Sylvia Ferdinand, affectionately known as \u2018Ms Ferdie\u2019, has irrefutably had a profound and positive impact on hundreds of past and present-day students of the St Martin\u2019s Secondary School (SMSS).<\/p>\n
For close to six decades, \u2018Ms Ferdie\u2019 not only provided an affordable meal for students of the SMSS, but impacted their lives in ways that kept them on the \u2018straight and narrow\u2019\u2013 even giving some early lessons in business and integrity.<\/p>\n
In addition to raising three sons of her own, she nurtured and looked after the hundreds who passed through her humble business place on the road to Kingstown Park, as though they were her own.<\/p>\n
And so, following on an idea that was first pitched by Grant Connell, lawyer and past student of SMSS, the St Martin\u2019s Past Students Association (SAMPASA), decided to officially recognize \u2019Ms. Ferdie\u2019 for the indelible and uplifting impact that she had and continues to have on the students of SMSS.<\/p>\n
Towards this end, an official ceremony was held on September 18, at \u2018Ms. Ferdie\u2019s shop.<\/p>\n
\u2018Ms Ferdie\u2019 is expected to celebrate her 91st birthday in October, however, according to President of SAMPASA Ronnie Daniel, it was felt that she should be honoured now and not then.<\/p>\n
“As we look around society, we do not do a good job of celebrating the generations before us. There are persons who do it quietly and we thought that this was something that we were compelled to do,\u201d Daniel said.<\/p>\n
“Students at the St Martins\u2019 Secondary School have benefitted immensely from her generosity, and we needed to do this not next month, but now,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n
\u2018Ms. Ferdie\u2019 was presented with a plaque and a donation from a former student of the SMSS of a meal for two, compliments of Basil\u2019s Bar.<\/p>\n
Remembering Ms. Ferdie\u2019s kindness<\/p>\n
Donnie Collins, radio personality and past student, was among the many to have benefitted from \u2018Ms. Ferdie\u2019s\u2019 benevolence.<\/p>\n
“It was an amazing thing that an established business would extend credit to a 12-year-old,\u201d Collins recalled, elaborating that when he entered SMSS in 1987, his daily spending money was S2.00.<\/p>\n
Collins said that he learned about \u2018Ms. Ferdie\u2019 from classmates who were residents of Paul\u2019s Avenue, and who introduced him to a glass of mauby and a cheese sandwich \u2013 all of which cost $1.<\/p>\n
He added, “\u2026. even if you did not have the $1, and you missed a few days, because you did not have money, on returning she would question you: “where were you?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Collins admitted, “If it was not for \u2018Ms. Ferdie\u2019, I would have gone hungry.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another past student, businessman Martin LaBorde, shared his experience of benefitting from \u2018Ms. Ferdie\u2019s\u2019 kindness, recalling that he worked for her between 1970 and 1972 twice per week, and collected $2.50.<\/p>\n
According to Laborde, $1.25 went to his mom and he kept the other $1.25 for himself.<\/p>\n
He admitted to learning a lot about business from \u2018Ms. Ferdie\u2019. However, he remembered most of all, the glass of mauby and the bread and sausage he received for lunch on Saturdays \u2013 which was a luxury for some in those days.<\/p>\n
“That made an impact on my life, I will forever be grateful to \u2018Ms. Ferdie\u2019 for the things she instilled in me,\u201d LaBorde said.<\/p>\n
All about people<\/p>\n
And as for the how her sons view her life\u2019s endeavours, Dr. Julian \u2018Jules\u2019 Ferdinand, her second son and SMSS past student who is a Management Consultant, Motivational Speaker and Newspaper Columnist, described his mother as an exceptional person \u2013 one who has never been driven by material wealth.<\/p>\n
“She has always had a soft spot for people, especially those who were disadvantaged,\u201d Dr. Ferdinand said.<\/p>\n
He recalled the days when SMSS students flooded his mother\u2019s shop for lunch, and how with very little help she was able to tend to them all and ensure that they got back to school on time.<\/p>\n
“She was a mother to many, and was concerned about investing in people,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Source : The Vincentian by Dayle Dasilva<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sylvia Ferdinand, affectionately known as \u2018Ms Ferdie\u2019, has irrefutably had a profound and positive impact on hundreds of past and present-day students of the St Martin\u2019s Secondary School (SMSS). For close to six decades, \u2018Ms Ferdie\u2019 not only provided an affordable meal for students of the SMSS, but impacted their lives in ways that kept<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":15581,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15557","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-local-news","category-mainstory"],"yoast_head":"\n