The story of an eventful return

‘Owen Saving Lives’ –
“one of those days you just wanna cry
 knowing you are doing your best but persons are ungrateful.”

Jamaica Observer column published 18 May 2020

by Jean Lowrie-Chin

Owen (‘Owen saving lives and protecting property’ on Twitter) who is a frontline worker in Jamaica’s Covid-19 response was downhearted as he listened to criticisms from folks in quarantine regarding their meals and check-in arrangements.  In our telephone conversation, he listed the processes that “the Government got right - the facilities, the transportation, the contractors to provide meals.”  However, as a member of the team moving the returnees from the Norman Manley International Airport (NMIA) to St Ann, he admitted, “We civil servants got some things wrong.”

“There should have been persons on the ground providing incident command and logistics,” he said, suggesting that if such services had been organised with the Jamaica Defence Force and the Jamaica Fire Brigade, the arrival of the 192 returning Jamaicans at the Grand Bahia Principe last Wednesday evening would have gone better.

He was clear though, that there was no truth to the allegation that they did not receive a meal. “Every single person on the 12 premium buses received a meal and water,” he said. He shared that a Colonel who is a medical doctor visited every bus, listing passengers’ health issues.

In spite of this, he was appalled at the abusive behaviour of some of the passengers and the litter they left on the buses: “We had garbage bags on every bus, but still some left chicken bones and rice on the floor. One woman even changed her baby and left dirty diapers on the bus seat.”

On arrival at the hotel, the processing of the passengers took too long, he said, and there was only one bathroom available. The parking area was a distance from the hotel, so they had to be using an ambulance to shuttle the passengers, giving priority to those with health issues. He recommended that portable toilets be put in place to prevent a re-occurrence of this.

He noted that if the list of passengers, dietary guidelines and other details could have been emailed ahead of time from the airport to the hotel, the long process could have been minimised.

Owen said his colleagues were astonished at the amount of luggage brought by the passengers who seemed to believe that frontline personnel were also to double as baggage handlers. When the passengers were finally settled in their rooms, Owen said he and fellow team members left food trays at every single door. “We did not leave there until 2am on Thursday morning,” he said, and was back on the job in a few hours. In fact, he had booked a call with me on Thursday but had to reschedule because of several emergencies.

Owen is asking the public to understand that he and other frontline teams are working sometimes close to 48-hour shifts. “This is a learning curve,” he says. “We will make mistakes and we must work to fix them.”

PM Andrew Holness noted the complaints made on several news programmes last week and stated: “The issues encountered are completely unacceptable. I asked Ministers Christopher Tufton and Matthew Samuda to visit the quarantine facility today ….  the Government has already taken some remedial actions and we will do everything we can to completely rectify the situation.” Minister Tufton visited the location and assured that additional personnel would be brought in to serve the persons in quarantine.

Even as the Government moves to make the folks in quarantine more comfortable, they should also look to the conditions of our frontline workers. They need to have regular breaks and PPE changes. Owen shared on social media: “You know when I put on this PPE from 9am I can't take it off until 2am or later the next day and it's hot and sweaty.”

The 100^th recovery

Jamaica Observer reporter Candiece Knight gave an account of the ‘Covid Conversation’ between Health and Wellness Minister Christopher Tufton and ‘Patient D’ who was the 100^th patient in Jamaica to have recovered from Covid-19. ‘Patient D’ was one of five family members who contracted the virus from her daughter, an employee of Portmore call centre; the other four were her daughter’s three children and their father. 

‘Patient D’ is quoted as saying of the facilities, “Up here they feed you good... They feed [you] big people good. They talk to you, like sometimes if you don't have on your mask they tell you to put on your mask. But here is not for babies, because they don't have what to give the babies. They gave them food, yes, but the snacks and so, they didn't get that.”

The household worker is looking forward to going home but is worried about the discrimination that fellow Covid survivors are facing as people may not want to let her into their homes. She ascribed the recovery of her family to drinking lots of water and inhaling steam; consultant physician Dr Samantha Nicholson-Spence agrees that these practices can help.

As Jamaica’s Covid patients recover steadily, with the nine persons who have sadly passed suffering from underlying conditions, there is speculation around our hardiness.  Some ascribe it to our strict immunization regimen, while others to our habitual personal cleanliness. As the curfew hours are lessened and churches and bars reopen, let us not become complacent though.  Keep wearing your mask, stay six feet apart, sanitise constantly and call the Health Ministry Hotline at 888-663-5683 if you develop symptoms such as fever and shortness of breath.

We welcome news that there will be testing of residents of not only government infirmaries but also private nursing homes. The apparent indifference to the aged in some countries where nursing homes account for a high number of Covid deaths is heart-breaking. Just as Jamaica was lauded on international news for our keen handling of the pandemic, let us ensure that this same level of attention is given to our precious elderly.  

