80 countries and counting
McDonald family making memories, unearthing history
Published:Sunday | August 20, 2023 | 12:11 AMShanel Lemmie - Staff Reporter
Dr Wilton McDonald II has always had a strong interest in history. Initially disappointed by the lack of information about his own family history on his father’s side and only teased by the sprinklings of information his mother’s family offered, McDonald embarked on a world tour to illuminate for his children the seeds of their past.
Born in Jamaica, McDonald’s father, after whom is named, came from humble beginnings in Westmoreland. Though soon getting the opportunity to migrate to The Bahamas and then the Cayman Islands, the elder McDonald took his children and Indo-Jamaican wife across the Caribbean Sea where they soon began to ‘expand their horizons’.
“As a family we didn’t travel much growing up,” McDonald explained. “Of course, being missionaries we didn’t have a lot of means so my dad moved to Cayman after spending 10 years in The Bahamas and he made some smart choices in real estate which allowed us to expand our horizons. It allowed us to travel, for me to go to school.”
As an adult having attended eight separate universities, studying law, business and a host of other disciplines, McDonald says he became bewitched with the idea of travel in 2008.
“There was a world global crash and from then I started to really take note. Might as well experience the world before everything comes to a head. Crux of the matter is when this all comes to a head, travel, I think, will be limited. COVID was a wake-up call, too, for us all.”
Reminiscing on the financial crisis of 2008, he continued, “I think that was the early driver in 2008 for me and my wife, the kids of course came along in 2011. We sort of took them along as well as we travelled. We didn’t just leave them with grandparents, which is the easy cop out. We really sacrificed and we took the kids along with us.”
Now years later with his 12-year-old daughter Maria and his nine-year-old son Aleksander, who he affectionately calls Wilton III, McDonald says though travel has become more cumbersome, often clashing school and work schedules, it is even more rewarding. With the help of a tutor for his kids and odd sleeping hours for him, he is dedicated to both sharing memories with his family and unearthing his own history.
Speaking on their latest bout of explorations, he said, “I took the kids, my wife couldn’t make it because she had to work, but that’s what sort of caused this trip because we wanted to experience more of the world, not just doing one or two ad hoc trips, we wanted to experience more of the world and do it in a short space of time because I feel that this history we have now, it’s gonna dry up. That just my gut feeling about this AI movement and the new economic world that’s gonna be ushered in.”
He went on, “I am helping to change people’s hearts and minds and how they feel about black. The worst thing to do is when you see a black person you want to hold your purse because you might be mugged. That stigma, that stereotype needs to go away. We know that blacks are the forefathers of the world and every race come from black people.”
Though with his Polish wife, Lina, McDonald has visited over 100 countries, he has now taken his children to 80 countries, including explorations of the continents Antarctica and Africa.
While unable to pinpoint just one highpoint of their travels thus far, McDonald says he believes their most powerful memory was getting to see the tip of Mount Everest in Asia.
“The best memory that I’ve had with the kids is going near Mount Everest and seeing the face of Everest. That certainly is the best memory, but the other one [was] being in Uganda where all four of us were together, and Antarctica, you can’t beat that. But I think the best most powerful rigid sort of memory is seeing the tip of Everest in that special helicopter.”
With no intention of slowing down any time soon, McDonald says the Poland-based family still calls Jamaica their home and is happy to continue their global journey.
“We usually have one big trip a year or twice. Jamaica is always a focal point because we consider Jamaica to be home. I just think that we all agree that the greatest value in all this travel is that we get to confirm this sense of history and where we come from. That’s important. Every day I get really good comments from people on Facebook and Twitter around the world that I am adding value to black history, to our global history. I think you cannot measure it.”