A champion for charity

An air of elegance greets you as you enter through the tall polished door. Racks of tastily designed outfits with matching accessories are attractively displayed. Custom designing has been her trademark for decades. Distinguished for haute couture and fashionable millinery, Hannah Janoura is dressed in simple style, her patterned yellow trouser outfit and matching straw hat are as cheery as the smile that greets me.

As a young 17-year-old, Hannah “had enough of school” and entered the working world. She has never looked back and is now a very successful businesswoman. But more than this, she is a dynamic force in the arena of fund-raising for charitable causes, especially those related to children. An excerpt from her recent appeal letter to raise funds on behalf of the Trinidad and Tobago Cancer Society stated: “I am sure that every one of us has had a member of our families or someone close to us stricken with this dreaded disease,” and she pleaded for assistance in purchasing a 25-seater vehicle to transport patients from remote living areas to the cancer treatment centre.

 A donation box with the Cancer Society logo is placed strategically at the entrance to her store for, as she says, “every dollar, $5 or $10 count and help me to achieve my goal”. Hannah’s very first large-scale project was raising funds to purchase two ambulances for the St John Ambulance Brigade about 35 years ago. Later on, she became acutely aware of the needs of the Cancer Society and so, in 1986, when Dr George Laquis dared her to raise sufficient funds for a mobile unit for the society, she readily accepted his bet. This tiny livewire lady aggressively pursued her goal: through the media with letters, telephone calls, personal contacts, word-of-mouth advertisement and an aura of confidence, Hannah accumulated $86,000 — just 15 per cent short of her target of $100,000, but she bought that bus with extra donations from friends.

Last July, in response to her appeal letter to replace this now old bus, Republic Bank Ltd approached her with an offer to donate the vehicle. She was now in a quandary. She wondered what to do; she couldn’t return the contributions she had already accepted, so she decided to acquire two buses instead. “I thanked God for this windfall. Here I was desperately working to afford one bus and now we have two new buses.” These buses are operated by the Cancer Society to transport patients from places like Siparia, Princes Town, Point Fortin, Sangre Grande, Fyzabad and other far-away points from their homes to the treatment centre at St James and back to their doorsteps. The society even supplies lunches to patients on treatment days. Hannah is high in praise for the work done by Laquis and the Cancer Society.

Her disciplined and organised method of handling projects coupled with her ability to work individually, have been a great asset in other fundraisers. She recalls one such event to defray medical expenses for bandleader Wayne Berkeley. Proceeds from an annual bazaar at the Hilton go to the Cyril Ross Home for children with AIDS. This year she was able to purchase a printer, computer table and scanning machine for this home. For the past five years, through fundraisers, she provided wheelchairs to children at the Princess Elizabeth Centre. Aptly dubbed “the energiser” by her brother, Hannah is in church every morning at 6 am and is at her business place soon after for a long day, constantly on the move.
 “Lunch?” I queried. “Sometimes a sandwich or a cup of tea right here. I like to deal with my clients personally. I find going out to lunch takes too much time.” Every evening after work, the “energiser” spends time with her three “surrogate” children before going to her home. “Those children are the love of my life. I have to see them every day and enjoy some fun time with them. Right now they are out of the country and I received five calls from them yesterday alone!”

Ironically, while Hannah was doing yeoman service for the Cancer Society, her own mother was diagnosed with bone marrow cancer. She laments the fact that the word “cancer” still carries great stigma in our society. Regrettably, many cancer patients do not want their friends or neighbours to know of their affliction. Attending support group meetings would naturally help them to come to terms with the disease and deal with it differently. She compliments the efforts of the Cancer Society. The “Tree of Life” at its headquarters in Woodbrook, bears testimony to generous donations towards their building fund and other expenses. Donors’ names are engraved on a leaf or branch of this copper tree, which stands imposingly on a wall in the foyer of the building. As part of a very close-knit family of five girls and two boys, Hannah gets their full support in all her projects. She is the livewire in their weekend brunches and dinners, being the organiser and instigator of many family fun events. Her brother George especially encourages and supports her in all her endeavours. “My sister and I chat every night, don’t ask me what we chat about, but we chat sometimes until 11 pm,” he chuckles. “I am a Trini to the bone. There’s no place like home. Of course I played Carnival, on Monday with Playboyz and Tuesday with Masquerade. Now that Carnival is over, I have another mission. My concern with our youths has impelled me to try and devise a plan to help our young people.

 “I am offering my help and appealing to the relevant ministries to do something positive for our young people — lead them in a direction that will benefit them. Open a camp in Chaguaramas and offer them skills training, anything that will occupy their time while preparing them to be gainfully employed afterwards.” Hannah’s pride in being instrumental in acquiring these two buses is only exceeded by her mission...to raise funds to purchase a mobile unit at a cost of $100,000. This unit would be used to do screening, pap smear, mammogram, breast and genital examinations of persons who do not want to come to the treatment centre; it will go to districts throughout the country. “I am hoping to realise this amount by the end of this year. Already planned is the preview of the film Johnny English at Movietowne. Cost per ticket is $150, and all proceeds will go towards the purchase of this mobile unit. Please support.” Her petite stature belies the strength of this very pleasant lady. Her entire focus is on raising funds for charity. For Hannah Janoura, the joys of giving are manifold. The “energiser” concludes, “My life is entirely about helping others, especially children. I find time for anybody and anything. As long as my health will allow me, I will keep on doing work for charity.”