Superintendent Maldria Jones-Williams and 

Nordia Phillips of Digicel Foundation joined forces 

with Island Grill to host a post-Mother’s Day Brunch for JCF women officers.

Covid caring

Inspector Natalie Palmer-Mair of the Jamaica Constabulary Force Community Relations Division has been organising islandwide distribution of care packages and last Friday, Emily Shields shared interviews on ‘Hotline’ with some of the recipients, gracious Jamaicans stalwarts. They are deeply appreciative and in turn give their blessings to the Officers and to the people of Jamaica.  Many of them are dealing with health and housing issues but they remain positive. 

While we were enjoying our Mother’s Day treats, women officers of the Jamaica Constabulary Force had to be on duty, and so Sgt Jerr Johnson-Heron at Kingston Central decided that the week would not pass without recognition of these great ladies who are also great mothers. On Friday, they gathered under the leadership of Superintendent Maldria Jones-Williams at their East Queen Street headquarters where they enjoyed a Post-Mother’s Day brunch and gifts provided by Island Grill and the Digicel Foundation.

We salute the many frontline workers who are balancing care for their families with their dedication to their country.

The inspiring patriot, Oliver Clarke

Oliver Clarke who applied to be the first member of CCRP
at a media breakfast held at King's House in 2010
– pictured here at the event with (l-r) JIS head Donna-Marie Rowe and
CCRP Board Directors Ambassador Aloun Assamba
and the late J. Lester Spaulding.

Jamaica Observer column for published 25 May 2020

by Jean Lowrie-Chin

Last year I received a call from Oliver Clarke's assistant, conveying his request that I continue to mentor a bright young graduate whom he had been guiding through her final year at UWI. I had no idea that this busy entrepreneur, leading the multi-billion JN Group and the RJR-Gleaner Group, serving several other prestigious boards, would be making the time to be a mentor.

His mentee Shanakay Dyer explained that he took this very seriously. "At his office, he had framed photographs of his mentees on his walls and he had files on each of us," she shared. She said Oliver Clarke would weave his characteristic sense of humour into his wise counsel.  He invited his mentees to dinner at his home so they would get to know each other.  "He made us feel like family," recalls Shanakay.

In a shining tribute to her father on Facebook, Alexandra Clarke told us she would accompany her Dad to events as a small child, and started working as a summer intern at the Gleaner when she was 13.  Entitlement was not entertained she wrote, as he even 'fired' her one summer. She said her Dad's famous wit enlivened conversations. "His wisdom was second only to his wit," she related. Millennial Alex said her Dad never spoke about his philanthropic efforts; she heard about most of them via "buck-ups". She found out that, as posted by Douglas Halsall, while Oliver was studying in England, "Jamaicans were migrating in droves. Oliver would spend his weekends at railway stations assisting migrants to find their way."

So here is another "buck-up" Alex. At a media launch of CCRP, an advocacy organisation for seniors, your Dad sat across from me at the King's House breakfast. At the end of my announcement, he passed me an envelope. "What is this for?" I asked him. "My membership fee," he answered with a wide grin. Of course, he had no need for the benefits of the organisation, but being a cheerleader for anything positive and constructive, he gave us his treasured vote of confidence to become Member Number One.  In a conversation with him earlier this year, he was delighted to hear that in CCRP's 10th year, we now had over 10,000 members.

When our company won the tender to develop 'Flair' Magazine for the Gleaner back in 1984, then editor Hector Wynter remarked on Oliver's commendation of our proposal, which drove us to the fine tuning of every issue during our three-year contract, so we would not disappoint him.

As we celebrate Jamaica's continued top rating for press freedom, we owe Oliver Clarke a debt for his vigorous support of the Press Association of Jamaica, and his presidency of the Inter-American Press Association and The Commonwealth Press Association. He recognized that press freedom was an important safeguard for our precious democracy. His patriotism shone in his establishment of the Peace and Love in Schools programme (PALS) which was housed at his North Street offices and the many affirmation programmes sponsored by his companies.

Oliver Clarke could spot talent in a millisecond, and gave respect to brilliant executives like Earl Jarrett, Chris Barnes and Dr Dana Morris Dixon. Those of us who knew that Oliver had our backs are feeling a bit hobbled right now. However, he would want us to straighten up, keep flying on a path of excellence, and laugh at the wind. We pray God's comfort for his beloved wife Monica, daughter Alex, family and close friends. Rest in peace, unforgettable Oliver Clarke.  

Reflections on "a future economy"

Economist and retired UWI lecturer Dr Michael Witter opened the "Covid-19 Conversation on a future economy for Jamaica (and the Caribbean)" held last Friday. "We must think first of building a resilient economy and then focus on growth as an aspect of resilience," he stated. "Our growth pattern before and since Independence has not had resilience as a central feature… this has always led to increased inequality."

