Dont know him but his story speaks to me. Well done Royalian. Big up Hinkson! His battle with poverty continued when his mother had another child and his elder brothers became ineligible for social welfare. Not wanting to become a statistic, Solomon determined in his heart he would make it. He began collecting beer bottles in the community, which he sold at 25 cents a case to vendors. After school he worked at Kay Donna Drive In cinema in Curepe as a parking attendant. He also worked as a bartender whenever special events were held there. He got home after 10 pm most nights but still mustered the strength to do homework and at least one hour studying. But trying to balance his life as a schoolboy by day and employee by night inevitably took a toll on the then 16-year-old. Too tired to get up, he began missing school regularly. Solomon’s teachers realised something was going on and the dean of discipline, Lennard Hinkson, also his Spanish teacher, intervened. “He picked up on my high absenteeism and called me to his office to find out what was the problem. I had never told anyone about my financial situation at home because I did not want anyone to pity me. But that day I decided to open up to Mr Hinkson about it. I distinctly remember his words,”Floyd, why didn’t you say something, we would have stepped in and helped you? “My initial response was to ask him how. That is when I was informed of the school’s fund which was set up for students who were financially challenged. He also knew I was good at accounting so he asked me to do a budget that would cover all my expenses.” To his surprise, after the talk he began receiving free lunches from the school’s cafeteria and Hinkson presented two cheques to Solomon with the amount based on the budget he had done. The cheques covered all Solomon’s expenses and took him through both lower and upper form six. Elated, he took the cheques home to his mother but she placed them back in his hands and told him to manage it himself. “I trust you. You did not come this far to mess up,” she told Solomon. He subsequently attained seven passes at CXC and at GCE level secured high grades in management of business, accounting, Spanish and general paper.
Posted on: Fri, 11 Jul 2014 16:03:33 +0000
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