MONTEGO BAY, St James – After a rough journey through poverty and life in the ghetto, 26-year-old Kevon Richards’ faith in God has brought him from wanting to become the don of his Lilliput community to ministering on pulpits.

In an interview with the Jamaica Observer West, Richards shared that as a youngster growing up with a single parent and five siblings, life was extremely challenging.

“I was raised in a large family with my mother and five siblings. I didn’t grow up with my father so that was a part of the challenge…not knowing my father until later on in my life,” he said.

“My mother was not in the home most of the time, because she had to go out to earn for her six children. So, with a single mother, you can imagine that things were very difficult because we did not have access to what we would need sometimes…like the basic necessities.”

With an absent father and a mother who was rarely at home, Richards told the Observer West that he was left to the influences of his community and by the age of seven he had already embraced the moniker ‘Duppy Teeth’.

“At a tender age, I wanted to become a don. As a matter of fact, when I was in grade two attending the Flanker Primary School, I wrote on my final exam that my name was ‘Duppy Teeth’, which was my alias in my community. That shows that at that time, I didn’t have much positive guidance because I really wanted to be the community don,” said Richards.

“I grew up in Lilliput and that was another challenge because it is one of those challenged communities in terms of violence. So, growing up in an area like that, I did not have much positive influence because mostly what I saw around me were people smoking, drinking and participating in illicit behaviours like scamming. That was big in the area and that was something that also influenced and impacted me,” he told the Observer West.

His mother, Richards said, was unimpressed by this new found ambition and made it clear that no son of hers would walk down that path.

“My mother gave me a nice flogging and so, the idea of becoming a don went through the window,” Richards stressed.

He added that she also encouraged her children to have faith as she wholeheartedly believed that the hard days would pass.

“Even though she wasn’t around as I would have liked, she was always there to keep us on track. We were raised as God-fearing individuals from a tender age, we didn’t really attend church but she encouraged the faith. We were encouraged to pray, to believe in God and to fear him. I think that’s one of the things that kind of kept me on track,” stated Richards.

In secondary school at Herbert Morrison Technical High in St James, Richards noted that he was so far down a negative path that he faced expulsion on multiple occasions because of his ‘disruptive’ behaviour.

“In high school, I was very disruptive. I believe not growing with my father was a big factor because I felt unappreciated, probably a little low in confidence so I was always seeking attention. So, at Herbert Morrison, I was placed on the behaviour modification programme, where I was either to modify my behaviour, or be expelled. As a matter of fact, one teacher confided in me that on more than two occasions my name made the list for expulsion,” he told the Observer West.

After a conscious decision to “modify” his behaviour, he moved on to the sixth form programme at the school. It was at this time, Richards said, that he was “introduced to Christ”.

“Thanks be to God, in the lower six, I got introduced to Christ. At the time I was involved in a music group called The Uprising. We were making dancehall music with the aim to, you know, break free, become big and make money. We were using a lot of gangster and illicit lyrics, which was not the norm because I wasn’t raised that way, however, the influences around me pushed me in that direction,” said the young man.

“I remember messing around as a young man, smoking and drinking, to the point where my life was threatened and I really cried out to God. I said, ‘God, if you really can help me then deliver me out of this and I will serve you,’ Richards continued.

“Because of my illicit life, smoking, drinking, and messing around, I was kind of in a little jam. It is not really something I am cool talking about just yet but I made some decisions which were life threatening, so I prayed and asked God to deliver me from that situation.”

The young man then decided to turn his life around and to pursue tertiary education.

“I had big dreams and desires but I never had pastoral ministry in mind…that was actually the farthest thing from my mind because I wanted to become an actor. As a visual and performing arts student at Herbert Morrison, I wanted to attend the Edna Manley School of Performing Arts but that didn’t work and so, it was impressed upon me that God was calling me to the ministry. I resisted but after talks with mentors from church and really praying about it, I embraced the call and went to the Northern Caribbean University (NCU) to study religion,” he explained.

“That was another journey because not having the finances, you know, things were tough. I had to work on campus, cleaning bathrooms and wiping down offices to make ends meet.”

He told the Observer West that he then landed a job as a salesman which saw him selling Christian literature in the United States of America and Canada during summer breaks from the Seventh-day Adventist institution.

“Those experiences really helped me to build morals and values, it helped me to face tough life because there were challenges. My integrity was tested because, you know, on that programme you collect the money and is in charge of turning it in. While I was going through a rough patch, that was a test for me and by God’s grace, I overcame,” said Richards.

After graduating at the top of his NCU class and entering pastoral ministry at the St John’s District of Churches in St Catherine, Richards has now published a book titled God Put Me Through where he shares his journey.

“I ultimately wrote my own book reciting the entire journey of how God led me through the difficulties of my early development, past mistakes and bad choices, to the point of becoming the first of my family to graduate from university and not only just graduating but graduating with top class honors, and entering into ministry where I am excelling,” Richards told the Observer West.

“The book is really to share my testimony and encourage others who are going through a rough patch, especially young people who are probably in gangs, or come from a volatile area like myself, so that they can know that they don’t have to make negative choices to survive. Also, proceeds from the book will help NCU students with grants to complete their academic journey, so overall, coming through the experience, I am giving back to help motivate and encourage,” he added.