It is not difficult for us to understand his position, as we watch stories of families in squalor, toughing out this crisis. We have been encouraging people to eat Jamaican; that is very well and good for those of us who are not crowded into a ten-family tenement yard. When people are sleeping four to a room, where do they store all the lovely fruits and vegetables we are telling them to eat? Some people have to buy bread by the slice and toothpaste by the 'squeeze' as they are literally living hand to mouth. As to the reminders to wash our hands regularly, how do they do this without running water?

We must move people out of tenement yards and rotting buildings into homes with basic amenities. If we do not make that a priority, we will never be able to quell their desperation which has spawned the 389 gangs which National Security Minister Horace Chang announced last week.

Feminist economist Dr Mariama Williams of the South Centre organisation, reflected that "we are on a global pause, a pause for nature … a chance to reset and rethink." She wants us to think of tourism in a different way, observing that the existing tools "cannot carry us very far." She urges us to "put the most vulnerable in society as the pinnacle."  

At an AMCHAM webinar Jamaicans were told that there are increased opportunities to export our agricultural produce to the US as there is a supply chain disruption between the US and Mexico, so Michael Lee-Chin's 3,000-acre farm on the former Innswood Estate is timely. We hope the Ministry of Agriculture will network our smaller farmers so that they too can benefit from this development.

Cruise ship arrival

The huge 'Adventures of the Sea' cruise ship is docked at the Falmouth pier last Tuesday and we congratulate the organisers who are processing the over 1,000 Jamaican crew members as we understand that they will be able to disembark ahead of schedule.  We are happy for our fellow Jamaicans, as we all know the joy of returning to our country, even after a short trip.

So far, five of the crew members have tested positive for Covid-19 and so we can understand the Government's challenge to ensure we have the health facilities to treat the expected cases among the other thousands who are awaiting permission to return. The Jamaica Observer posted a video tour of a luxurious hotel room taken by one of the satisfied persons in quarantine. Jamaica's response to this crisis has been better that that of some developed countries and so we give thanks for the efforts of the various Ministries and our dedicated public servants.

Labour at home

Today is a vastly different Labour Day. Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon. Olivia Grange, is inviting us to "labour at home" - "clean up and fixup" our homes and to check for safety issues in preparation for the hurricane season. Meanwhile, my colleagues at the Digicel Foundation will be supporting the sanitizing of downtown markets and Ocean Boulevard, a KSAMC project led by Mayor Senator Delroy Williams.

Saving jobs while saving lives

Jamaica Observer column published 11 May 2020

by Jean Lowrie-Chin

After seven weeks working remotely, our office will begin its gradual re-opening today. After 41 years in business, we have experienced Gilbert, Ivan, roads closed from gas strikes, and Chik-V keeping us on skeleton staff for weeks. However, never have we experienced anything like this: the word ‘unprecedented’ is being used in reports from every corner of the world. Unemployment figures have reached pre-World War II lows in the US and lines at food banks are getting longer. One California woman said she could hardly believe she was in line at a place for which she used to be a regular donor.

As some teeter on the brink of poverty, private sector organisations are recommending a phased opening with adjusted curfew hours of 9 pm to 5 am. “This measure will allow for more economic activity and workforce productivity, particularly our micro, small and medium enterprises; our most vulnerable, that represents over 70 per cent of the economy,” they said in a release quoted in the Jamaica Observer.

To save lives and to save jobs is the delicate balance faced by countries all over the world. Despite the criticisms, I believe Jamaica’s public and private sectors have been doing a commendable job, providing protection and relief. We see postings of long hours on social media from our front line workers, and applaud them for their sacrifices. JCF members have been juggling security and social outreach. PSOJ President Keith Duncan said his organisation has so far raised $120M and that the thousands of care packages being coordinated with AFJ, United Way, CVSS, and Food for the Poor are being distributed by the JCF and JDF.

However, these care packages will not last long, so we must look to sustainable solutions.  Jamaicans take personal hygiene seriously so if businesses can supply sanitizers, masks, handwashing facilities, and arrangements to ensure social distancing, we should make our move. 

Job losses may happen, but other fields are opening up, so some may have to exit our comfort zones to study for jobs of the future. It will be an interesting mix: public health, plumbing, electrical engineering and of course technology. With our population ageing at a rapid rate, well-trained practical nurses will be in demand. Dressmakers and shoe-repair establishments will become more popular as we will have to spend less and conserve what we have.

We may have to find new ways of doing business. Greg Christie, soon to be head of Jamaica’s Integrity Commission, shared a report from The Guardian on citizens in Fiji and other South Pacific Islands who are using Facebook to promote bartering: “Two piglets for a pre-loved kayak, a taxi fare in exchange for fresh produce, hot cross buns for online tutoring, an old carpet for a professional photography session, vegetable seedlings for homemade pies, and offers to have backyards cleaned for prayers.”

