Camara Peynado Eccleston has been a nanny at Tryall Club since 2008 and she still remembers the first little girl placed in her care for a few hours in the evenings.

“She was 15 months old. Her name was Nadia. They came for a wedding, she was their first child, so the mommy was kind of nervous; but surprisingly, afterwards she just relaxed. They were so nice to me and I’m like, ‘Wow! This is a good start,’” a bubbly Peynado Eccleston told the Jamaica Observer during a recent visit to Tryall Kids Club where she often entertains her young charges.

She had got the job by chance. The job offer was initially made to her mom by a friend. However, the mother convinced her friend to give the job to Peynado Eccleston as she was younger and better suited. Then the 23-year-old mother of a baby girl, Peynado Eccleston had trained as a waitress but was not yet employed. Always determined to pull her own weight, she jumped at the chance to be able to contribute to her household. What began as a necessity turned out to be her passion.

“It brings out my creative side. I love to draw, I love to paint, I love to create stuff,” she told the Observer.

“When I get a child that I can bring to the Kids Club, for the T-shirt design, instead of using stencils, I say, ‘What is your favourite cartoon or movie that you like with those characters?’ Then I just Google and get the picture, outline it on the shirt, and then I paint it,” she added, proudly showing off photos of some of the T-shirts created by her kids.

Peynado Eccleston is also quite handy at building sandcastles and it’s the second favourite part of her job.

“I get down and dirty; sometimes I’m on my knees in the sand. I try and do my best so at the end of the day my guests can say, ‘Camara was hard-working, even if she’s not even talkative, she works’,” she said earnestly.

Over the years she has learned how to read the room and fit in with the atmosphere created by guests while remaining her authentic self.

“It’s all about the feedback for me and knowing you can still be yourself while you adjust to the type of guest. Some guests, they don’t really interact a lot. They don’t like the talking. So you do what you have to do, and don’t be all up in their faces. Because remember, you’re a worker, they are not your friend; so you maintain that,” she explained.

“I know the line because you have some guests who love to talk up to you and run joke, but some aren’t like that. What are you gonna do? Be all up in their face and then they are an annoyed by you? Next time they come back, they won’t use you,” Peynado Eccleston added.

Tryall Club assigns nannies to new guests who often develop preferences over time and request nannies who have worked well with their families in the past. Like her colleagues, Peynado Eccleston was trained in childcare and has a refresher cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) course every two years. She is careful to ask other nannies for support if a family has a lot of young ones for her to manage.

“Depending on the age group, I don’t like to have more than two kids, because safety of the kids comes first,” she stressed.

Now a mother of three — two daughters, one 17 and one three, as well as a 12-year-old son — she knows exactly what it takes to keep youngsters of all ages engaged. She balances her job of taking care of other people’s children with caring for her own. This means sometimes working on class projects into the wee hours of the morning, and making meals at 4:30 am before leaving for work.

“Trust me, I get it done,” said Peynado Eccleston.

She was quick to point out that her mother provides a lot of support but was equally swift to note that she tries her best not to be a burden to anyone. That fierce streak of independence is only second to her innate curiosity to learn new things, a craving her job satisfies.

“You get to meet people from different countries; you get to learn about their cultures, what they like, their dislikes. It’s just an amazing feeling. If you’re somebody that does not travel, trust me, it means a lot to you. Without even going on a plane, you’ll get to learn new things each day as you go along. So it’s a learning process and exposure,” she explained.

It also helps that her work is appreciated. Senior Kids Club Coordinator D-rrainth Smith described her as an “exemplary worker”. They have worked together for 11 years.

“She has a passion for what she does. When it comes on to the children, her focus is on ensuring that their safety is above all else, it’s also about ensuring that they’re enjoying themselves, ensuring that they are well looked after. I admire her for that,” said Smith.

“We have very good nannies here, and Camara is one of those nannies that stand out. I’m in charge of the department and when I’m not here, she sits in for me and that says a lot. She’s able to run things, deal with the guests professionally and ensure that everything is done in the right way. Tryall is one of the top [resorts] so in terms of the type of customers our brand is a bit different from the regular resort. It’s not easy to fit the shoe of the coordinator here, and Camara fits it well,” she added.

Peynado Eccleston, who was named Nanny of the Year in 2017, was equally complimentary about Smith as well as her immediate boss and Kids Club Supervisor, Nicole Campbell.

“I can’t give this resort any bad name with their management, but you see these two ladies, they look out for me!” she said, her voice heavy with gratitude.

The support, she said, pushes her to be the best nanny she can be.

Nanny Camara Peynado Eccleston during a rare moment of rest inside Tryall’s Kids Club. (Photos: Charmaine N Clarke)

Camara Peynado Eccleston shows some of the toys inside Tryall Kids Club.

Camara Peynado Eccleston putting toys away at Tryall Kids Club.