Theme: 125 Not Out

Thank you for your kind words of introduction.

“Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.”

Salutations.

It is indeed a pleasure for me to be here today, on this very auspicious occasion, your Graduation and Prize Giving Ceremony 2019. 125 not out, the theme for today’s ceremony, shows the significant contribution this fine institution has had on our society and certainly, with you gentlemen graduating today, the significant contribution it will continue to have. As a spin bowler, 125 not out has never been used anywhere near my name. I am more used to like 5 not out or something close to that. But many congratulations to Naparima College and everyone associated with this pillar of our educational system and long may it continue to provide a platform for excellence. When I was offered to be the Feature Speaker for today’s ceremony, I immediately accepted because who I am today, is as a direct result of the impact that this noble institution has had on my life. I want to publicly thank the 2 Principals who were here at the time, Dr. Mackenzie and Mr. Eddison Sookoo, along with all of the members of staff who assisted me along the way. The moment you start calling names you run the risk of leaving someone out but I feel compelled to especially thank a few people in particular. Mr. Carl Sammy who was my first form Teacher here, has had a tremendous impact on my life. During my first term in form 1, Mr. Sammy would have identified that I came from a very humble background, and that is just a euphemism because in truth and in fact I came from abject poverty. I will go into a bit more detail later on. Every Christmas, without fail, Mr. Sammy along with the Naparima College Old Boys Association, would deliver to my home a Christmas hamper. As a little boy I was very ashamed to receive that hamper and for my teacher to see where I lived, in a wooden, dilapidated house. I sometimes hid when I saw them out of embarrassment, but the moment they left I was the first one to open the bags to see what was brought. As a family, we were grateful for that hamper as it went a long way in making Christmas a little bit happier, a little bit merrier. Those actions of Mr. Sammy so many years ago, left an indelible mark in my mind and sparked not only the determination to be successful at whatever I did, but also a responsibility to those like myself who need acts of kindness and generosity to achieve their full potential. All of my textbooks had the NCOB written in the inside cover, because they were given to me by the Naparima College Old Boys Association. I must also mention Miss Sushilla Maraj, Miss Jaikaransingh, Miss Honore, the late Mr. Roy Jagroopsingh, Miss Esther Alexander, Mr. Kamal Maharaj and Mr. Nazim Mohammed for their immense kindness and compassion to a poor country kid and for the inspiration they were to me. It may have been small and inconsequential actions for these teachers but to me, they were a huge as Mount Olympus. I will be eternally grateful.

I will now tell you a little bit more about myself and how I ended up where I am now and the tremendous challenges along the way. From the onset, I would say to you that you too will be faced with many obstacles but we must all find a way to overcome these. I grew up in a large family of 7 siblings, 8 of us, including myself. I attended Rochard Douglas Presbyterian Primary School. My father died when I was quite young, so the mantle of responsibility fell squarely on my mother, my mother who did an excellent job with very scarce resources. My mother was a school vendor and the little money she made after buying things to sell the next day, was used for me to commute to school. I was the last child and my mother insisted that I had a good education; in fact she tried her best with all of her children. She inculcated in us the value of having a good education and of course good morals and values as she ensured we went to church as well. I remember the first time I came to San Fernando was my first day of secondary school. I remember vividly my sister accompanying me to show me the school and how to travel back home. I had never owned a tie in my life and now I was required to wear one to school. I remember owning one pair of shoes from forms 1 to 3 and I had to keep that clean and in good condition. When we were playing football in the schoolyard and the other students were in their school shoes, I had to play barefooted because if I damaged those shoes, I would be in big trouble when I got home. So I had many blisters on my feet from playing football barefooted on the asphalt. Back in my day we did not have this gymnasium or any of these facilities. We had a huge circular tank and a paved area where many of the sporting activities took place. I had exact money to get to and from school so that when my friends went to the cafeteria during recess to buy snacks, I stayed in class and pretended I was finishing my homework. I knew then that the avenue to changing my economic situation, and indeed that of my family, was by getting a good education. So I made the most of my opportunity in secondary school and ensured that at the end of my time there, I had something to show for it. I also followed my passion, cricket, with great commitment and tenacity with the hope of one day making it to the national team. Time management was the greatest challenge for me because I missed school regularly because of practice and games but I ensured that during my free time I made up for lost time. When my friends were hanging out, I kept abreast with my work and even during matches; I carried my books with me. I believed that anything was possible. I say to you graduates, there are no boundaries to what you can achieve, there are no limits to your potential. It does not matter how rich or poor you are, it does not matter where you are from, what school you go to, it does not matter what type of car your parents drive, what cell phone you have, it does not matter if you have the latest ipad or ipod or laptop. What really matters graduates, is your willingness to work hard, your discipline, your respect, your determination, courage, persistence, and honesty. These are the values that would lead you to be successful. These are your ingredients to achieving your full potential. Talking about determination, I remember one CPL game in particular, Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel as it was called then vs Jamaica Tallawahs. We batted first and made a small score of 138. We needed early wickets to stay in the game and Bravo decided to open the bowling with me against the pugnacious and brutal Christopher Henry Gayle at the height of his powers. Well in the very first over of the match, he smacked me for 2 sixes and 3 fours. 24 runs in the first over and we were all deflated but we never gave up. Later in the match when things were slipping away Bravo again gave me the ball and this time I picked up 3 wickets in one over and completely changed the complexion of the match. In my next 2 overs I was able to pick up another wicket and only concede 9 more runs ending with figures of 4 for 33 and we ended up snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. That victory reinforced our belief and never say die attitude and we eventually won the CPL that year. Determination and persistence are two qualities that will surely separate you from the rest of society.

