“I will teach even if it’s one child. All I need is a willing heart.”

Retold by Faith Seabra

Photography Avidesh Narine

Teacher, parent, community. They are responsible for raising any child. And a country is only as good as its education system.

I grew up on the Corentyne, a childhood filled with adventure and the watchful eyes of my grandmother – ‘Ma,’ as I fondly call her. Looking back, I realise it was her unyielding insistence that first ignited my love for education. She saw something in me that I hadn’t yet seen in myself.

She was relentless – “Pick up your book!” At the time, I found her to be overbearing, annoying even, but I listened. I buckled down, took my studies seriously, and prepared for Common Entrance, as it was called.

That dedication, and most importantly her insistence, led me to New Amsterdam Multilateral School. I spent my days cycling between hours spent in my classroom, to the mischief I’d cause with my peers, and helping my grandmother with her small business. And in my lonesome, I dreamt of my future as a lawyer.

But soon my world shifted. On the very last day of school, my mother arrived from Matthew’s Ridge, Region One. “I’m taking her with me,” she told Ma. And just like that, I was uprooted from everything and everyone I had known, away from the routine I had become so accustomed to.

It wouldn’t all be lost, I thought. I still had my dream—I wanted to be a lawyer. But reality was unforgiving. “I can’t afford to continue letting you study. I have other children to study,” my mother said. And in that moment I had lost my reality and my dream. What I didn’t realise then was that God had a different path laid out for me—one I would spend most of my life devoted to.

At 17, my father approached me. “I have a teaching job for you,” he said. Reluctantly, I got dressed and arrived at Matthew’s Ridge Primary School, where I would stand before my first class. What began as a necessity—a way to provide for my family as the eldest of my siblings—soon became my purpose. The headmistress of the school was the first person to truly shape my career. She showed me the power of teaching, how it wasn’t just about subjects and exams but about molding lives, shaping the very future of our country.

The second great influence on my journey was the headmistress of St. Agnes Primary. She taught me that every child matters and that every child can learn. It became my guiding principle: We are not just here to teach the curriculum; we are here to educate the child.

And now, as Director of my own school Rhema Global Academy, every morning, I look into the eyes of my students and tell them they are the best. I remind them of their worth, of the greatness within them.

I don’t just school—I educate. I uplift. I inspire. I nurture. I lead with love because I know that sometimes, all a child needs is a good “shaking” and an even better hug. I once told a young man, during a time when violence was rampant and young men were losing their lives too soon, “I don’t want to see your handsome face spread across the newspaper.”

He shot up from his seat and grabbed his friend, pulling him into my office. “Tell he what you tell me just now,” he said. He hadn’t heard a thing I said, all he heard was that he was handsome, that he mattered. That moment reinforced something I tell all my teachers: sometimes, children just need to be seen and valued.

I love what I do immeasurably. I ensure that no child is left behind. I teach with the knowledge that what works for one cannot work for all, and i come to school ready to reinvent myself for the futures of these children. I pour love into every lesson so that my students can feel it. For me, education isn’t about how fast a child learns—it’s about their willingness to try.

I will teach even if it’s one child. All I need is a willing heart.

I don’t mind if they struggle. It doesn’t faze me. What matters is that they wake up every morning and decide, “Yesterday, I didn’t understand. Today, I’m still trying. But tomorrow—I will get it.” And as long as they keep showing up with that mindset, I will keep showing up for them.