Heart-tuggers of yesteryear

Year 2022 offered stories of hope and inspiration which displayed the triumphalism of the human spirit in overcoming the unlikely, achieving history-making feats, or rallying the nation around a greater cause. Here are a few of those highlights.

VIOLET EDWARDS

Spunky senior graduates college at 96 years old

1. At 96 years of age, Jamaica-born Violet Edwards served as a reminder of the enduring potential for learning and self-actualisation.

Having sacrificed her own dreams to put her daughter through medical school and raising her two grandsons, Edwards graduated with an associate degree in science and liberal arts from Mercy College in the United States.

A former regional postal service inspector in her homeland Jamaica, Edwards migrated to the US in 1973.

Her sage advice to young people: “Don’t hesitate! Don’t procrastinate! Go ahead with determination and you will succeed.”

DELANO TUCKER Teen overcomes poverty to achieve academic success

2. One of the most heart-warming stories of the year was the revelation of teenager Delano Tucker, whose academic excellence and humility drew national acclaim.

The Guy’s Hill High School student’s determination, amid grave family poverty, refocused the country’s attention on the dire circumstances facing many Jamaican families. But, more important, his narrative - spotted first by a social-media vlogger - showed how financially vulnerable children battled socio-economic disadvantages amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic.

After receiving a computer from his school, 17-year-old Delano prevailed despite being hobbled by patchy Internet access. He scored passes in nine CSEC subjects.

The Tuckers, a family of four, had reportedly gone six months without meat in a humble home that had no electricity or running water.

His success became a cause celebre of sorts, as celebrities and benefactors descended with gifts on his hometown of Springfield. He was promised a scholarship to fulfil his dream job in agriculture and the Government built a home for himself and his family.

Rolando GrantDeaf teen dreams of professional pilot licence

3. Sixteen-year-old deaf student Rolando Grant missed out on in-person or virtual classes for two years – victim of a back-and-forth squabble over a birth certificate that had not been issued.

That clipped the wings of the aspiring pilot, who was being home-schooled by his mom, who knows sign language.

Grant was among 20,000 students who were up to mid-2022 still in limbo amid displacement caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

His mother, Anna-Kay Williams, blamed the school for barring entry despite his being enrolled and attending classes long before the disease outbreak. Administrators cast blame on the mother for not following up on instructions.

But Rolando’s vulnerability sparked concern and benevolence, including a complimentary flight by a Kingston-based pilot training school as well as a personal handover of the long-awaited birth certificate by Cabinet minister Floyd Green.

Tiffany EllisInfant denied UK visa finally cleared for travel

4. Tiffany Ellis and her 14-month-old son Xien, who was denied a British visa at five months old, finally received the all clear from the Home Office in mid-July to fly to London.

The two were reunited with Ellis’ five-year-old Britain-born daughter Xianna and Jamaican husband Zarren, who was forced to depart the island without half of his family after his infant son was denied a visa.

Mrs Ellis, who has lived in the UK since age eight and has been a resident there for 20 years, gave birth to Xien in Jamaica while awaiting the reopening of the country’s borders after the COVID-19 pandemic which forced the closure of seaports and airports worldwide.

Said husband Zarren: “We have missed out on so much due to the denial of our son to travel with us. I missed his first steps and words.”

Hassanah Al-SabaFemale Muslim pilot achieves her dream

5. ‘ The sky’s the limit’ isn’t just a corny cliché for Hassanah Al-Saba who achieved the rare feat of being a locally trained female Muslim pilot in Jamaica.

The journey was gruelling and expensive, but she never let go of her childhood dream.

She solicited sponsorship from family, friends, and the private sector, writing to many companies during training. She credits that support for her eventual success, raising the required US$12,000 after courting donations of as little as US$50.

And she quips that she’s not put off by the stigma that comes with being a Muslim pilot. “They’ll be like, ‘You’re a terrorist’ and dem things, but I’m not going to let that stop me. There are so many Muslim women who are pilots across the world and it hasn’t stopped them, so why should it stop me?’” she said.

