Dear Editor,

Recently, the inspiring story of Delano Tucker from Springfield district in St Catherine rose to national prominence through a viral video. The gripping feature detailed how he succeeded in the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations amidst abject poverty. Many Jamaicans locally and in the Diaspora rushed to assist the Tucker family, but this has swiftly snowballed into a circus.

There have been reports of fraudulent initiatives, but there is a potentially more damaging trend as people purporting to assist the family have become quite invasive and disrespectful.

Tucker attends the Guy’s Hill High School, which was featured in the video. What I saw and heard was a passionate and caring agricultural science teacher and the story of a supportive institution that helped Tucker to navigate school during the novel coronavirus pandemic, which demanded the use of technology. He got a distinction in agricultural science and I am heartened that he has received the biggest gift, which is a scholarship to the College of Agriculture, Science and Education (CASE).

It is rather unfortunate that the vultures on social media have moved to discredit and disrespect the school’s administration for seeking to further assist this young man.

I am also amazed that people believe they can tell the Government to stay out of a welfare matter by berating the Member of Parliament for intervening with the promise of a better house for the family.

While the outpouring of donations are great, somewhere along the line, people seem to have forgotten their manners when visiting the Tuckers’ home. It would be good if they turned off the cameras. Although this family is poor, its members must be treated with dignity.

YouTube is now awash with negative videos about the Tucker family and it is painful to watch.

The worst part is the disparaging headlines and remarks about Tucker’s mother because she has publicly noted that she would rather receive donations directly and her family’s welfare be handled by the Government. And, for some strange reason, this is upsetting to people. I want to offer a gentle reminder that this is still her home and she makes the decisions there.

The latest is that Tucker has had to come forward to defend his mother. My advice to him is to step back and allow his parents to handle this matter. He is on a path and ought not be derailed due to negative distractions or character assassination. I hope the excitement will end in Springfield and that the Tuckers may have some privacy.

There was a time when people genuinely helped their neighbours without cameras or quarrels for recognition.

This new dispensation is not a good look and it should stop. There should be some streamlining of this intervention in the coming days and weeks to put an end to the circus now showing at the Springfield district.

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the producer of the feature, Leevan Rainford of Street Driven TV. He presented this family in a dignified manner with a positive spin on their story, and we can all learn from that.

Suzette Campbell

iamsuzettecampbell.com/