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Patrice Samuels' Profound sense of service
published: Tuesday | October 9, 2007
Mark Beckford, Staff Reporter
Patrice Samuels, who is passionate about helping people, shares her vision of a better [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]Jamaica[/COLOR][/COLOR] during the Women in Charge feature interview recently.
At age 35, Patrice Samuels is one of the youngest women ever to be interviewed for The Gleaner's Women in Charge feature. However, despite her youthful look, her achievements and her philosophical outlook on life are on par with the other women who have been highlighted on the hallowed pages of Women in Charge.
Ms. Samuels, who specialises in social work and who is also a development consultant, has made her mark on the society in more ways than one, racking up achievements and a profound sense of self and service.
It was a normal sunny day when the news team interviewed Ms. Samuels in her natural habitat, coordinating a social intervention programme on behalf of the National Housing Trust's (NHT) inner-city housing project, at Norman Manley High School, in [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]Kingston[/COLOR][/COLOR].
As she entered the classroom, it seemed the children responded to her not as to a stern schoolmaster, but a teacher who was well liked.
Boys hiding faces
The mood, however, changed when [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]photographer[/COLOR][/COLOR], Ricardo Makyn, began to snap pictures. Young boys, for no apparent reason, began to hide their faces. This solicited a lecture from the photographer.
"Those young boys who were hiding their faces, they don't even know why they are doing it, they just hide their faces because they see the older boys doing it because they are ever wanted," she commented.
That's the behaviour Ms. Samuels seeks to change through her social intervention and behaviour modification programmes.
That initiative - the NHT inner-city housing project - was a summer programme designed for children between age nine and 19, who are slated to live in the [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]new [COLOR=orange! important]homes[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR] built in the constituencies of St. Andrew South Eastern, West Kingston and St. Andrew Southern.
These children come from different areas and Ms. Samuels' aim, along with her team, is to facilitate a communal relationship among these children, as well as [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]teaching[/COLOR][/COLOR] them etiquette skills and social graces.
Making a change
Changing these behaviours is not an easy process, as Ms. Samuels testified, however, making a change in society is something she looks forward to every day.
"It usually is a lot of fun doing work, whether you are working in the community, or with family or with schools, because you see the results at the end of the day, and it is something I am extremely passionate about, and I don't think that it is work because it is just something I get up and do."
Even though she describes what she does as fun, the work she undertakes is serious.
Ms. Samuels, who formed her own organisation 'Rescue' in February of 2006, has done work in several communities and schools in Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
This work, she said, includes social intervention for families and communities, psycho-assessment for children with learning disabilities and behaviour modification programmes.
Although 'Rescue' was formed in February of 2006, Ms. Samuels has been involved in social work, since attending St. Andrew High School for Girls.
She said she was always interested in helping others, as such, she used some of her spare time when she was younger volunteering at the Maxfield Park Children's Home, the children's ward of the University Hospital of the West Indies and at Hope Zoo.
However, social work wasn't her first career choice. "Social work was one of those professions I was never told about; I was supposed to go to medical school because all I wanted to do was help people."
Having applied for and got accepted to attend medical school overseas, Ms. Samuels, however, had a change of heart, when she found out about the social work programme at the University of the West Indies.
Assisting young men, women
So after a bachelor's degree, two master's degrees, and a PhD in sociology in the making, Ms. Samuels is assisting young men and women in making positive decisions in their lives.
The inner-city community of Grants Pen, St. Andrew, is one of those places where she has left an impression.
Some 50 young men have fallen in love with Ms. Samuels, or that was the impression one received after a recent graduation in late July, in which they celebrated their completion of a 12-month programme.
Quotes and lines throughout the ceremony of "thank you and we love you, Ms. Samuels", spoke to the work that she had done in the community often looked down upon by some segments society.
The Jamaica Education For All Grants Pen project not only afforded the young men added proficiencies in math and English, but it taught them some skills, which will endear them in life.
With a wide smile on her face, she described that experience.
"It was wonderful watching them from the point of shouting and cursing bad words all the time, and pushing and fighting and saying some of the worst things, to the point of pulling doors and chairs for ladies, reaching for a drink for their guests, taking bags to the cars for ladies."
Without taking a breath, she continued, "It's wonderful watching them write business plans for their own businesses, to map out their lives; it is absolutely rewarding seeing them move from where they were at, without not being sure of what would happen to their lives, to now having a greater understanding of their lives."
Family life at the centre
This fulfilment of one's potential is something Ms. Samuels would like to see replicated across the country. She believes that this can be achieved if Jamaicans return to the days when family life was the centre and root of the society.
In a reference to Jamaica's biggest problem at the moment, crime and violence, Ms. Samuels believes that many times the breakdown in family life leads one to a life of deviancy.