This should be a refreshing story for businessman Andrew Pairman who has been an active advocate of bartering. Now we must look with Covid-opened eyes at some of the opportunities that can make life more bearable for each other.

Covid notes

State Minister for Education, Youth and Information Alando Terrelonge is concerned at the rising number of young people who have tested positive for Covid-19.  “I don’t believe some young people are taking this situation as seriously as they should,” he worries. He has started an online campaign with the theme “Be a good soldier – in the war against coronavirus” with ‘Rondell Positive’.

We also saw a video of a JUTC bus packed and with passengers standing, speeding through the streets of Kingston, apparently trying to beat curfew.  Perhaps this supports the PSOJ call to have later curfew hours.  

This pandemic is uncovering some serious gaps in our society. A plaintive voice-note from a parent to her daughter’s teacher explained that she, the parent, could not read and needed the teacher to ensure that her child was on track with her studies. This calls for more partnerships to promote literacy for parents.

This crime virus

Gunmen continue to add grief to our already testing times. In one week, they have snuffed out the lives of four children, an eight-year-old and three teenagers. We Jamaicans must get on board to mentor, counsel, support our young men and boys so they do not become easy prey for gangs. This is an important role we can play in chipping away at their power.

Mary Seacole remembered

Hilary Nicholson shared that a new temporary community hospital in Surrey for post-Covid patients will be named after the great Mary Seacole, British-Jamaican nursing pioneer. The report from a nursing services website reads, “The new unit based at Headley Court Hospital in Leatherhead is expected to be the first of a wave of new "Seacole services" [for] … patient rehabilitation.” The naming follows a campaign led by NHS diversity lead nurse Yvonne Coghill – great going!

A week of farewells

We bade farewell to friends and Jamaican greats this week. Retired Observer Photo Editor Michael Gordon left us suddenly, and we remember the friendly chats, the quiet nods of the professional on assignment and the beautiful day in 2016 when he received his National Honour for his body of excellent work. He was predeceased by his lovely wife Angela last year; our prayers go out to their grieving family and friends.

In the mid-sixties Millie Small took Jamaican music to new heights with her hit ‘My Boy Lollipop’, produced by Chris Blackwell and arranged by Ernie Ranglin. What a song, coming third on the Billboard charts only to the Beatles and the Rolling Stones! Millie Small went on to have a quiet life with her family in the UK and passed away from a stroke at 73 years. Thank you for the joy of your music, Millie Small!

Composer, lecturer, soldier and patriot Major Joe Williams masterfully led the Jamaica Military Band for over forty years. The Kingston Technical High School graduate was a top student at the Royal Military School of Music (Kneller Hall) and later at the University Extension Conservatory, Chicago, USA and the City Literary Institute, London. The much-decorated Major served as Chair of the JCDC Festival Song Competition and the National Music Committee. He was an avid sportsman and a founder of the Jamaica Copyright Licensing Agency. Our sympathy to his beloved family and colleagues.

Of the passing of Renaissance man Professor Emeritus Frederick Hickling, his daughter Hilary wrote, “Our family bid him farewell with our prayers and to the music of Miles Davis, Third World, Buju Banton, Harold Butler, Morgan’s Heritage, Bob Marley and Peter Tosh. He lived with courage and love”. Prof Hickling served as head of the University of the West Indies (Mona) Psychiatry Department and was also the executive director of the Caribbean Institute of Mental Health. He called on the authorities to address the serious threat of crime and indiscipline to the mental health of his fellow Jamaicans. He was a caring, brilliant and approachable humanitarian. Our sympathy to his loving family.

“Today for you, tomorrow for me”

Dedicated Medical Technicians
Andrea Orelue and Kavin Stewart 

Jamaica Observer column published 27 April 2020

by Jean Lowrie-Chin

We should remember the words of Health Minister Dr Chris Tufton in response to reports of discrimination against persons diagnosed with the Covid-19 virus: “Those who discriminate are assuming that they will not have the virus ... today for you, tomorrow for me … you are discriminating against yourself as none of us are immune! Please cut the hate and let us work together as a community.”

Moreover, we have heard reports of nurses being denied public transportation and hearing hurtful remarks.  Despite the sacrifices and long hours, we are subjecting them to this ignorant behaviour. Nurses Association of Jamaica (NAJ) President Carmen Johnson is well aware of the pressure her members face and has reminded them that they should try to get breaks in the day and to seek counselling if they become too anxious. Our friend Andrea Orelue who is a medical technician, says she and her colleagues are having longer hours at the Government Labs.

