THE WEEKLY GLEANER | NOVEMBER 10 - NOVEMBER 16, 2022 | www.jamaica-gleaner.com | NEWS 7 CONGRATULATIONS, TEAM WEST INDIES LEGENDS WORLD CUP CHAMPIONS - 2022 L-R; Vijay Seonarine, Tony Kallicharan, Nazim Ali, Mahendra Nagamootoo, Salim Satar, Mike Heeralall, Ken Singh, Lester King, Prem Singh, Zamin Amin (captain), Bhim George, Bali Nayak, Peter Singh. MISSING. Mahadeo Ajodhi (Owner/Manager), Michael Chambers (Team Official). LEGENDS WORLD CUP By Neil Armstrong THEY SAY variety is the spice of life, and Mary Anne Chambers’ path to success epitomises this in every way. The former Ontario member of provincial parliament, government minister, bank executive, philanthropist, and current chancellor of the University of Guelph details her illustrious and successful journey in Jamaica and Canada in a new memoir that shares insights on how she navigated between the private and public sectors while finding time to support her community and family. In From the Heart: Family. Community. Service, Chambers shares her journey from Deanery Road in VineyardTown, Kingston, to being head girl of the elite Immaculate Conception High School, to teaching in the JAMAL Foundation programme in Jamaica, to immigrating with her young family to Canada in 1976. The ambitious Jamaican outlines her time working in corporate Canada, including as a former senior vice-president of Scotiabank Canada, director, chair, and member of various boards and not-for-profit organisations, and funder of many scholarships to students in colleges and universities. Chambers highlights what service means to her – in her family, community, Ontario, Canada, and her homeland, Jamaica. “For many years, my family sponsored basic schools in Jamaica, early childhood institutions for children between three and six years of age,”writes Chambers, noting that on one visit to Wait-A-Bit Basic School in Trelawny, she and her son, Stefan, donated a computer to the school at the request of the principal, who wanted her students to be exposed to greater learning opportunities. On a subsequent trip to Jamaica, Stefan donated a personal computer to another basic school that he sponsored in the parish. Chambers served as president of the Project for the Advancement of Childhood Education (PACE Canada) from May 2010 to May 2014. The volunteer-run charitable organisation that “brings together hundreds of sponsors, including people who are not members of the Jamaican diaspora, in support of basic schools and early childhood institutions for children three to six years old, as well as the training of early childhood educators,”writes Chambers. Originally known asWomen for PACE (Canada), it was founded in 1987 by Jamaican-Canadian educator Dr Mavis Burke in response to an appeal by then prime minister, Edward Seaga, who was in Toronto to speak at an event celebrating Jamaica’s independence. He asked members of the diaspora to support early childhood education through PACE. Chambers highlights the contributions of community activist, businessman, and philanthropist Denham Jolly, who is from Industry Cove, Hanover, and whose mother, Ina Euphemia Jolly, founded Industry Cove Basic School in 1962. “Thousands of children from the ages of three to six have since had their first exposure to formal education at Industry Cove in an environment that would be the envy of many other early childhood institutions, thanks to the ongoing support of Denham Jolly, himself a former high-school teacher,” writes Chambers. There are many gems in the memoir published by Dundurn Press. Chambers says her story is one of gratitude for all that she has gained, including the privilege to learn from others. “This awareness has provided me with the motivation to do my part in helping to provide opportunities that could enable children and young adults to have better lives. I have learned that everyone has abilities. I have learned that everyone has potential. Along with realizing how fortunate I have been, I have also learned the importance of self-esteem and resilience, believing in ourselves,” writes Chambers, who is chair of the board of Grace Foods Canada Inc. The storytelling recaptures vivid moments in her political life such as the day Denham Jolly – who was awarded an Order of Distinction (OD) in the rank of officer on August 6, by the Government of Jamaica – turned up at her campaign office to show his support. After serving as minister of training, colleges, universities and theminister of children and youth services, Chambers decided not to seek re-election but made every effort to ensure that a black person would seek the nomination to represent the Ontario Liberal Party as her replacement. She was content with her tenure in the Ontario government and wanted to ensure that representation mattered in the political system and in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, Queen’s Park. “I arrived at Queen’s Park with my integrity intact and left Queen’s Park with my integrity intact, content that in my four years there as an MPP and a cabinet minister, I had served the public good,” she writes. Throughout the book, readers hear about her husband Chris, sons Nick and Stefan, and their partners, her granddaughters, parents, and siblings. Chambers enfolds themwith love and shares how they have contributed to her quest for lifelong learning, paying it forward, and their collective contribution to humanity. The memoir is worth the read. One gets a sense of what drives Chambers and what her hopes are for now and for the years to come. In her projection of a way forward, she notes that “it’s important to believe in ourselves and to take personal responsibility for our actions and the achievement of our goals. When I tell young people to dreambig, I am telling them not to settle for the easiest path or the path that others might define for them. Most importantly, I am hoping that they will realize that their destiny is what they aspire to for themselves. I tell them they are the ones who should be determining their future, and how successful they will be. I advise them to take charge of their lives”. Chambers acknowledges her “few secret weapons” that have helped her thus far, including the love and high expectations of her parents – “I came from a supportive environment where any barriers to my success resided primarily with me.” The book was launched in Jamaica and will be launched in Toronto on October 20. Mary Anne Chambers shares decorated career in memoir The cover of Mary Anne Chambers’ ‘From the Heart: Family. Community. Service’
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