SO here we are suddenly in December — after nearly nine months of practically living online, looking forward to a ‘drive-out’ like a child in a car-less family. Most of us cannot wait for the month to end and to see the back of 2020. But, for some of us, this unbelievable year has given us 20/20 vision. We have been reimagining our aspirations and questioning our priorities.

One introvert I know celebrated it, saying he welcomed the excuse to not socialise. Mothers working virtually found themselves torn between office interface and helping their children cope with online school. Delivery services seem to have got a nice bounce with thank yous being posted to QuickPlate, 7Krave, Pekkish, and CutdiLine. The reduction of curfew time by one hour to 10:00 pm seems to be serving businesses well. You have to search hard to find parking in the plazas, including the new one on Constant Spring Road. Remarkably, remittances have increased.

We have to give thanks that Jamaica made its way into the digital world so that we can continue our operations. Millenials have come into their own during this time, launching YouTube channels, creating and selling products online, and synergising social media platforms. We are watching business gurus emerge — as they say, pressure creates diamonds, and some are shining bright.

Brittany Singh’s online school is getting fine reviews, and parents are thanking their lucky stars that an incredibly young Gordon Swaby dared to start EduFocal. Kadeem Petgrave’s and Simier Lansend’s EducaTours allows you to explore interesting Jamaican places without leaving your home. Our music stars have not taken a breath; we just heard the resonant Hands Up by Beenie Man produced by Dominic McDonald’s Troublemekka Music and Koffee has gone international, representing Mastercard and H&M.

We are banking online and discovering it is not as difficult as we thought and we are grateful that Zoom and Microsoft will record our meetings so we can create good notes.

However, with about 30 per cent of students not having connectivity, Ministry of Education officials have reported that primary school children are falling behind in their studies and they are anticipating the same for high school students. We understand that some students are experiencing mental health issues, and health authorities worldwide are concerned that the fallout from the lockdown related to the novel coronavirus spread will be mental health crises. Rise Life Management is a good resource, so please do not hesitate to reach out to them.

As we try to tough out this pandemic, let us find time to connect with family and friends, to play games with our children and to worship together, whether in person or virtually. We understand that a vaccine may be arriving in Jamaica in March of next year — just in time for Easter when we can celebrate a ‘resurrection’ of gatherings and a new appreciation for the family and friends we have been missing.

Focus on persons with disabilities

Despite COVID-19, we had a memorable Disabilities Awareness Week. Please note that we should say ‘persons with disabilities’, not ‘disabled persons’ as we should put the emphasis on the person and not on the disability.

Last Thursday Special Olympics Caribbean announced that our world-famous swimmer Alia Atkinson will be their champion ambassador. I have had the pleasure of working with Atkinson and she has always been passionate about uplifting her fellow Jamaicans.

She said it was an honour to be so declared and she intends to work closely with the excellent Lorna Bell, executive director of Special Olympics Caribbean, to affirm the efforts of our Special Olympians. In reflecting on the motto of Special Olympics, “Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt,” she expressed her admiration for the Special Olympians’ courage.

Sports Minister Olivia “Babsy” Grange said Atkinson would help Special Olympians “to be proud of the value that they add to our society”. Grange commended Bell and Special Olympics Jamaica Chairman Allie McNab for their dedication to their charges. “Let us all, as Government representatives, commit to creating a more inclusive and enabling environment for all,” she urged.

The event ended with a thank you from my bubbly little friend, Special Olympian Kadian Ingleton. “Alia is a great motivation and inspiration for us,” she said.

One of the benefits of being chair of the Digicel Jamaica Foundation is seeing the efforts and achievements of those who are physically and mentally challenged. They bring such joy and pride to their families when they excel in their pursuits.

On Friday we visited Genesis School for Special Needs on South Camp Road, where the initial enrolment has more than doubled. Principal Angela Bowen-Stewart said 70 per cent of the students are online and have been keeping up with their lessons. We saw a demonstration of the modified wash stations in special needs schools by the foundation. The ever-upbeat Alphanso Cunningham, gold-medallist Paralympian, was on hand to give his own words of praise at the well-kept grounds and classrooms.

Paralympians are individuals with physical disabilities, while Special Olympians are persons with intellectual disabilities.

We welcomed the news that Senator Dr Floyd Morris, Jamaica’s first blind senator, has been elected to the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Rising from the despondency of becoming blind as a teenager in St Mary, he made his way to Kingston where he enrolled in classes at the Jamaica Society for the Blind and qualified to study at The University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, continuing to gain master’s and doctoral degrees and now lectures at and heads the UWI Centre for Disability Studies. His autobiography, By Faith, Not By Sight is an inspiring read.

Eulogy

Born of Jamaican parents who had migrated to Britain in the sixties, Susan Pitter was inspired to create an elegant publication when she saw the lovely photos in the funeral programme of her dad’s friend. The well-researched book, Eulogy includes the history of the Windrush generation, as well as photographs and quotes donated by 76 families whose parents and grandparents had migrated to Leeds over two decades from the 1940s. Some were former Royal Air Force members who, after the war, decided to settle down there.

Their stories tell of ambitious, decent, hard-working families who were activists and contributed to the development of their community. One nurse recalls that even as she was caring for patients, they were disrespecting her with racist remarks. Susan’s parents, Hermerde and Enid Pitter (nee Neil), hailed from St Elizabeth. They worked hard to raise their four children, all of whom are successful professionals. Eulogy is a valuable keepsake and all proceeds go to the Jamaica Society Leeds.

Susan quotes the late Professor Rex Nettleford in her book: “If you don’t find the time to document your own history, it is likely to be forgotten — or, worse still, misrepresented.”

lowriechin@aim.com

www.lowrie-chin.blogspot.com