Paralysed youth graduates from SVGCC, ready for next hurdle

Chauncey resident, Yanick Charles, who has been paralysed for more than half of his life has graduated from the St Vincent and the Grenadines Community College (SVGCC) and now has hopes of pursuing further education at university.

The 25-year-old graduated on Tuesday, June 27 from the Division of Arts Sciences and General Studies of the SVGCC, having written three Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) subjects – Computer Science, Management of Business, and Digital Media.

His road to success was laced with challenges. Charles has spent 13 years using a wheel chair to help him get around after he was paralysed from the waist down, when he fell from a mango tree on May 2, 2010.

This severely disrupted his educational journey.

“I was 12. I fell from a mango tree and damaged my spinal cord, and I couldn’t go back to school because the school I was currently going to (St Martin’s Secondary) didn’t have any wheelchair access, and I couldn’t go back to school immediately because I used to have a lot of medical difficulties,” the young man told SEARCHLIGHT on Wednesday.

Consequently, Charles’s secondary education was suspended for two years, until the Chauncey Methodist Youth Fellowship stepped in and gave him the drive to continue.

The group was moved by his story and hoped through their efforts to enrich his life, help him get a secondary school education and hopefully, assist in making him feel better about himself.

They enrolled him in online Math classes, found him an English tutor and got him ready to sit two subjects at the Caribbean Certificate of Secondary Level Competence (CCSLC).

He told SEARCHLIGHT in a 2015 interview,:“A part of my life that I have missed out on … has been brought back”.

“… I thought I lost something,” he said, “ but actually, I never lost anything, I gained something greater. Sometimes you’re gonna lose to win, even if the loss is big, the win is gonna be greater.”

Charles said he has learned to accept everything for what it is because he knows that he cannot change the past, but he can shape his future.

“I already put that behind me long ago, so I’m just doing the best I can in this situation so I can get the best life possible,” the young man noted.

However, he said that he is not surprised at how far he has come in life and he has had an “overwhelming” support system.

“It’s about family. That’s the first thing, a family who accepts you, accepts your situation and is willing to help is always the first step … if you have a loving family … who can take care of you, push you and push you through, who can care for you emotionally, physically [and] financially.

In addition to family assistance and that of the Youth Fellowship, others came alongside to ensure that he was able to attend classes at the SVGCC.

Charles told SEARCHLIGHT that van drivers gave him their numbers so he could call to be transported from Chauncey to Kingstown, and when got there, friends would be waiting to take him off to college. He said he experienced zero difficulties at the SVGCC.

“… It was a great experience. I met a lot of new people, and the lecturers were very, very helpful. They were kind to me, and I didn’t experience difficulties at all. Everyone was being friendly and being kind.”

Charles was one of 683 youngsters who graduated from the SVGCC on Tuesday, June 27.

“It really means a lot, because I know what I went through to get here, and it really feels good,” he said.

The young man aims to add a university degree to his list of achievements; he is hoping to pursue studies in either Computer Science or Digital Media Marketing at the Cave Hill Campus of The University of the West Indies (UWI).

And, as he pursues his educational goals, Charles has a word of encouragement for others who may encounter challenges.

“I thought about giving up many times, but I wouldn’t have been here if I had given up. I want to advise you to push through and just trust the process…”.