It was Claire Luce Boothe who wrote, “Courage is the virtue on which all others climb.” As we consider some of the most venerated heroes of the ages, we see that they all had their courage tested but stood up for their cause, such as our own Nanny, Marcus Garvey, Sam Sharpe, Paul Bogle, and George William Gordon.

Now we have unsung heroes whose courage remind us of our capacity to do more and do better. We saw an update from
TVJ News on Jaceine Greenfield, who lost both hands in a cruel incident of domestic violence in 2017. The mother of two has bravely started animal farming, and is now on her fourth set of chickens. Her children’s school had been buying from her, but now that school is out, business is slow. She spoke calmly and without bitterness, with hope for land offered by her landlord to accommodate a more comfortable home.

We understand that Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness has given assistance for her to be fitted with prosthetic hands. If she has been able to do so much with just the stumps of her forearms, can you imagine what she will accomplish with those new hands?

Last Friday we went to the Christmas in July event at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel and saw the fine handiwork of Jamaican manufacturers and craft workers. They brought to mind National Baking Chair Butch Hendrickson’s Bold Ones of Manufacturing, as we saw the excellence of the handmade bags, jewellery, woodwork, clothing, and condiments. These folks do not complain about the darkness, but light the candle of purpose and talent to support their families and communities.

We hope the earlier turnout for the show was better than we saw; most of the creatives we met have
Instagram pages, so please check them out and support them when you are shopping and gifting.

Remembering Dr Irons

Dirty Hands Designs stitch-and-paint items on display at Christmas in July

The photos of the witty, smiling Dr Aggrey Irons in his funeral programme remind us that we can live a full, generous, and joyful life. Here was a celebrated psychiatrist who also played in a band, mentored our athletes and entertainers, trained medical personnel, could never say no to an appeal for witty emceeing, and with his beloved Jackie, raised a wonderful family.

Jackie said when he oversaw Bellevue Hospital they would be leaving an event at 11:00 pm and he would say, “Let me just pass by Bellevue to check on them.” Jackie would respond that the hospital was actually in the opposite direction of their home. She said that he still made these midnight stops regularly, so devoted he was to his patients and staff.

His sons, Franz and Marcus, described his incredible time management which allowed him to give his family, friends, and colleagues the full measure of his care and attention. One of the most moving testimonies of Irons’ empathy came from singer Nadine Sutherland in a social media post: “So let me add my Aggrey Irons story to the collective outpouring of goodness about this man. I was at the heights of my career when everything tumbled down. I was hurt, befuddled, and felt betrayed by my own Jamaican people…I felt I was being washed away by a tsunami and was losing control. I took myself to Aggrey’s couch. It is on reflection I realized how good he was to me…He probably saw that I needed to be supported. He asked to see me every other day, maybe to ensure that I wouldn’t harm myself. He took no pay…His big, compassionate heart will never be forgotten.”

Irons’ patriotism was strong. He described Jamaica as the best country in the world. It was noted that he experienced racism while simply walking in a park in the US. As we hear of racist incidents during this World Cup campaign, we are once again reminded how fortunate we are to live in this country, and to have the inspiration of people like Dr Irons to bolster our purpose and passion.

Deaf education

We met on Friday with American Patti Stoudt and Jamaican American Dr Carolyn Brown who were in Jamaica for the training of teachers at the Caribbean Christian Centre for the Deaf (CCCD) at Cassia Park Road in Kingston.

Stoudt is an experienced teacher trainer for the deaf, and Brown is an expert in special needs education. They described the enthusiasm of the teachers who are now able to guide students who are not only deaf, but also have behavioural challenges. They did not fail to acknowledge divine guidance in overcoming planning challenges.

Dr Aggrey Irons

Stoudt, a board director of CCCD, is unrelenting in her efforts to help the deaf realise their full potential. She spoke of a deaf lady she met in Montego Bay who assisted at a restaurant. She said she saw from her enthusiasm that she could go further. Stoudt took her into her home in Pennsylvania, where she stayed for five years while she studied and eventually graduated as a qualified teacher. She is now working at a school for the deaf in the US. We shared many other stories of deaf achievers.

SOS gives thanks

SOS Children’s Villages Jamaica held a Community Connect evening at AC Hotel Kingston earlier this month to give a post-hurricane update. National Director Marjorie Elliott, Board Chair Sharon Lake, and Fund Development and Communication Advisor Sean Patrick traced the year’s recovery work in Barrett Town, Montego Bay.

A single image of a child playing on the monkey bars the day after the storm, amid the wreckage, brought a hush from the audience.

Marubeni’s generous contribution towards the recovery was recognised to warm applause, a reminder that our corporate community continues to show up for Jamaica’s most vulnerable well beyond the news cycle.

The evening also featured a screening of
Sisters and the Storm, Ina Sotirova’s UNICEF-commissioned documentary on the particular toll the hurricane took on girls. Congratulations to Chair Lake, former Chair Marjory Kennedy, and donors who were able to move the children from Barnett Town to SOS Stony Hill in an almost seamless exercise. We have a lot to learn from them.

Jamaica’s national heroes (from left) Alexander Bustamante, Norman Manley, Paul Bogle, George William Gordon, Marcus Garvey, Sam Sharpe, and Nanny of the Maroons

SDC promotes youth entrepreneurship

Congratulations to high school students who participated in the Hanover pilot phase of the Social Development Commission’s (SDC) Youth Entrepreneurship Programme in partnership with Infiniti Co-operative Credit Union Jamaica Limited. They generated more than $850,000 in sales. Top performers — Rusea’s High School’s grade-nine students Kathaleya Dixon and Racene Small — received special awards at a ceremony hosted by S Hotel in Montego Bay.

SDC Executive Director Omar Frith noted, “We now move beyond the west as we work towards expanding the initiative to a parish in central Jamaica, then onward to the east, with the ultimate goal of reaching all parishes across Jamaica.” Well done!

Jean Lowrie-Chin is an author and executive chair of PROComm, PRODEV, and CCRP. Send comments to lowriechin@aim.com.