A 58-year-old man aims to further his studies at the HEART Trust/ National Training Agency (NTA) in welding and carpentry after sitting their entrance test on Friday.
Raphael Young graduated from the Majesty Gardens Community Development Programme in Kingston last week, where he did the Jamaica Foundation for Lifelong Learning’s (JFLL) High School Diploma Equivalency Programme, at the basic level (grades 1-6).
“I was the oldest one in the class and, of course, a lot of the young people dem tease mi but mi always seh to dem that ‘Di older the moon, di brighter it shine’,” he informed The Gleaner with a chuckle.
He also took home the award for best attendance and most improved student. “Last week when I was collecting the awards, I felt so proud especially when the prime minister hug mi,” he said.
The Majesty Gardens resident shared that as far as he can remember, he always wanted to be a music producer but could hardly read so he quit.
“I missed out a lot in my young days because I didn’t grow with a mother or a father. When I was six months old, a lady adopted me but it was never easy. She used to drink a lot of rum, and so she was always drunk. The result of that, was, I had to go out and do a little hustling so dat likkle food could go on the table. The most I would go to school, is two days,” he recalled.
“The only time you stop learning is when you die. I was determined to do well. Whenever I get work in class, I don’t put it down, when I go home mi try to go over what mi learn and most importantly, I never missed a class. I was always early,” said Young. Read more
