Long road to glory

Carl Gilchrist, Gleaner Writer

FOR AN entire academic year, Ackime Thomas, now 14, woke up at 3:30 each morning in order to cover the stop-start two-hour trip (over 22 miles) from Buff Bay in Portland to get to class on time at Calabar High School in St Andrew.

The journey took Ackime from Jamaica's northeastern coast to the island's urban southeast. And, he was hardly absent and very rarely late. He was thrilled to be selected for Calabar, his first choice after sitting the Grade Six Achievement Test, the placement examination that transitions elementary-level students into high school.

Ackime attended the recent convention of the National Association of Jamaica and Supportive Organisations at Sunset Jamaica Grande in Ocho Rios, being a scholarship beneficiary of one of the member groups, Jamaica Awareness Association of California. The Gleaner caught up with him at the convention.

"When I realised I had passed to go to Calabar, I was really happy. I was excited!" he told this newspaper.

Difficult first year

He would rise at 3:30 a.m., he related, catch the first bus out, which leaves at 4 o'clock, and reach Kingston by 6, in time for assembly which begins 7:20. If that bus didn't operate, he would probably be late for school because the next bus leaving Buff Bay for Kingston does so around 6 o'clock, reaching the metropolis around 8.

But after the initial joy had settled, the arduousness of the routine started to set in.

"I didn't know how I would cope at first, but after I started, I realised that it was really stressful going back and forth. ... Sometimes I wouldn't get enough rest, so the whole first year was really difficult for me," Ackime explained.

Although the long commute affected his studies, Ackime managed to perform well in school that year.

"My performance was really good, impressive. I was very proud of my performance," he said confidently.

But still, it was taking its toll. So last year, just before entering grade eight, he decided to take matters into his own hands.

"I asked the group that provided my scholarship, Jamaica Awareness Association of California (JAAC), if I could board. The request was granted and it was then that I met Miss (Claudette) Grant who is my guardian in Kingston," Ackime revealed.

Grant, the JAAC's local contact, told The Gleaner that the organisation was committed to a once-yearly mission in Jamaica, focused on health and education.

Boarding grant

She further informed that the scholarship Ackime won two years ago only covered books and other incidentals, not boarding.

"When I saw the interest that the principal (at Buff Bay) had, it told me, yes, this little fellow is worthy of my help, so we got this place for him to board, almost when school was beginning," she said.

Ackime is the eldest of five children for his mother, so the help was really welcome.

"I feel relieved," Ackime said of the boarding grant. "I feel not pressured, but obligated to perform even better than I did last year."

The 14-year-old, whose career goals - becoming an executive chef, as well as a lawyer - are oddball bedfellows, had this bit of advice for his peers:

"Just continue to try, push harder, and if you ask, you will receive, maybe not immediately, but in the near future you will get what you need. If it's positive, worthwhile, you will receive it."

Ackime starts third form come September.