Elizabeth ‘Jennifer’ WilliamsStreet vendor proud of two daughters graduating university

6. Nothing quite stirs Jamaican pride like the triumph of hard work and its legacy.

That exemplified the sacrifice of street vendor Elizabeth ‘Jennifer’ Williams, who was shot once and robbed multiple times as she eked out a living to send her five daughters through school.

Those risks bore reward when two of her daughters graduated from The University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, in 2022.

“Dem never have any fathers fi stand up fi dem. Dem fathers run from the responsibility, so mi haffi stand up and seh mi nuh want dem be worse off dan kids weh live wid dem mother and father,” a relieved Williams told The Gleaner.

Her two youngest daughters, Iesha and Christal Bell, graduated from The UWI with degrees in psychology and liberal studies, respectively.

Christal is proud of her mom’s determination as well as the little stall that gave birth to big dreams.

“I still want to remember my roots, where I am coming from. This let me achieve greatness,” she said.

Kadene Vidol Young market vendor earns first class honours, PM award

7. Kadene Vidol transitioned seamlessly from her vending attire selling pumpkins and peppers to a graceful evening dress as she collected a special Prime Minister’s Youth Award in February.

Vidol, then 26, oozes grass-roots appeal, which perhaps fuelled her ambition to earn a bachelor’s degree in Kingston while juggling vending in Montego Bay’s Charles Gordon Market.

The hours of travel between Sandy Bay, Hanover, and Kingston weekly took a toll on the University of Technology graduate, but paid off in the end.

The first-class honouree, who is also a small farmer, tearfully reminisced about selling produce on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and catching the bus at 4 a.m. from Hanover to get to classes at UTech’s Papine campus on Mondays and Wednesdays.

Some nights, she would reach home as late as nine o’clock. And, by the next morning, she had to travel to Montego Bay to sell her produce in the market.

Dr Trisha BaileyJa-born philanthropist from humble beginnings impacting lives

8. Jamaica-born Dr Trisha Bailey made University of Connecticut (UCONN) history when she became the largest-ever donor to the school.

Although the figure was not disclosed, the endowment is believed to top US$10 million.

But the medical equipment and pharmacy entrepreneur also has US$41 million in investments lined up in Jamaica, including luxury condos and other construction projects spanning St Andrew and Portland.

It’s Bailey’s down-to-earthedness that has sparked high interest.

The philanthropist cherishes her roots, recalling how she walked four miles each way to and from the Springfield All-Age School daily while growing up in Woodland, St Elizabeth, before migrating to the United States at age 13 in 1990.

Bailey continues to impact hundreds of lives, financing scholarships, charities, and other projects to uplift single mothers.

Dr Ellen Bryant Brown

From homeless to hotel owner

9. A Jamaican woman who became homeless twice in the United States but now owns a 60-key hotel turned heads in 2022. She is offering expert advice as part of a master class she has designed.

Dr Ellen Bryant Brown, who hails from Spanish Town, owns and operates a Quality Inn, under the Choice Hotel brand; six daycare centres; several homes and properties in the US and Jamaica.

The serial entrepreneur said she was saved by a cab driver who refused to take her to the airport to return to Jamaica after a relative turned her out 29 years ago.

“I was on my way back to Jamaica. I took a cab and, en route to the airport, the driver stopped in the middle of Broad Street, Philadelphia, and ordered me out, saying there was nothing in Jamaica for me,” she said.

Bilal Abayomi Defies life-threatening illness to graduate medical school

10. Determination to survive triggered defiance from university student Bilal Abayomi. Doctors at two of the island’s premier hospitals had told him to forget about completing medical school, because he was dying.

The 22-year-old had been rushed by his mother to hospital in August 2021 after debilitating pain, which began in his leg, quickly consumed his body. His heart rate had escalated to 140 beats per minute and his breathing had become laboured.

Several tests revealed that his lungs had been storing blood and that his oxygen level had plummeted below the standard 95 per cent to 80 per cent.

“Most of the blood in my body was just clotting and clotting in my lungs as well. She (doctor) said that she had never seen anything like it before,” Abayomi recounted in a Gleaner interview.

Last year, he confounded doubters to graduate from med school. His inspirational account of never giving up went viral.

“I told the residents, ‘You can tell me all the stats that most people die from it, but I’m not dying from it. I’m going to be in school by Monday,’” Abayomi said.