Emotionally, and with a great deal of pride, Arnett Gardens’ Bradley twins always speak of their grandmother, Elaine Scott, with the utmost respect and admiration.

In fact, 19-year-olds Amanda and Samanda, who moved from Maxfield Avenue to live with their grandma in Arnett Gardens when they were much younger, both described her as a God-sent blessing in their lives.

“Like my mother, she did everything in her power to make ends meet as if we were her very own, and loved us unconditionally. She made a lot of sacrifices for us. In a way, you could say that she became our second mother, teacher, friend and guiding light,” Amanda told OBSERVER ONLINE.

The girls are somewhat popular for their academic strides in the community, with many neighbours hailing Scott as a gem for “taking up her granddaughters in hand.”

One man who lives beside grandma said, “Granny rules! That is how it is supposed to be. She have dem from dem young. They are like her own kids.”

Another woman referred to the grandma as selfless.

“My hats off to Elaine. She has done it and done it right. Nuff young girls don’t make it out of the ghetto and she did it with not one, but two.”

In total, both girls have 20 Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and eight Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) subjects — a source of tremendous pride for their family.

Amanda and Samanda, graduates of the Convent of Mercy Academy ‘Alpha’ and St Hugh’s High School, respectively, have long burnt the “ghetto” script and have been excelling since the primary education level and were first featured in the Sunday Observer last week.

READ: Arnett Gardens’ twin pride

Samanda, who plans to pursue a degree in computer science at the University of Technology (UTech), views education as a stepping stone and said without their family, most of their successes wouldn’t have come.

“My family is proud of my sister and I. They are very encouraging and always encourage us to do our best, and that makes us feel good and try to do our best, as only our best is good enough,” she said.

Expressing gratitude, Amanda said she would be remiss to not highlight how Scott dedicated her evenings to help them study and revise school materials when they were preparing for the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT), now Primary Exit Profile (PEP).

“Especially Math. Likewise my grandfather. He was always helping us with homework and projects until we were able to do them on our own. The version of ourselves that is being shown to you now would not exist without our grandmother,” Amanda said.

Regardless of the situation, she added, Scott is constantly rooting for them, and standing by their sides, encouraging them.

“She also always has our best interests at heart. She is someone I will forever be indebted to, and I don’t think we would have made it this far in our journey without their unwavering love, inspiration, and direction.”