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Father blows past Dorian to surprise son on first day of school

Published:Thursday | September 5, 2019 | 12:00 AMNickoy Wilson/Gleaner Writer
Garfield Sang (centre), Wolmer’s Boys’ School, hugs his son, Jude, as students arrive for the first day of school on Monday.

Tears of joy filled the eyes of 11-year-old Jude Sang on Monday morning after being surprised by his father, who travelled all the way from Florida to greet him on his first day at Wolmer’s Boys’ School.

Jude’s father, Garfield Sang, participated in the annual Wolmer’s ritual of the Kingston-located school’s alumni greeting new and returning students.

The elder Sang said that having migrated to the United States last year, he believed that it was important to be in Jamaica for his son, who is now attending the school where he also received his secondary education.

“I just thought it was a good way for him to start his new school,” the proud father told The Gleaner yesterday.

Flight cancelled

The elder Sang, who was scheduled to board a flight to Kingston on Sunday, said it was cancelled as a result of Hurricane Dorian, which pummelled The Bahamas before heading towards the US east coast.

Luckily, he said, on that same day, he was able to get a flight to Montego Bay, St James.

His troubles, however, did not end when he arrived in Jamaica as he was not able to get transport to Kingston, where his son resides.

Sang told The Gleaner that he eventually got a ride to Kingston and was able to see his son the next day.

He is encouraging fathers to become more involved in their children’s lives.

“Observe your children and build that trust that they can come and talk to you because there are so many influences that you have out there now – the cell phone, the Internet – so many influences. Build that rapport with them so that if you see anything going wrong, you can have a good discussion with them,” he charged.

nickoy.wilson@gleanerjm.com