ALORA IS THE apple of Ayo’s eye. She turns two years old in July but the precocious toddler has already stolen the hearts of many. She is an only child, but her parents are hoping to give her some company in the form of siblings.
Ayo Barnard-Rawlins loves travelling, hiking, reading, and running. All these she has to juggle along with being an attorney and mum and meeting her social commitments.
“Scheduling, scheduling, scheduling. It is all about that. It takes a lot of planning and then some manoeuvring when plans don’t go as planned. There are times when I have to say no I am unable to and don’t feel bad about it.”
Ayo is the new president of Soroptimist International Barbados, of which she has been a member for the past five years. The role, she said, was taken on especially to challenge herself and to grow.
“I welcomed the challenge to hold the top post. I thought there is no better time than the present. I am pleased with the work we do with our various projects, New Horizons Project, School Leavers Programme, Village and Activity Centre In Eden Lodge, and our Purple Tear Drop Anti-Human Trafficking Campaign. I felt that this role would help me grow as an individual, as a woman, as a mother, as a sister, as a friend.
“I also wanted to set an example for Alora, to show her that she could accomplish anything, once she is decisive, brave and dedicated. It is through challenges that we grow and realise our true potential.”
Ayo had a great childhood growing up.
“My younger sister Jamila and I were thick as thieves. She attended Alleyne and I attended Ellerslie. We did everything together, including getting up to mischief. We had lots of fun riding our bikes through the neighbourhood, climbing trees, playing dress up and running around outside.
“My best childhood memory would be when we travelled on family trips. We were fortunate to have travelled a lot as kids to US, Britain, Canada, the Caribbean. I have especially fond memories of family Christmases in St Lucia, the land of my mother’s birth.”
Ayo, who also attended Holborn College in London, and gained her law degree from Cardiff Law School in Wales, said while she has become more patient and more tolerant since Alora, “having to juggle and balance everything can be stressful at times”.
“I feel like I am being pulled in all directions simultaneously,” she said.
“That is why help is so necessary. It takes a village to raise a child and my village consists of home base first, Daddy [Haig], and then my queen, my mother . . . . I do not know what I would do without her, my sister and my mum-in-law.”
Ayo said while Alora takes up so much time, she and Haig make sure time is well spent with each other.
“With all the other things going on, making time to spend together is paramount and very important. It is very easy to focus all your energies on your child and forget that the relationship existed before the child and you must nurture your relationship as well.”
Alora was named by her dad and Ayo said her pregnancy was smooth sailing.
“I was very active during my entire pregnancy. Actually, the morning my water broke I was getting ready for work and I calmly said to Haig I am not going to the hospital hungry because they won’t give me anything to eat and I need energy to push. I prepared, sat and ate breakfast at home. Afterwards, I drove myself to Bayview . . . and my OB-GYN told me to walk around the hospital to see whether the contractions would come on.
“I used that time to work from my mobile phone for the next two hours. Eventually, labour came on and Alora came in two hours,” she said, laughing.
Alora is a precocious, chatty, endearing toddler. She loves kisses and hugs. She likes her morning bottle before daycare, dislikes her teeth being brushed, and loves watching either Peppa Pig or Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and singing nursery rhymes. Her bedtime reading is either one of her favourites books – Cat In The Hat or The Cat In The Hat Comes Back.
Ayo is looking forward to special moments in Alora’s life.
“To see her grow every day, to hear a new word every day . . . to help mould her and guide her. I am looking forward to all special moments in her life, each and every birthday, loss of her first tooth, first day she learns to ride a bike, her graduation, her choosing a career path and pursing it. And when she moves out,” she said laughing.
“At my baby shower, my family and friends were asked to write their wishes for Baby Alora. I would like Alora to have those cards so she could read their wishes for her; those are meaningful.”
Ayo added that she also has memories in a baby record.
She said she could already see what type of person Alora was becoming.
“She will be very social and chatty [Ayo laughed loudly]. She will be also independent; she is already asserting her independence, telling me ‘I can do it’. She is also very loving and generous.”
Ayo said while she wants Alora to be independent and responsible, she also wants her to brave, dedicated, generous and kind.
“These are values which I would like to impart on Alora.” (NS)
