Just Show Up

I remember the first time I met Trudy Ann, the mother of two of our scholarship students, Kwase and Kalou. It was my first month as Director at International Samaritan Jamaica, and my first general meeting with our families. She spoke with the quiet certainty of a mother who knows her children deeply, proudly telling me about her two sons. Both were intelligent teenagers who, in her eyes, carried the potential for great success.

But a mother always knows. She told me she was worried about Kalou, her younger son. He was reluctant to help around the house, uninterested in studying, drawn instead to games, and he had not turned up to our International Samaritan Jamaica offices for a single program session.

“Have him come and see me,” I said.

He did. That first conversation was simple and direct. We talked about showing up, not just to our programming, but to his own life. Kalou began attending counseling sessions with our mental health counselor. And then, week after week, he kept coming back. He showed up.

In doing so, he began to show up for himself.

His grades improved. He grew in confidence. Something shifted, and something more beautiful followed: several of our older scholars began to invest in him, offering the kind of steady, consistent mentorship that a young man growing into himself so deeply needs.

Life did not make things easy for Kalou. He and his family experienced devastating losses, the deaths of loved ones, and a fire that destroyed their family home. Everything was lost in that fire: his books, his school uniform, his belongings. With the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations ahead of him, Kalou had every reason to give up. He did not.

For many Jamaicans, the hustle is born out of necessity. It’s the reason people traverse the dumps, scavenging for bottles, copper wire, and discarded appliances—not for greed or gain, but to feed their children, send them to school, and support aging parents or siblings.

That broken refrigerator? It might have copper coils that can be sold. That heap of old plastic bottles? Someone will buy it by the pound. That pallet of discarded wood? It could be repurposed to reinforce a zinc fence or build a goat pen.

Sitting for his CSEC exams — the premier regional qualification taken after five years of secondary school — Kalou, then a grade 11 student, earned distinction in all eight subjects he pursued. In Industrial Technology, he placed among the top ten students across the entire island of Jamaica. His brother Kwase, also a scholarship student, is now a first-year student at the University of the West Indies, pursuing Finance and Economics. The brothers are among our highest-performing scholars.

Today, Kalou does not just receive, he gives. He volunteers, he mentors, and he walks alongside younger scholars the way others once walked alongside him. His journey reminds us that academic achievement matters, yes, but what transforms a young person’s trajectory is the combination of mentorship, mental health and wellness support, and a community that believes in them before they believe in themselves.

Behind Kalou and Kwase stands Trudy Ann, a mother who advocated for her sons, who walked into that first meeting and named her worry and her pride in the same breath. She raised two young men who are changing the story of their family.

Kalou’s story, in particular, is a testimony to what is possible when a young person decides to walk through the door, and a community decides to hold it open for him. He showed up. And that changed everything.

Sonja M. Robinson, Program Director

Sonja holds a Ph.D. in Workforce Development and Education from Pennsylvania State University and a Master’s in Communication for Social and Behavior Change from the University of the West Indies. She has played the roles of counselor, mentor, trainer, and educator. Sonja believes in living a life of purpose and service.