“If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead, either write something worth reading or do things worth writing.”
~ Benjamin Franklin
We have been recently asked to believe in The Bahamas.
How can we believe in anything when we do not believe in ourselves, when our own government lacks faith within itself?
How can we possibly pave the way for a better tomorrow when we refuse to take the time out to help those who will carry on the legacy of all the tomorrows to come?
What are you to say to a student, a young Bahamian lady, who goes above and beyond to help herself only to find that her own people are the only ones pulling her down?
What am I, a student fighting to obtain an education for the sole purpose of pumping it back into my country, ought to do when my MP for the constituency of Pineridge and Minister of Grand Bahama blatantly tells me that I am to find my own way of furthering my education because when he was faced with similar circumstances as a child his mother had to scrub floors to provide for him?
Is it my fault that my mother is out of a job and has been for the past four years?
Too recent you might say! What about the time the former MP of Pineridge sat me down after having me wait for him for over three hours and told me that he was not helping me because if he did it would have to come from his own pocket and he’s not willing to do that?
Better yet, what am I to do when the employees at the Ministry of Education looked me square in the eyes and told me to drop out of school and go work because they can’t help me seeing that they’ve misplaced my scholarship applications every year for the past three years?
If that’s not bad enough, what about the year one of the employees willingly helped me over the phone and stated that she had everything laid out for me to pick up only to change her mind when she realized that I was not the young lady she thought her friend sent.
I guess she really was unable to put a face to the name. If we are to play the blame game I can assure you none of this is my fault. I’m not saying that they are obligated in taking on the responsibilities of my finances but the manner in which they handled it was not that of persons living in a Christian country urging their fellow citizens to believe in the Bahamas.
Yet, with that same tongue they pull all of the Bahamian children down and leave them there.
That’s not enough you might say. What about the person that told me I was at a disadvantage going to school because I already had three strikes pending against me?
(1). I am a female, (2). I am a female majoring in the field of science, and (3). I am of black descent. Perhaps I should have looked to private investors?
I can assure you, more than enough times my name has come up to all of those persons and companies. There is simply a lack of will when it comes to aiding our deserving Bahamian students for the mere fact that they do not believe in us. Don’t get me wrong, I applaud all those that stretch forth a helping hand because some help is better than no help at all. At the same time, why is it that the ones who deserve to be helped and who’s willing to do all they must, end up getting pushed to the back of the line?
Then there are the ones that practically have silver spoons in their mouths, squandering the monies they are awarded by missing classes and getting deplorable grade point averages, giving Bahamians a bad name. That simply baffles me!
Knowing the pessimistic attitude of most of the Bahamian people and the black crab syndrome that many of us are plagued with, you’re wondering who am I and what makes me eligible for so much assistance if any at all.
I am a first class honors graduate of Grand Bahama Catholic High school with an ending g.p.a. of 3.51, 7 BJC’s, 9 BGCSE’s, an SAT score of 1390 along with holding four out of five captain positions of the sporting teams that I was a part of.
I am the former president of my Junior Achiever’s (J.A.) Company, N.I.B. (2007-2008), most distinguished achiever nominee and a speech competition finalist. I am a National Arts Festival Competition composer, participant and winner, a former debutant and the Urban Renewal poetry contest winner.
Instead of letting all the road blocks and hills detour and discourage me, I simply used them as stepping stones instead of stones to be stumbled over. I was accepted to Bethune Cookman University majoring in Biology and minoring in Chemistry and I completed my first year due to slight financial aid from the university.
Despite all of my challenges, I finished my previous semester with a cumulative g.p.a. of 3.58, taking 18 credits per semester and sitting in honors classes. In my opinion, I feel like Bahamians should want to help their own kind first before pushing them off on foreigners.
To sum it all up, my name is Jameka Farrington and I am simply a young lady trying to help herself everyday by taking two steps forward only to have my own government, my own people push me five steps back. I’ve utilized all possibilities presented to me and more.
I’m not asking for charity handouts. I’m simply asking to be pointed in a way to secure some help for myself, to get some sort of answers. If anyone knows of anything that’s available please feel free to contact me at mekafarrington@hotmail.com and let me know and your assistance will be greatly appreciated!
By: Jameka Farrington
The Bahamas
October, 2012
