My
name is Radcliffe Dunkley, popularly known as Frank in my community, Trench
Town. I am a past student of Kingston College and I am 28 years old. I
am currently the Technical Manager of the Ambassador Technical Services
operating out of Trench Town
The business consists of skilled workers such as Air Conditioning Technicians, Electricians, Welders, Masons and Carpenters. I do both air conditioning and electrical work, two skills which were taught to me by Mr. Beresford Gouldbourne, an expert in these trades who was a volunteer at the Restoration Center which was founded by Mrs. Lorna Archer Stanley.
The good thing about me and our team of ten other young men who work along with me is that we all share the same dream and that is to uplift our community. Before Mrs. Stanley came to Trench Town, we used to sit on the street corners with very little or nothing to do as most of us were unemployed and with very little hope at that time. It wasn't that we didn't want to work and even though I am a graduate of one of Jamaica’s most prestigious high schools, I was unable to get a job because not only were jobs scarce but with the stigma attached to Trench Town it made it all the worse.
Even though we all shared positive ideas, we still needed that positive drive and that’s what Mrs. Stanley gave us when she first came into the community in 1994. Miss Lorna motivated 14 of us youngsters to start a farm which gained the attention of the Governor General, Sir Howard Cooke. The farm was later funded by the Social Development Commission and today, it as the Rema Plant Nursery and Chicken Rearing Project and employs a number of youngsters.
About two years later, Miss Lorna started a remedial programme for youths who had dropped out of school and some who had never been to school, which has brought rejuvenation to our community. It is helping to eradicate one of our major problems—illiteracy—and I do believe for a community to grow the youths have to be literate. One must learn to think for oneself and learn to differentiate wrong from right.
Trench Town has come a long way and there is still much
to be done. We still need a little help with tools from folks who believe
in us. I know that with guys like us and people like Ms Lorna Stanley
and her supporters, who knows what we can achieve next? The sky’s
the limit.
