested in the JDF, he is not sure if that would be his best option, although many proud residents in his community are hoping he takes the career path.
"It (JDF) would actually interest me but I would have to be super fit for that, and right now, me nuh fit," he laughed, mixing Patois with a lilting British accent. Brown was also given grocery from LASCO and a Samsung Galaxy J2 cellular phone from FLOW.
"We heard this morning that he doesn't have a job. I don't suspect my job will be long-term, but at least it will be something in the interim," said Goodall, who said Brown's "charismatic personality" may be useful to the company.
Chief executive officer, Rainforest Seafoods, Brian Jardim, said yesterday that Brown's selflessness is lacking in Jamaica.
"We need a lot more young men like that. That youngster (Reynolds) probably had no chance if he didn't do that. That story really hit a spot. It showed that there are still heroes in the world among us," said Jardim, who said he has asked his human resource officer to look for an available position for Brown.