AT 24 years old, Paul Harding was the delivery man, the watchman, and the news carrier in a little pastry shop in St Ann. Now 30 years later, he is an international entrepreneur who owns his own catering service and is a well-known philanthropist, educator and musician who has travelled to many parts of the world.

HARDING... I thought the world was coming to an end (Photo: Rudranath Fraser)

The journey has not been easy. Sacrifices had to be made and he had to overcome the shame he associated with being illiterate.

As a child, Harding did not see the value of school. After all, his mother had 15 children and none of them could read. No one had a problem with his own inability to read, that is, no one except his grandmother who made sure that he went to school. But unknown to her, the young Harding would cut classes in favour of carrying water for community residents - for a small fee.

"We grew up in a household where we were made to believe that we never cut out fi tek book. Dem seh wi tek after wi uncle and fi wi uncle got the reputation as being the man that dig the most potato hill. Mi don't even think him did know how much him dig, him just agree with anything the boss dem did tell him," Harding told Career & Education.

Meanwhile, his inability to read meant that others had to read the letters sent to him.

"When I got the letter, I brought it to the person that I thought was the brightest person on the planet. She was a cashier and she could read and write in 'join-ups' so I thought that she could help me out," Harding said, recalling the incident that would propel him into learning to read.

One morning he brought a letter to the co-worker and was told to return later to have it read. He returned a few hours after and was asked to come back another time.

Although infuriated, he had no other option.

"When you dunce, you cyaan think rationally and I lost it. I look through the little window where you push out the patty and I saw her talking to this lady. I just went around there, roll up mi bib and said, 'Yuh si though, yuh cyaan tell mi wha inna mi letter, but you find time to chat'," he said.

The cashier, displeased with his assumption, reached for his still-sealed letter and threw it at him. What she said next, Harding said, will remain with him forever.

"The lady fling the letter on me and seh, 'Tek yuh letter, mi neva tell you seh yuh nuffi learn how fi read'."

Harding was devastated.

"I thought the world was coming to an end. I wouldn't say I cried; I think I bawled, because mi did really want to know what inna the letter, mi did well waan know what my mother had said and the only person dat mi did think seh could a read it and explain, she give me it back," he said.

Fortunately for Harding, the woman the cashier was conversing with overheard him crying and promised to have her daughters teach him to read. The necessary arrangements were made and he met the girls who would "learn him to spell".

Harding was sceptical at first.

"When dem ask me what mi want to learn to spell, mi tell them 'house'. But when I said that, mi neva did a talk about the little house like what my grandmother have, I was talking about the big upstairs and downstairs house with garage and whole heap of room," he said. "When dem tell mi dat all house spell the same way, mi change mi mind; mi never want them 'learn' mi nothing."

It took Harding a week to believe that all houses, irrespective of size or design, were spelt the same way.
Shortly after, feeling that he was now capable of spelling, Harding bragged to his friends. Everyone was eager to see him prove this and so he was asked to spell 'house'.

"When dem ask me, I seh house is spelt h-o-s-e," he recalled.

More people came, and believing that the crowd was celebrating his success, he spelt 'hose' for everyone.

"I was about to leave when a lady remarked that it might be easier for me to build one, but I never understood," he said.

On his way home, a little girl of about 10 years, stopped him and told him that he had not spelt the word correctly.

"She seh, 'is laugh dem a laugh after yuh, is not suh house spell'. The first thing I seh to myself was 'how this little pickney know more than me?', because she was so young," he said.

When the little girl spelt the word, he realised that she was correct.
Words, Harding said, could not explain the way he felt then. But he was determined to overcome his illiteracy.

He learned of the Jamaica Foundation for Lifelong Learning (JFLL), formerly the Jamaica Movement for Adult Literacy (JAMAL), and set about countering his illiteracy.

Over the next four years, Harding took to the books with the help of his teachers. His zest for knowledge was such that by 1979, he was the 'brightest' JAMAL student in St Ann.

It was during this time that Harding, now also chairman of the St Ann branch of JFLL, left his job at the bakery and started his own business selling soup and fried dumplings on the streets. Determined to excel as an entrepeneur, Harding got a bank loan and started his first restaurant, "Harding's Burger Counter". Wanting something better, he updated it to "Jumbo's Food" which offers catering services to local and international restaurants. It also boasts a pastry shop and a restaurant.

The JFLL seeks to improve the literacy level of the Jamaican population in order to improve the country's productivity level. In addition to reading and writing lessons, students are trained in computer and life skills and get the opportunity to participate in the High School Equivalency Programme (HISEP). HISEP offers those who did not get a secondary school education the chance to do so.

The programme, since its inception, has so far helped to change the lives of 250,000 people by improving their level of literacy.

Meanwhile, as one of the 250,000 people who have benefited from the programme, Harding has encouraged the government to increase its investment in JFLL. According to the entrepreneur, who helps many in his community to source back-to-school supplies, the benefits cannot be ignored.

"One can hardly function in today's world if you are not academically equipped. If you don't get yourself in line as far as education goes, then you will be left behind," Harding said.

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