Paying it forward - Tivoli youngster gets a helping hand, passes it on to others

The last few months have been like a roller-coaster ride for Tiffany Biggs, a 20-year-old Tivoli Gardens resident. After the deadly gun battle between security forces and gunmen in her west Kingston community in May, she constantly felt agitated and had trouble sleeping. She was at home as the battle raged, and admits that it was one of the lowest periods of her life.

"I don't even like to talk about it, or even think about it. It was the worst thing I've had to deal with," she said.

Biggs also had serious difficulty finding a summer job, something she desperately needed to help her pay for her university studies. She's a second-year student at the University of the West Indies, Mona. The former Camperdown high school head girl was convinced it was her Tivoli address that was turning off prospective employers, but refused to hide where she was from.

 A Gleaner story highlighting her struggle led a manager at the Bank of Jamaica to get in touch with her and offer her a job for the rest of the summer. The year has been going well for her since then.

"I was able to put almost all the money I earned towards paying my tuition. It was a big burden off my shoulders. My mother sells snacks in the community to help pay for my school, but things are very bad so I don't know how I would've managed without that opportunity."

Help in other ways

Other persons who learned about her situation offered her financial assistance and help in other ways. One business owner even gave her a laptop computer. Biggs said she hasn't taken the help for granted.

"There have been times when I've sat down and wondered how come I have been so lucky. There's no way I could have got the help I did and not try to help some other people," she said.

And so she came up with the idea to start after-school classes in her community, with the aim of giving young people there, the same helping hand she received this year.

"I thank God for the chances I have in life. I still have to struggle to get by, but at least I'm in school and some kind people helped me this year," she said.

"I see a lot of children in Tivoli who don't have any help and unless people like me, who are a little better off, step in and help, then the guns and drugs will get the better of them," said Biggs.

She joined forces with two other young Tivoli residents, Kordell Clarke, 19, and Zebulun Williams, 20, to set up the after-school classes which will be free of charge and be focused on helping students studying for GSAT and CSEC exams. Williams, Clarke and Biggs will conduct the classes and they expect to have about 30 students when classes start this week.

"I realise that education is what is going to get me out of the inner-city and that is what will help these young people too. I haven't reached very far in life yet, and I'm still struggling, but I know the value of education because of what it already has done for me. Now, I just want to pass it on to as many people as possible," said Biggs.