Having completed my secondary education, I got my teachers diploma at Corinth Teachers College and I became a teacher. As you teachers would no doubt know, that did not help my economic situation at all. I taught at the Primary level for 6 years then moved on to secondary school after having completed my degree, then my Masters and now, as was mentioned I am Curriculum Officer. But many of you don’t know that side of me. As a matter of fact, many of my teammates do not know that side of me as I am one of the few cricketers who also happen to have a full-time job. So on to the other side with which you may be familiar.

As a little boy I always dreamt of playing for the West Indies. When I young, we were the dominant team in world cricket. Things have changed quite a bit now. So I always wanted to wear the maroon of the West Indies when I was growing up. I always loved playing cricket for it brought me great enjoyment. I started playing in primary school; in standard 2 I represented my school team. I never made any national youth teams in Trinidad and Tobago. I debuted for Trinidad senior team in 2001. I played in the now controversial Stanford T20 tournaments in 2006 and 2008 and Caribbean T20 for a number of years. I have had many years of consistent performances for Trinidad and Tobago but was never selected for the West Indies. But I never gave up and although I was discouraged and disappointed at times, it never deterred me. I kept pressing on. Graduates, I say to you today, nothing valuable in life comes easy and you must be patient as well. In 2012, after having exhausted all their options, I was finally selected for the West Indies team to go to the T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka and as fate would have it, West Indies won its first ever T20 world cup and I would like to think I contributed to that win having dismissed the Sri Lankan stalwart Kumar Sangakara in the final. God’s timing graduates, is always better than man’s. As a little boy I never dreamt of opening the bowling for the West Indies. I stand before you today having opened the bowling every single game that I have played for the West Indies. I never dreamt of being a world cup champion. I stand before you today as a two-time world cup champion. I never dreamt of being in the top 100 in bowling rankings. I stand proudly before you today having been the number 1 T20 bowler in the world for the better part of 3 years. I never dreamt of being in the top ten wicket takers for West Indies. I stand before you here today as the highest wicket taker for West Indies in T20 Internationals. I never dreamt of coaching in the IPL. I stand before you today as the only West Indian to have coached in the IPL, with the Delhi Capitals. I say this to you graduates, not to be boastful but rather to let you know that if I, a country boy from Barrackpore could make it on the national stage, that if I, a little boy from humble beginnings can make it on the regional stage and that if I, a poor boy from a single parent home can make it on the world stage, then so can you. So can anyone of you graduates, in any field of endeavor, as long as you are prepared to work hard and be disciplined. There is no substitute for hard work. There is no substitute for discipline.