We can lessen the challenges for health workers by following the Government guidelines regarding frequent handwashing, not touching our faces, social distancing and the wearing of masks.  If these workers are under such pressure now, how will they manage if the numbers keep increasing? We were surprised to see so few persons wearing masks when we drove through Kingston last week. Remember, if you do not have a mask, you can fold a scarf or a large handkerchief, ensuring that it covers your nose, mouth and chin.

We must work at “flattening the curve” if we do not want to become a sad statistic. Last year this time, we would have been horrified if we heard of a plane crash with deaths in two figures. Now we are punch-drunk as the daily global figures climb; at the time of writing this column Covid-19 has claimed the lives of 196,383 persons of the 2,813,518 cases worldwide. 

Our Journey of Miracles

Presented by Jean Lowrie-Chin

at Stella Maris Men’s Fellowship Annual Couples Breakfast

Saturday 28 June 2014

______________________________________________________

Sisters and Brothers in Christ:

What a privilege it is to address this inspiring gathering!  I believe that Stella Maris has the most balanced ratio of men and women among our Catholic congregations – it is of course because you have consciously kept the fellowship going through events such as these, and through your mega-fundraising Family Day which is a model for fund and fun … raising.

We are here today by God’s mercy and I am blessed to speak about this Journey of Miracles on which we are all pilgrims.

Physician and author Deepak Chopra tells us that “the human body consists of approximately one hundred trillion cells, about one thousand cells for every bright star in the Milky Way.”

He explains that, “all of the cells of your body start from just one cell. That one cell replicates and replicates, and somewhere along the line the cells differentiate.… Scientists still have no idea how that one cell ends up dividing into so many different kinds of cells, which then are able to organize themselves into a stomach, a brain, skin, teeth, and all the other highly specialized parts of the body.”

“In order to wiggle my toes,” he says, “first I have the thought that I'd like to do so. The thought activates my brain cortex, which then sends a nerve impulse down through the spinal cord into my legs and moves my toes. That in itself is miraculous. Where did the thought come from? Before the thought, there was no energy, but as soon as I had the thought and the intention to wiggle my toes, it created a controlled electromagnetic storm in my brain, which transferred down the nerve, and caused it to discharge a certain chemical. Then my toes wiggled. That's a very linear, mechanical, and local phenomenon - except for that very first part, the thought that started it all. … But no one can show through experiment where the thought came from. The thought cannot be seen, but without it, we would be paralyzed. No thought, no toe-wiggling. Somehow your awareness becomes information and energy. Where does that happen?

The answer is that the thought originates in the virtual domain. …”

Chopra describes this as a miracle … “The miracle of the human body”, which is the title of his world famous bestseller.

And so King David says of the creation of the human in Psalm 139:14

^“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.”

From our very beginning, we are living, breathing miracles – made in God’s image to be his Ambassadors – there is no higher calling – no knighthood, no OJ can equal this. Our path is lit by God’s blessings.  Many times we do not discern these blessings because - you see … your timing is not God’s timing … and God’s timing is always perfect.

Our children - Anita and Noel

Let me share two episodes in my life.  After four years of marriage, I yearned for a baby – I suffered from this pesky condition called endometriosis – there was quite a bit of media around it earlier this year.  I suggested to Hubie that we adopt, but his reaction was very negative.  In the 11^th year, I made the bold step of going to the Adoption Board to register without Hubie’s knowledge.  It was towards the end of November 1984 and I said to the lady in charge that I wanted a baby by Christmas.  She threw back her head and laughed loudly – “No my dear,” she said, “This could take years!” 

Well the very next day I heard via an intern friend that there was a two-week-old baby at the Newborn Special Care Unit at UWI and I went up to see her with a friend – she was very tiny and looked at me unsmilingly as I fussed over her. 

At dinnertime I carefully said to Hubie: “I found a baby”.  He looked at me incredulously and reminded me that he had no interest in adopting. I begged him just to go with me to see her - if he still felt the same way, I would respect his wishes.

The next morning as we drove to UWI, Hubie grumbled all the way – “I don’t know why I am even going,” he said.  Recalling how serious and tiny the baby was, I admitted to him, “She’s really not much to look at” … and added “but we’re all she has.” 

We donned caps and gowns and entered the unit.  The nurse went for the six-pound bundle, and to my surprise put the baby in Hubie’s arms.  That little tyke who was so serious with me, looked into Hubie’s face, and gave him the most amazing smile! 

“But this baby is beautiful!” exclaimed Hubie and then he looked at me and said: “This is our daughter.”  Yes my Stella Maris family, I had witnessed that phenomenon called “Love at first sight.”

The following weeks while we waited for permission to take her home, there was only one father virtually patrolling the ward each night, lulling his baby to sleep on his shoulder – that father was Hubie.