With over 1,000 persons being murdered since the start of the year, serious consideration will have to be given to the words of Ms. Samuels who has worked in several disaffected communities, and who has also worked in the Office of the (former) Prime Minister as a policy advisor.
"Firstly, a lot of our problems start in our families. Some of the things that we think are cute initially turn into problems. The child might curse a bad word and we all laugh and we find it cute, and by the way, it is not an inner-city thing, because any degradation of your social fabric certainly is not confined to any geographic location.
"We ignore these 'cute' things which can become problems, and when the child gets to six or seven and the child has fully developed his or her personality, you can't now curb them," she said.
It is no surprise that she thinks this way, as a strong family life was a part of her childhood as she grew up in Portmore, St. Catherine.
Mother's influence
Ms. Samuels said her mother was an influential person in her life, who, despite her many questions and rebellious phases, kept her grounded.
"My mother, who is a beautiful person, and who is now my friend, grew me with a whole lot of love and affection; she was very firm, yet she allowed me to learn and explore."
Ms. Samuels' father also had an impact on her life, despite passing away when she was only 10 years old.
The relationship with her father, she said, gave her the belief in young men that they can make it in life, even though the establishment has thrown them aside.
"Because of my father's influence in my life, I continue to believe in men … because I am passionate about seeing boys move to that manhood point."
The host of 'Hear the Children's Cry' on KLAS FM, Ms. Samuels has no children of her own, but it is evident that she is a mother to the many she interacts with.
Young Oshain Pryce, one of the participants in the NHT summer programme, described Ms. Samuels as a stern, yet loving person. "She teach us the correct thing, like how to sit properly and so on. She is very nice, but she can be strict when she is ready." The group of girls around her were in agreement, giggling and smiling in the process.
And when not hard at work, Ms. Samuels said she enjoyed doing family oriented 'stuff' with her mother, sister and niece and learning about new things.
And as a parting shot, she is encouraging everyone to live as how she views life.
"We should never assume we have a lot of time on the Earth, and spend a lot of time belittling other people … we should spend our energy to start looking within ourselves and start saying, what I can do on my corner?"
Left: Participants in the National Housing Trust's inner-city housing project social intervention programme laugh as Patrice Samuels shares a joke at a camp held at Norman Manley High School. Right: Patrice Samuels and a participant of the NHT's inner-city project social intervention programme share a light moment at the camp. - photos by Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer
Patrice Samuels' Profound sense of service
published: Tuesday | October 9, 2007
Mark Beckford, Staff Reporter
Patrice Samuels, who is passionate about helping people, shares her vision of a better [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]Jamaica[/COLOR][/COLOR] during the Women in Charge feature interview recently.
At age 35, Patrice Samuels is one of the youngest women ever to be interviewed for The Gleaner's Women in Charge feature. However, despite her youthful look, her achievements and her philosophical outlook on life are on par with the other women who have been highlighted on the hallowed pages of Women in Charge.
Ms. Samuels, who specialises in social work and who is also a development consultant, has made her mark on the society in more ways than one, racking up achievements and a profound sense of self and service.
It was a normal sunny day when the news team interviewed Ms. Samuels in her natural habitat, coordinating a social intervention programme on behalf of the National Housing Trust's (NHT) inner-city housing project, at Norman Manley High School, in [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]Kingston[/COLOR][/COLOR].
As she entered the classroom, it seemed the children responded to her not as to a stern schoolmaster, but a teacher who was well liked.
Boys hiding faces
The mood, however, changed when [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]photographer[/COLOR][/COLOR], Ricardo Makyn, began to snap pictures. Young boys, for no apparent reason, began to hide their faces. This solicited a lecture from the photographer.
"Those young boys who were hiding their faces, they don't even know why they are doing it, they just hide their faces because they see the older boys doing it because they are ever wanted," she commented.
That's the behaviour Ms. Samuels seeks to change through her social intervention and behaviour modification programmes.
That initiative - the NHT inner-city housing project - was a summer programme designed for children between age nine and 19, who are slated to live in the [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]new [COLOR=orange! important]homes[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR] built in the constituencies of St. Andrew South Eastern, West Kingston and St. Andrew Southern.
These children come from different areas and Ms. Samuels' aim, along with her team, is to facilitate a communal relationship among these children, as well as [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]teaching[/COLOR][/COLOR] them etiquette skills and social graces.
Making a change
Changing these behaviours is not an easy process, as Ms. Samuels testified, however, making a change in society is something she looks forward to every day.
"It usually is a lot of fun doing work, whether you are working in the community, or with family or with schools, because you see the results at the end of the day, and it is something I am extremely passionate about, and I don't think that it is work because it is just something I get up and do."
Even though she describes what she does as fun, the work she undertakes is serious.
