LEE-YAHNA LAWSON’s powerful rendition of I Almost Let Go at the Ministry of Education’s lunchtime concert yesterday was a far cry from the experience she and her family recently went through during Hurricane Maria on September 18.
In fact, had it not been for their tight grip on a mattress which they clung to for protection, and the grace of God, her family might not have been here today to share their tale.
Yesterday, the ten-year-old Dominican stole the show at Emerald City, St Philip, where the ministry held its third concert as a part of the series to mark Education Month.
It was her first day of school in Barbados at Gordon Walters Primary in St Patrick’s, Christ Church. After principal Tyrone Marshall heard her sing, he determined her voice was that good that it should be shared with a wider audience.
Moments after the performance, an emotional Lawson was comforted by Chief Education Officer Karen Best and the principal after she broke down in tears.
She told the DAILY NATION she was delighted to be in Barbados.
In a subsequent telephone interview, her father, Pastor Irving Lawson, said she had been receiving vocal training from her mother Joycelyn Peart-Lawson, a gospel singer.
The Jamaican-born Lawson recalled that he and his family had been living on the eastern side of Dominica carrying out his pastoral duties for almost eight years.
When the Category 5 hurricane passed, he said the six hours which he, Lee-yahna and his other daughter Jovi-Anne spent braving the storm were “cold and wet”.
It was an eye-opener after which he repeatedly thanked God for His protection.
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