Three years later we decided to adopt a second child and got a call from a social worker friend about a four-week baby boy. He was at the Primrose Children’s Home, a horrible place that was condemned a couple of years later – we couldn’t wait to get him home. 

However we got a worried phone call from the doctor who had done his check-up … the fontanelle - that soft part at the top of the skull – was still quite wide.  She was worried that he would develop hydrocephalus, and suggested that we get him tested before we made our decision.

On our way to Mass the Sunday after, we decided we would ask God to make our decision for us.  What a morning that was! The first hymn – the very first hymn was ‘Come down Lord’.  You know the words:

“Come down Lord my son is ill

Wracked with fever the livelong day

He is life to me if you will

Drive death away, drive death away.”

As we sang, we looked at each other significantly!

Then came the Gospel … it was an account of the Baptism of Jesus! As we heard the words: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased,” Hubie and I looked at each other and started laughing. God had spoken directly to us! The folks sitting near us wondered what in the Gospel could we have found so funny.

The next morning we called the doctor and told her of our decision: this was indeed our beloved son – we would get him tested just to determine if he needed medical attention.  We drove to Dr Freddy Clarke’s office on Ripon Road. As I cradled Noel, Dr Clarke carefully moved his ultrasound device over his head, looking thoughtfully at the screen.  We were frozen with tension.  Then Dr Clarke looked at us and said, “Not a thing is wrong with the boy! Healthy Boy!”  I held Noel so tightly that the Doctor said “Watch it now! Don’t squeeze him to death!”

Today Anita and Noel have completed higher education and are hard workers in our businesses. They have given us so much joy and deeper reasons for living – we cannot imagine life without them … here are two lines from a poem I wrote:

“So yes, I bless those nameless ladies

Through whom the good Lord sent my babies.”

I am sure you all have beautiful stories of God’s miraculous Grace in your lives – God does not breathe life into us and leave us on our own – but in our frail humanity, we sometimes become so distracted that we separate ourselves from God’s love.

No wonder that the celebration of Mass begins with the “Lord have mercy”.  As we sit in our pews, it is like the devil himself starts his wily game of distraction.  Our minds wander off to things past and future, to the fashions around us and Father’s rather ragged sandals. We sometimes do not focus on the fact that there in front of us is the unfolding of God’s divine miracle – The Eucharist! 

When I taught first Communion class, I asked the children why they thought the Altar Server rang the bell when Father lifted up the host – one little boy said, “To wake us up!” Well, he probably got that right!

An amazing miracle concerning the Holy Eucharist took place in the town of Lanciano in Italy in the 8^th century. A Monk who doubted the authenticity of the Sacrament saw the host transform into flesh, and the wine to blood.  There is modern scientific evidence that the flesh and blood are human and that the blood type matches that on the Shroud of Turin that was used to wrap Christ’s body after his crucifixion.  To this day, pilgrims visit the town to venerate these Holy Relics.  Please Google and read the wonderful accounts of both the Eucharistic Miracle at Lanciano and the Shroud of Turin.

The Eucharist has been very special to Hubie and me.  We met in church, but we drifted away from regular worship during those rocky early years of our marriage.  With the arrival of our children, we resolved to make worship and prayer an important part of our lives.  That Kiss of Peace can be a healer – how many of us arrive at Mass a bit vexed with each other, and then cool off at that moment at Mass?

One of the most moving miracles concerning our Lord and Saviour was related to me by a devout Hindu living right here in Jamaica.  He was the late Professor Ajai Mansingh, father of popular orthopaedic surgeon Dr Akshai Mansingh. Prof Mansingh said he had met Rev Ashley Smith a few weeks before the incident – at that time, they broached the possibility of forming of a Multi-Faith Prayer Group.  |

One day, Prof Mansingh was sitting on his verandah at College  Common, assisting two of his UWI students with their assignment, when, he related: "Suddenly I saw a golden aura that I identified as Jesus Christ, and I went towards Him to receive Him."

Professor Mansingh said he felt blessed with cosmic bliss. His students saw him faint and stop breathing – when he came around, they were holding him and crying because they thought that he had died. He said it was an unimaginable experience – in his words: "I could see nothing but unity in the world … One Source, one unity, pure divine bliss, not man-made".

He went immediately to his phone to call Rev Ashley Smith.  Rev Smith told him that only minutes before he had felt a deep urge to visit Prof Mansingh, and was just heading to his car to visit! It was immediately after that experience that he got together with Rev. Smith, and started the Interfaith Group, which is now convened by Dr Martin Schade, a former Jesuit priest who lectures at UTECH.

The last story I will relate is from an article in the most recent St George’s College Toronto chapter magazine. STGC graduate Dr Herbert Ho Ping Kong, who has been celebrated as one of the most talented diagnosticians in Canada was asked “Do you believe in miracles?”