Ms. Samuels, who formed her own organisation 'Rescue' in February of 2006, has done work in several communities and schools in Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
This work, she said, includes social intervention for families and communities, psycho-assessment for children with learning disabilities and behaviour modification programmes.
Although 'Rescue' was formed in February of 2006, Ms. Samuels has been involved in social work, since attending St. Andrew High School for Girls.
She said she was always interested in helping others, as such, she used some of her spare time when she was younger volunteering at the Maxfield Park Children's Home, the children's ward of the University Hospital of the West Indies and at Hope Zoo.
However, social work wasn't her first career choice. "Social work was one of those professions I was never told about; I was supposed to go to medical school because all I wanted to do was help people."
Having applied for and got accepted to attend medical school overseas, Ms. Samuels, however, had a change of heart, when she found out about the social work programme at the University of the West Indies.
Assisting young men, women
So after a bachelor's degree, two master's degrees, and a PhD in sociology in the making, Ms. Samuels is assisting young men and women in making positive decisions in their lives.
The inner-city community of Grants Pen, St. Andrew, is one of those places where she has left an impression.
Some 50 young men have fallen in love with Ms. Samuels, or that was the impression one received after a recent graduation in late July, in which they celebrated their completion of a 12-month programme.
Quotes and lines throughout the ceremony of "thank you and we love you, Ms. Samuels", spoke to the work that she had done in the community often looked down upon by some segments society.
The Jamaica Education For All Grants Pen project not only afforded the young men added proficiencies in math and English, but it taught them some skills, which will endear them in life.
With a wide smile on her face, she described that experience.
"It was wonderful watching them from the point of shouting and cursing bad words all the time, and pushing and fighting and saying some of the worst things, to the point of pulling doors and chairs for ladies, reaching for a drink for their guests, taking bags to the cars for ladies."
Without taking a breath, she continued, "It's wonderful watching them write business plans for their own businesses, to map out their lives; it is absolutely rewarding seeing them move from where they were at, without not being sure of what would happen to their lives, to now having a greater understanding of their lives."
Family life at the centre
This fulfilment of one's potential is something Ms. Samuels would like to see replicated across the country. She believes that this can be achieved if Jamaicans return to the days when family life was the centre and root of the society.
In a reference to Jamaica's biggest problem at the moment, crime and violence, Ms. Samuels believes that many times the breakdown in family life leads one to a life of deviancy.
With over 1,000 persons being murdered since the start of the year, serious consideration will have to be given to the words of Ms. Samuels who has worked in several disaffected communities, and who has also worked in the Office of the (former) Prime Minister as a policy advisor.
"Firstly, a lot of our problems start in our families. Some of the things that we think are cute initially turn into problems. The child might curse a bad word and we all laugh and we find it cute, and by the way, it is not an inner-city thing, because any degradation of your social fabric certainly is not confined to any geographic location.
"We ignore these 'cute' things which can become problems, and when the child gets to six or seven and the child has fully developed his or her personality, you can't now curb them," she said.
It is no surprise that she thinks this way, as a strong family life was a part of her childhood as she grew up in Portmore, St. Catherine.
Mother's influence
Ms. Samuels said her mother was an influential person in her life, who, despite her many questions and rebellious phases, kept her grounded.
"My mother, who is a beautiful person, and who is now my friend, grew me with a whole lot of love and affection; she was very firm, yet she allowed me to learn and explore."
Ms. Samuels' father also had an impact on her life, despite passing away when she was only 10 years old.
The relationship with her father, she said, gave her the belief in young men that they can make it in life, even though the establishment has thrown them aside.
"Because of my father's influence in my life, I continue to believe in men … because I am passionate about seeing boys move to that manhood point."
The host of 'Hear the Children's Cry' on KLAS FM, Ms. Samuels has no children of her own, but it is evident that she is a mother to the many she interacts with.
Young Oshain Pryce, one of the participants in the NHT summer programme, described Ms. Samuels as a stern, yet loving person. "She teach us the correct thing, like how to sit properly and so on. She is very nice, but she can be strict when she is ready." The group of girls around her were in agreement, giggling and smiling in the process.
And when not hard at work, Ms. Samuels said she enjoyed doing family oriented 'stuff' with her mother, sister and niece and learning about new things.
And as a parting shot, she is encouraging everyone to live as how she views life.
"We should never assume we have a lot of time on the Earth, and spend a lot of time belittling other people … we should spend our energy to start looking within ourselves and start saying, what I can do on my corner?"
Left: Participants in the National Housing Trust's inner-city housing project social intervention programme laugh as Patrice Samuels shares a joke at a camp held at Norman Manley High School. Right: Patrice Samuels and a participant of the NHT's inner-city project social intervention programme share a light moment at the camp. - photos by Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer