GoodHeart | Ashauni Granville gets early start on life of public service

Ashauni Granville has a deep desire to be a public servant, giving back, and assisting Jamaicans of all socio-economic backgrounds. He is a senior finance professional at the National Land Agency (NLA), and serves on the board of the South Camp Adult Correctional Centre. But his days of service above self began many years ago, while he lived in the community of Alexandria in St Ann.

“My objective is to encourage as many young people as possible to find a way to give back regardless of the difficulties being faced. Oftentimes, we feel like our circumstances are more than someone else’s. However, doing initiatives like these provide insight and highlight just how privileged of a life you lead compared to people in and around your community,” Granville said.

Granville is more interested in assisting others to build already functioning organisations that are doing well as opposed to creating and heading an organisation.

“I do not head any organisation at the moment. All my projects are done in partnerships with other entities and individuals, even when I served as the de facto face for them. For example, I have visited the SOS Children’s Village for multiple years doing social outreach as a student volunteer with the Excelsior Community College under the guidance of Mrs Marlene Campbell,” Granville said.

“My last two projects were led by myself with critical support from Mr Tevin Gibbons, my colleague youth parliamentarian for the constituency of West Rural St Andrew. We both leveraged our contacts and individual networks to make it possible,” he added.

Granville currently resides in the Stony Hill community in St Andrew, and has been assisting the SOS Children’s Village in the area. Some of the graduates of the institution greatly influenced him to conduct social interactions and projects at the institutions.

“The former residents of these homes that I have had the privilege of knowing have never appeared to be victims of their circumstances, but rather trying men and women who have fought or continue to fight to be overcomers. So, I concluded after multiple visits throughout the years that they obviously must be doing something right and are a worthy cause for my project,” he said.

POSITIVE FEEDBACK

Granville said he is motivated to continue assisting the SOS Children’s Village because of the positive feedback he continues to receive.

“One thing that has always stayed with me though is a comment by one of the children who is a resident of the SOS Children’s Village. The child said that their stores were replenished when most people tend to donate around the holidays, especially Christmas. So, we have also sought to donate at times during the year that are not holidays and when the need is more critical than people realise,” he said.

The past student of the Knox Community College in Clarendon, is a former National Youth Parliamentarian of Jamaica (NYPJ). He is also a former vice-president of the Excelsior Community College Students Union. After he completed his sixth form studies, Granville migrated to Kingston in search of employment. During this time, it took him seven years to complete his tertiary studies.

“We have delivered several boxes of items representing the NYPJ and I have also donated while being a volunteer with the Excelsior Community College in the years prior to the NYPJ project. I have spent personal funds to travel and collect items from total strangers to store in my home until delivery can be made. Even the church that I visit contributes to this organisation,” Granville said.

The NYPJ is an initiative of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information. However, according to Granville the individual constituency projects were not funded by the NYPJ. He indicated that he had to get creative by seeking donations where necessary from his own network of friends, NGOs, family members, churches, classmates and work colleagues.

“It also requires you to make sacrifices and use personal funds to fund the initiative. I am thankful that many of my friends as well as my colleagues in the NYPJ displayed our posters on their social media, which led to me travelling all over the Corporate Area to pick up donated items,” Granville said.

Granville strongly believes that the act of giving back or contributing is an investment in the community and the nation. He is thankful to be recognised for his hard work, and sacrifices, and he is even more grateful to the persons that have supported him in the various projects and initiatives that he has undertaken.

For his philanthropic efforts, Granville has received the Spirit of Excelsior Award, which was given because of his involvement in various aspects of school beyond just normal student life and extra-curricular activities. He is also the recipient of the Sagicor Community Heroes award for his work in service to the SOS Children’s Village.

keisha.hill@gleanerjm.com