“Yes, I do, but I think they are rare,” he answered. “I had this patient, probably 70-75, he had a number of chronic conditions, he was dying, we couldn’t do too much for him, he had pneumonia. I had the family come in, everyone was tearful, saying, ‘Doctor, what can we do?’

I said, “You can pray for him.” I just did this (clasped my hands in prayer) for about two minutes. Anyway, he must have seen this, he got up and went home the same night. He had had a stroke before, chronic lung disease. This was the closest I had come to what was unexpected. I’m not sure I would call it a miracle. But having a disease that cures itself, we know this happens. Sure, we don’t control everything. Occasionally, people who have cancer, get better, without us doing anything.”

The great Dr HPK is himself a miracle – so probably they are not as rare as he thinks.  His razor-sharp analytical mind is a miracle of logic and recall – those thoughts have only one origin as Chopra reminds us – they are from God.

And so, when we saw that goal last Sunday from Lionel Messi – swift with just the right amount of curl to dodge the keeper before finding the net, we may as well be shouting “miracle!” instead of “goal!”

As we watch with fascination unexpected flashes of brilliance from young players, the huge stadiums which the media told us may not have met deadline, we get a glimpse of the miraculous workings of the human family.  The planners, builders, coaches and players are the co-creators with God, of this ‘greatest show on earth’.

To be God’s co-creator, this miracle partner, we are called to hold and sustain an unshakeable faith in the goodness of this God that we worship, as difficult as it may be for our frail, human circumstances. 

This faith requires constant prayer – God is everywhere so we can pray anywhere!

Some of us may be familiar with Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s ‘Rime of the Ancient Mariner’.  It is really an allegory of the soul’s journey, though the storms of life. At sea, he kills a blessed albatross which is hung around his neck.  The dead bird is his guilt that prevents him from seeing the beauty of God’s works around him:

“For the sky and the sea, and the sea and the sky

Lay dead like a load on my weary eye,

And the dead were at my feet.”

After days of anguish, he emerges from the depths to see finally, beauty around him:

“O happy living things! no tongue

Their beauty might declare:

A spring of love gushed from my heart,

And I blessed them unaware:

Sure my kind saint took pity on me,

And I blessed them unaware.

The self-same moment I could pray;

And from my neck so free

The Albatross fell off, and sank

Like lead into the sea.”

That spring of Love that gushed from his heart was of course God in our maker’s purest form: the form of LOVE. No equation, no formula can explain how God equals LOVE but we know that “those who abide in love, abide in God and God in them”. 

There is now scientific proof that the more we hug our loved ones, the healthier we are.  The arms of loving husbands and wives are the arms of God encircling, healing, lifting. What a perspective for a happy, holy marriage – those hugs, that laughter, that sharing are God’s miraculous provision for us.

    As we seek out God’s miracles, we find them readily in the smiles and hugs of children and grandchildren, in friends who make us laugh and in trees that burst into blossoms to gladden our eyes and fruit to nourish our bodies.

    It is said that it is not happiness that makes us thankful, but thankfulness that makes us happy.  Let us give thanks for this journey of miracles with God as our guide.  Sisters and Brothers, embrace your husbands and wives - they are God’s love actualized to hold your hands on this miraculous journey called life.

    Thank you to the Men’s Fellowship for honouring me with their invitation to share with you my Stella Maris family.  Let us keep each other in love and prayer on this, our journey of miracles. May God bless you all!

28 June 2014

Staying human despite Covid

by Jean Lowrie-Chin

Jamaica Observer column published 4 May 2020

Jayson-Lee Lyon-Dennis

Young Jayson-Lee Lyon-Dennis was heading home two Saturdays ago when he saw an elderly woman wandering on the road. We will call her Ms G. He stopped to see if he could help her and she pointed to a house where she said she lived. It turned out that Ms G was “cotching” on a porch, having been turned out some time before from a place she had rented. It seemed to this Good Samaritan that she was suffering from dementia and was malnourished. He knew the kind Dr Haughton from his neighbourhood and asked her if she would give Ms G a check-up. The Doctor said she had bi-lateral pneumonia.

I know this because Jayson-Lee had linked me and several others on Twitter, asking how this lady could be helped, and sent me updates via direct message (DMs). He was in touch also with a connection to see if he could get her into an infirmary.

Jayson-Lee shared photos privately so I could see how emaciated she looked and her pitiful surroundings. I tried the various emergency numbers and finally got connected to KPH, but they had no ambulance. Jayson gave me a number for Ms G’s son and wished me luck when I said I would call. The man was rude, saying he ‘nuh business’ and eventually hung up on me.

