A scholarship for single-parent children Allow God to give you a new label

In 2017 when Cheridah Wilson of Tower Isle, St Mary, started a scholarship in honour of her grandson, Amiri Raja Takemoto Hamilton, it was with the chief aim of assisting children from single-parent homes in her parish.

Designed to be in place over a five-year period, 2020 marks the fourth year of the scholarship awards, and Wilson has achieved her goal, helping several needy persons over the period.

This year, the presentation was brought forward from its usual June slot and held in February at Wilson’s home in Tower Isle. Twayna Wilson of St Mary High School in Highgate was awarded the $100,000 grant.

Colecia Blackwood and Latieka Parry, who are both students of Iona High in Tower Isle, were awarded $20,000 and $10,000 for finishing second and third, respectively, in the selection process. The students were also presented with school supplies.

David Williams of Iona and Trisam McIntosh of Tacky High in Gayle also benefitted with ­donations of book supplies.

Bridget Alem, a pharmacist from Alaska, USA, who was visiting Jamaica, was on hand to help hand out the prizes.

“This year was really nice. It was small, and I was really looking out for the students and their parents. You know, it’s for single parents, so we had, like, daddy with the daughter and grandma with the grandchild. That’s who came. The winner, her mother, was here, so it was all single families with grandmother involved,” Wilson said.

Wilson said that awarding the scholarship over the past four years has been a positive move and disclosed that she is contributing even more.

“It has been awesome because we’ve helped some really, really needy students, and they still need help, so I still bring in food, clothing, shoes. If they don’t have money to pay for exams and they let me know, I pay for that,” she said.

To Wilson, the scholarship means giving back to her country.

“It’s my way of giving back to my country,” Wilson said. “I was fortunate to have mama and papa, but most of the time it was just mama because papa was in England. He would send the money and mama would make do with it, and she put us all through high school. I was able to go to the (United) States, do my nursing, be an LTN (Licensed Practical Nurse) first, but when my son decided he wanted to do law, then I had to go back to school to become a nurse so I could help him. That’s what I want to do for these children. It has made me very, very happy, and to me, the more you give is the more you get because I’m never in need of anything. And I’m not even working.”

Wilson said that with the final scholarships set for next year, she would be willing to continue if she gets help.

But the kind heart that she is, Wilson has also turned her attention to helping in other areas of society.

She recently started assisting Widow’s Mite, an orphanage in St Ann, and the St Ann Infirmary in Priory.

At times, we all hide behind what we consider to be legitimate, logical excuses as to why God should not be able to achieve something great through us. Why we are the ‘underdog’. But the world is ripe with opportunity for underdogs to rise up – men and women who accept their imperfections, but are not limited by them.

The truth is, our imperfections sometimes cause us to be labeled. And these negative labels stick. But God desires to change our negative labels if we are willing to challenge Him.

In the Bible, Jacob was negatively labelled from birth. “24… there were twin boys in her womb. 25 The first to come out was red … so they named him Esau. 26 After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob.” Genesis 25:24-26 NIV. To ‘grasp the heel’ was another way of saying ‘deceiver’, and throughout Jacob’s life, this label became an excuse, keeping him from God’s purpose for him.

Jacob deceived his brother and his father, taking the rights and blessings that the firstborn son should have been granted. As Proverbs 18:21 (NKJV) says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue…”. Never underestimate the power of a label because it can shape who we become.

After deceiving his brother, Jacob had to run away to save his life. After many years, Jacob wanted to return home, but his brother, who knew of his ‘trickster’ ways was at home, possibly waiting to kill him! His label had caught up with him, but it was time for change.

Have you ever had a label you just couldn’t seem to shake? In Jacob’s moment of crisis, he now wanted to change his label, so he turned to God. “God of my father, who told me, ‘Go back to your parents’ homeland and I’ll treat you well.’… save me, please, from the violence of my brother ...’” Genesis 32:9-12 (MSG).

Also, still very much afraid of his brother, Jacob tried to bribe his way back by sending many gifts ahead as he returned. He sent to Esau, “14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, 15 thirty female camels with their young, forty cows and ten bulls, and twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys.” Genesis 32:14–15 (NIV).

Nothing Jacob could do in the natural could shake his label. But God sees more than your label and He has the power to remove it.

On his way back home, Jacob was left alone with his thoughts and had a life-altering encounter. He found himself in the presence of The Holy One. “So Jacob was left alone, and a Man wrestled with him till daybreak.” Genesis 32:24 NIV. This ‘man’ that Jacob wrestled with was God and only God was able to rip the off the label ‘Jacob’ and ‘deceiver’.

God, seeing that Jacob was determined and serious, did an interesting thing. “The man asked him, “What is your name?” “Jacob,” he answered.” “Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel...” Genesis 32:27-28 (NIV). When Jacob wrestled with God, he confessed his label and then God blessed him. Are we willing to stick with God until He changes us? Are we willing to confess who we really are to Him, so He can make a difference in our lives?

God wants to change who you are, at the deepest level – the belief level. With the change of identity comes a change of destiny. Will you allow God to supernaturally shift you and give you a new label?