MONTEGO BAY, St James — His father’s death at the age of nine was an immeasurable loss for Alexander Shaw, but the young man’s determination to rise like a phoenix from the ashes saw him being honoured for his work last weekend.

Shaw received the Prime Minister’s National Youth Award for Excellence in Nation Building. He told the Jamaica Observer that he is humbled to have been among the 19 Jamaican youth who received awards across 13 categories.

“I am extremely elated. It is an awesome feeling and I am beaming with pride. My mom is extremely happy — and I think it is particularly because of the circumstances under which I grew up,” Shaw said.

He explained that his father was tragically killed in 2002 during a political war in the inner-city community of Tawes Meadows, Spanish Town, St Catherine. Shaw told the Sunday Observer that, even as a youngster, he recognised how the incident devastated his family and was determined to become a beacon of change for his mother, who had to assume full responsibility for her children.

The young man, an alumni of the Jose Marti Technical High School, is now an attorney-at-law, an adjunct lecturer, and a tutor of jurisprudence and criminal law in the Faculty of Law at The University of the West Indies, Mona campus.

“I lost my father at the age of nine so my mother was my primary caregiver. I grew up as a fatherless child, became an attorney, and continued doing additional work to impact the country,” he said.

“Not having a father was a motivator in many ways because I now had to work much harder to ensure that I make my mother proud, simply because she was the only one that was tending to the family and I never wanted her to endure any long-suffering. I knew that I had a responsibility to make good use of my time in school to elevate my family from the inner-city life,” Shaw continued.

He told the Sunday Observer that he has been active in youth and community advocacy across Spanish Town and its environs since he was a young adult. Shaw noted that this journey in youth advocacy started when he became involved in the Tawes Meadows Young Leaders in Action (TMYLA), and the St Catherine Parish Youth Development Council.

Shaw’s passion for youth empowerment and advocacy intensified, and he would later go on to become divisional chairman of the Jamaica Youth Crime Prevention Council in 2010. He explained that he did not stop there, as in 2011 he became president of the Spanish Town Central Community Development Committee, and in 2013, president of the Tawes Meadows Benevolent Society. Years later in 2017 he served as the interim vice-president of the St Catherine Parish Development for a year.

Proud of the work he has done with these youth organisations, Shaw pointed out that he ensured his legacy remains — even after leaving office — through the initiatives he spearheaded in Spanish Town.

“One example is the construction of a netball and basketball court by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund in Prince Lane, Spanish Town,” Shaw said, while noting that he was instrumental in the initiation of that project.

Shaw has since worked with multiple government-based agencies to implement youth empowerment and development initiatives across the island. He is still heavily involved in his former high school as he has been the president of the past students’ association since May 2020.

He shared that as president of the association he oversees chapters of the alumni group in Florida, New York, Georgia, England, and Canada. The association is said to have implemented several welfare programmes that are playing a major role in the institution.

Shaw also sits on the Board of Management of the Jose Marti Technical High School, as an alumni representative and legal advisor.

Now a father of two girls, Shaw told the Sunday Observer that he is working to set a good example for his children. He emphasised that he is determined to provide what he missed out on, having lost his father at a tender age.

“I want to be that example because [I] know what it feels like not to have a father in your life. I want to be that father who is not just the ordinary father but the father who my children can look up to, knowing that I played my part not just in their life, but also in society. And, as a result of that I try to ensure that I make a concerted effort to make them happy and to be in their lives,” Shaw said.

In the meantime he is also hoping to utilise his achievements to encourage other youngsters who have experienced loss to not give up on their dreams.

“If it is that you want good and you pursue positive actions, you will be rewarded for your conduct. It is no excuse when you have lost a parent. Yes, it can really cripple or paralyse your dreams but if you are determined, you can achieve. I really want my achievements to be an inspiration to inner-city boys and girls. If you want good, work towards it and it can happen,” he stated.