As we worked our contacts, 35-year-old Jayson took meals for this stranger over the weekend, and even got a friend to take her lunch when he was at work. I reached out to the dedicated Cassandra Morrison, head of the National Council for Senior Citizens and she was able to organise an ambulance to take Ms G to KPH. Jayson-Lee kept in touch with Dr Haughton so she could be on hand to accompany Ms G in the ambulance and check her in at the hospital. KPH Senior Medical Officer Dr Natalie Whylie could sense our concern and assured us that they would take care of her. NCSC has been in touch with the KPH Social Worker and we are keeping our fingers crossed that Ms G will be admitted in a Government infirmary.

They say that God sends his angels in the most trying of times. Well, despite the uncaring attitude of Ms G’s son, there was a Good Samaritan who rescued a sick, disoriented octogenarian and stewarded her over several days, to safety.  Bless you Jayson-Lee Lyon-Dennis!

Disrespecting the Elderly

We hope that Jayson’s compassion will inspire others. There have been cold-hearted comments about the vulnerable elderly in this time of Covid. I understand that recently a caller to Emily Shields on Hotline suggested that the elderly folks are dispensable. Thank goodness, Emily who is a great advocate for older folks, put the caller solidly in their place.  Then came more heartless posts on Friday when news broke on the 63-year-old woman who became Jamaica’s 8^th Covid fatality.

Journalist Damion Mitchell hit back at them: ‘"Old people" are humans too! Please, let's remember that someone calls them mom or dad and they call someone mom or dad. My gosh! When did this happen?’, and continued, ‘There have been increasingly inconsiderate, crass and unkind comments about their vulnerability in this COVID time as though their vulnerability cancels their value.”

Damion told me about his inspiring mentor whom he calls “Auntie”, Miss Daisy Morgan – she is 104 years old and he speaks glowingly of his visits with her in Manchester. Last Sunday I had a long conversation with my late Mom’s best friend, Mrs Josephine Lowe who was celebrating her 103^rd birthday. She is a fountain of love and wisdom and my brother says if he ever misses listening to a cricket match, he must call her because she always knows the score!

Emma Lewis shared a HuffPost piece by 90-year-old artist Varda Yoran who wrote, “I’m not disposable, and I’m saddened that there are people who think age dictates whether a human life is worth saving.”

Townhall on the vulnerable

Emily Shields hosted an enlightening Townhall on the topic “Covid 19 and the Vulnerable” last Thursday on TVJ.  We are encouraged by Government’s focus on these members of our community, with “Rona Hotlines”: for St Catherine, the helpline number is 876-907-4056; the Ministry’s contact numbers in this regard are 876-618-8218, 876-879-8948, 876-879-8950.

Minister of Labour and Social Services Shahine Robinson has been ever in the corner of our seniors. Permanent Secretary Colette Roberts Risden said they had been in dialogue with the Ministry of Finance and the Jamaica Bankers Association towards the introduction of a ‘social bank account’ for seniors who are hard put to find the required minimum deposits and banking fees.

Professor Denise Eldemire Shearer reminded us that there are 320,000 Jamaicans over 60 with the fastest growing cohort being the ones over 80. She says most of these folks are independent and healthy. Many Jamaicans have been raised by vigorous grandparents, so it is a mystery that the elderly is being disrespected.

Immunologist Dr Yohan White shared that there were 32,000 Jamaicans who were HIV positive and that it was important for them to protect their health during this pandemic, by taking their daily medication.

Rosalie Gage Grey, CEO of the Child & Protection Family Services Agency said staff members at children’s homes were caring for a total of 5,000 charges, ensuring good hygiene and nutrition. She and Mrs Roberts Risden both thanked private sector donors for generous donations.  

Grieving for Jodian

My son comes to visit and he reaches out to hug me, but I am afraid of this virus, so I step back and blow him a kiss; he puts his hand on his heart, bows and chuckles good-naturedly as he knows how much I love his hugs.

Tragically, the bright, beautiful 23-year-old Jodian Fearon will never receive a hug from her child. A horrific sequence of events triggered by fear of Covid, has deprived her baby daughter of a mother who, from the comments and videos we have seen, would have brought special joie-de-vivre to her life.

 I had mentioned is last week’s column that three hospitals would not accept Jodian, but in fact Andrews Memorial Hospital (AMH) had checked her in and had agreed that Jodian’s surgery could proceed. However, her Doctor stated on air that the planned anaesthetist was not willing to participate as Jodian had Covid-like symptoms. He related that after Jodian had been placed in an ambulance for transfer to the Spanish Town Hospital, another anaesthesist had offered to assist at AMH, but he decided to proceed to Spanish Town as arrangements had been made.

Now we are in this “if only” phase and the brickbats are flying about. The very personal information disclosed in media interviews are inappropriate, and I hope that there will be justice for Jodian and her family, without any further public exposition of the distressing details.

lowriechin@aim.com