Graduates, I implore you to keep good company. Be leaders and not followers. “Show me your friend and I will tell you who you are,” is a popular saying that rings true even today. Surround yourselves with positive people, good role models, good teachers, people who will not belittle your ambition but rather spur you on to achieve your goals. I have achieved some level of success through the dint of hard work and tremendous personal sacrifices and I am now placed in a bit of a quandary, as I am to offer you some snippets of advice. I want to say to you to be honest, work hard, sacrifice and you will reap the rewards of your labour. However, every day we see hard working, honest men and women being robbed and stolen from, vehicles being taken at gun point, business places being looted and criminals roaming with little regard for the law. Hard working, honest people are suffering while criminals are prospering. I want to say to you to be citizens of integrity, stand up for what is right and don’t succumb to corruption. However, every day we see the corruption running rampant with no repercussion and those who are corrupt are abundantly wealthy whilst the hard working and honest men and women are barely able to make ends meet. It seems as though the more honest you are, the more difficult it is to be successful in today’s society. But I urge you to stand firm to your beliefs, continue to work hard and be disciplined, continue to be tolerant of your fellow men and women, continue to strive for excellence. For you are the agents of change and our society is dependent on you to take us out of this precipice that we have fallen. If we all make an individual decision to do good, collectively we can effect the change we want to see. So go out in society and be the change you want to see in the world. You are now at a crucial juncture in your lives for what you do now or what you decide next may very well direct which path your life will take. And so you must have a plan or a blueprint for your life, which acts as a guide or a model, on which your life will be built. No building is well erected unless there is a sound, solid and proper blueprint which guides construction. I am not saying that you must be 100 per cent sure of what you want to do with your life right now, but you must at least have a plan. And in that plan I want to respectfully suggest a few aspects that you should include. In your plan, you must have a deep and unwavering appreciation of your self and your worth. Do not ever let anybody tell you that you are a nobody, that you are worthless, that you are less than someone else or that you have no value. Each of you has been created in the image and likeness of God and you all have been blessed with immense talents and abilities. You must develop that talent and make the most of it in order to unleash your full potential. Always feel that you count, always feel that you are invaluable and always feel that your life has ultimate significance.

Secondly, in your life’s plan, you must have as an absolute quality, a desire to strive for excellence and to be the best at whatever you choose to be. Do not just be the best in your family, the best in your community or the best in your school. Be the best there is and the best there ever will be. If you are a teacher be the best teacher there ever was, if you are a doctor be the best doctor the world has seen and if your are barber, be the best stylist known to man. Good isn’t good enough if it can be better and better is not good enough if it can be best. If you cannot be a mountain be a hill, if you cannot be a road be a trail, if you cannot be a tree be a bush, if you cannot be the sun be a star for it is not by size we win or we fail, be the best at whatever you are.

Finally, in your life’s plan you must have an eternal commitment to the principles of beauty, love and justice. No matter how much success you have achieved, no matter how much advancement you have made in life, always remember to love one another, always remember to be kind to each other and always ensure that justice prevails. Be your brothers and sisters keepers, look out for your fellow men and women, be generous to those in need. There is only so much that we each need but can sometimes fall into the trap of greed and only want for ourselves but please remember your responsibility to those who are less fortunate than yourselves and bring some happiness wherever you can. It is not what you achieve in life or how much success you earn that really defines you, it is what impact you make in the life of your fellow citizens, it is the positive influence you have on colleagues and it is the relationships you build with those around you. I certainly benefitted from the benevolence of many in my hour of need and I have understood my responsibility to the next generation and so I have opened an Academy that provides opportunities for young boys and girls to learn the beautiful sport.

Young men, if you remember one thing I say today, let it be this: believe in yourself and never give up. We never fail until we stop trying.

Martin Luther King said life for none of us has been a crystal stair. We are all faced with trials and tribulations but we must never give up and we must keep pressing on. If you can’t fly, run, if you cant run, walk, if you cant walk, crawl; but by all means keep moving!

I thank you.

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