The good boys of Laventille

A group of young men from Laventille have once again made headlines because of their exploits, only this time it is not another murder or act of violence. It is about 17 young men who have made their community proud with their placements in the recent Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) exam.

The 2006 SEA class of the Laventille Boys’ Government School has proven that good can come out of Laventille as opposed to the stigma imposed on the community because of its history of criminal activities.

Some of the boys live in single-parent homes and are void of father figures in their lives.

Others live in areas where the gangster life has become the norm and have been exposed to numerous incidents of gang violence.

These boys have fought their way over the social ills of their community and made the Laventille district proud.

Another remarkable student, Selwyn Carr, who scored the highest (89 percent) in the school, has a hearing problem but was still successful in passing for the seven-year school, South-East Port-of-Spain (SEPoS) Secondary.

Carr sometimes had to read his teacher’s lips to understand his work, but managed to cop the top score for his school.

His brother Lennox will be attending the Tranquillity Secondary School from September.

Akeem Woods, who lives at Beetham Gardens and is described as an all-round student by his teachers, learnt to play the recorder in two weeks in order to serenade his classmates at their graduation ceremony, with the song, “I’d like to teach the world to sing.” Woods heads to SEPoS next September.

Tafari Wilson who also heads to SEPoS, said the SEA exam was a bit challenging for him.

The young man whose name means “leader,” said he enjoyed being in the class of his SEA teacher, Clifford Baboolal and would surely miss him.

Israel Clinton boasted that he lives on Dorata Street, Laventille, “where Russell Latapy used to live.”

Clinton who would be attending the Malick Secondary School, is said to be an excellent footballer and plays for the Jabloteh junior team.

Judy Bedayse, principal of the Laventille Boys’ Government school said this year none of her SEA students were placed at life centres.

Instead, four were sent to junior secondary schools, five placed at five-year schools and eight at seven-year schools. She said that from 2001 to 2005 the school’s SEA results were not very good but this year marked a major achievement in placements for Laventille Boys’ Government, with placements at Trinity College, Tranquillity Secondary, Success Laventille Composite, Barataria Composite, San Juan Secondary and SEPoS Secondary.

Bedayse said she noticed potential in the boys since they were at the Standard Two level and decided to mould them for the SEA exam. “We invested a lot and expected the best from these boys and that is just what we got,” said Bedayse.