WHITEHOUSE, Westmoreland — Fraught with financial challenges, disappointing setbacks and some of the greatest tragedies one can experience, Chevelle Blackburn’s life story had the makings of a nightmarish tale. But the soft-spoken young lady was not going to accept it; she determined to defy the odds and break the cycle of poverty that engulfed her family.

Chevelle studied hard, intent on securing a good education and becoming a teacher, and despite losing her mom to cancer before her tenth birthday, walking miles to and from school, and studying by candlelight, she landed a place at the highly respected Black River High School in St Elizabeth.

Today, she is employed as an information technology and electronic document preparation and management (EDPM) teacher at Godfrey Stewart High School in Westmoreland, having graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education from Bethlehem Moravian College in November.

As she tells it, her beacon of hope came when Sandals Resorts, through its Community Scholarship Programme (now the Sandals Foundation Care for Kids initiative) offered her educational assistance. The year was 2009, and Chevelle had just lost her grandfather, a fisherman who, along with her grandmother, an occasional days worker, took care of the little girl and her siblings. But the turnaround was afoot as, on their very first visit to Jamaica, Canadian couple Sue Drader and Barry Heinrich contacted then public relations manager for Sandals Whitehouse Sheryl McGaw-Douse to find out how they could provide assistance to a school.

They were introduced and the rest, as they say, is history.

“After meeting Chevelle, we wanted to make a difference, and since returning home, we kept in constant contact with The Sandals Foundation and they updated us as to the family’s needs,” the couple said.

They provided a monthly stipend to the family; assistance with Chevelle’s high school fees, and when she was accepted into Bethlehem Moravian College to pursue a degree in secondary education, the cost of her tuition, room and board for the four years of study. The couple also supported her younger sister throughout her five years at Belmont Academy. In addition, the family had electricity installed at their house and an additional room built. The Heinrichs also gifted the family with a new stove to allow Chevelle’s grandmother to offset expenses by baking and selling pastries.

“Sue and Barry are my surrogate parents,” Chevelle says. “They treat me with the same love, respect and constant support as my grandmother does. Words cannot explain how thankful and blessed I feel to have their support and that of the Sandals Foundation. If it wasn’t for all their help, my dreams would have taken much longer and would have been a lot harder to achieve.”

“Every time I think back on where I am coming from and how much kindness these sweet people and the Sandals family have shown me, I can’t help but exclaim, Oh my God! I am so blessed!”

Drader and Heinrich are proud surrogates indeed.

“We are extremely proud of Chevelle, of her accomplishments and commitment to becoming a teacher. We knew that choosing this career path would have far-reaching impacts for the Jamaican people and we are very glad we could support her efforts to reach her goal,” the couple said.

“We are so happy that we are able to do this for the family and we want to thank the Sandals Foundation for the interest taken both personally and professionally in moving the family towards a better living situation. It can’t be easy being the ones to deal with the intricacies involved.”

In addition to educational assistance and improvement in her living condition, Chevelle also benefitted from career exposure at Sandals Whitehouse as she was gainfully employed at the resort every summer .

“Because of Sandals, my life changed tremendously,” the young woman says.

“The Sandals Foundation is doing a wonderful job and not only am I grateful but I am impressed. They have been there for me from the beginning and the extent to which they have touched my life, I wish to also continue in this vein; touching the lives of those I come in contact with,” she continues.

One of Chevelle’s goals is to establish a school in her community where she can provide free tutoring to students who need the help but are unable to afford it.

“Kudos to the Sandals Foundation for not only wanting to make a better world, but for doing so,” adds Heinrich.