Vincent Commock ... Opening avenues for young adults

Vincent Commock makes no bones about being extremely talented. He started Vin's Mechanical and Electrical Repairs in 1980 after being in the field since 1959.

"The gift I have, I know I am blessed. I am multiskilled - from mechanic, electrician to machinist - I repair anything. The biggest diesel engine you can think of, the biggest generating plants, I have the ability," he said.

However, it is his repair and maintenance work on young people's lives in and out of children's homes, which he does along with his wife Greta, which has been his most consistent job for over 30 years.

It started when the Commocks were doing community work in Sandy Park, St Andrew, and encountered "a young miss by the name of Shelley-Ann".

"She was about three years old and living with this old lady who was not capable of taking care of her."

The child needed medical attention and the Commocks took her to Bustamante Hospital for Children, where she was admitted. When Shelley-Ann was being discharged, they took her to the SOS Children's Village in Stony Hill, St Andrew. "And from there we continued visiting her and the rest of kids there," Vincent said.

Then, he said, "from there we go to different children's homes - Marigiold, National, even to Brown's Town area".

More than that, though, some of the children came to them, living with the Commocks and also employed to the business. The most recent is Alecia Chambers, and Vincent says: "I see the potential in her, really. She is very willing. She does not fear. She will try anything. She has the talent. It must be a failure - that is the only thing that will stop her. She is that kind of person."

furthering education

While Chambers has been on the job at Vin's for two weeks, Lisa Rowe has been there for 10 years. She knew the Commocks from SOS Children's Village, where she lived, and now does receptionist work, is the maintenance clerk and assists the accountant. She did three subjects on her own without attending a class, passing principles of business and office administration in 2009, then English this year. Rowe is now preparing to sit biology next January and accounts in June.

Rowe smiles as she says, "I was the recipient of the SOS (Children's) Village Award last year, [for] accomplishment towards independent living".

Vincent does not outline a structure for the avenue he opens for the young adults. "It just happens. Once the child is willing to help himself, I will assist," he said. "Once you leave the home, you have to survive and I am here to help on that path."

And he relates the feeling he gets when they have reached a level of independence to his experience when he helps others in his field with problems they cannot solve. "You feel good when they go out. It is like when a man calls me and I can assist with the problem," Commock said.

- M.C.