Donna’s Trini room

“Ever since I left Trinidad at age 13 to live with my grandparents in New York, I’ve had this dream. I didn’t want to go abroad in the first place and I promised myself that I would come back.” Twenty-nine years later, Donna’s dream finally materialised; in December of 2002, she relocated to Trinidad.

Speaking to me on the telephone the day before I met her, she said, “I would like you to see my Trini room. For years I was designing and building this in my mind, always conscious of my country thousands of miles away.” She lives at St John’s Road, St Augustine. Curiosity gave way to admiration as I entered the ‘Trini Room,’ at first struck by the curtains frantically billowing in the easterly wind, custom made valances fashioned like a TT flag. A guided tour of the room reveals a black leather reclining sofa strategically placed in front of a black entertainment centre with surround sound television, DVD and stereo. Her husband’s musical instruments are neatly tucked away to one side. A black massage chair and rocking chair stood side by side. But the major showpiece is the large kitchen in a red, white and black theme.

Flaming red tiled countertops and island, with cupboards and appliances in contrast with the black furniture, exhibit the colours of the national flag. Red and black dinnerware adorns the glass-front overhead cupboards. A small white table has settings for two — red and black dinnerware on Trinidad flag placemats, with matching napkins. Even the light switches in this room are red and white. To complete this patriotic d?cor, Donna has paintings of early Trinidad life dotted along the walls of the room. How did she conceive such an interesting idea? “I love to entertain. Usually when I have company, my kitchen cannot accommodate everyone. Or I am alone in the kitchen while others are everywhere else. I wanted a room where everything could take place, where everyone could be at the same time. The basic thing is that I can be in the kitchen by myself and be entertained by the television or music or whatever, or have a bunch of people in my kitchen. I just love this room as I love my country and so I combined them both. The room has an ‘aaah’ moment for me every time I enter; I am happiest in this room because it’s a dream that materialised, you understand? I can’t express to you how much I love this room,” she exudes.

For over 17 years, Donna taught grades one through six in conventional and Montessori schools in Miami, working with the children of young teenagers in inner city schools. She resigned in frustration when she recognised that her role had gradually become more of babysitter than teacher. For the next year — 1997 to 1998 — she worked with her husband in a Florida state programme called ‘WAGES’ an acronym for Work and Gain Economic Self-Sufficiency. This programme, still in operation, trains welfare recipients and helps them to find jobs; its purpose is to wean them away from the concept of simply waiting to receive a welfare cheque. She then became involved with Miami Rivers of Life, a non-profit organisation funded by Florida State under the Justice Department. During that year, 1998-1999, Donna opened her home to young males, who, because of domestic environment and lack of supervision, were caught in small acts of misdemeanour. While waiting to go to court to face the charges laid against them, Miami Rivers of Life put them up in homes where they would not be exposed to the same situation that precipitated their legal violations in the first place. During this time, most of those youths were rehabilitated under the close scrutiny and care of people like Donna and other members of the organisation.

Donna proudly shows letters of commendation and appreciation she received from families of patients afflicted with Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases for whom she cared. The last such patient was in the Bahamas. She shows her photo album with pictures of the limousine in which she was driven to the airport in West Palm Beach and the small airplane in which she was flown to the island for all her trips there. Soon after completing this one-year contract last year, she packed her bags and finally fulfilled her lifelong dream of returning to Trinidad. A cheerful individual, Donna’s exuberance overflows: “I lived for six years in New York and another 23 years in Miami but my thoughts were always on ‘home.’ My house was always Trini conscious, I am a Trini to the bone. Home is where the heart is and my heart was always here. I cannot emphasise how much I love my country and our flag.” I step out of this lovely ‘Trini room,’ perpetually cooled by the strong winds rushing through the open windows and accompanied by bright sunlight, which together make it ideal for solitude yet simultaneously quite accommodating to social entertaining. As I step into the heat and humidity of the outside atmosphere, I understand Donna’s love for her special room — her dream come true.