Over the last five days, I have gained a wealth of knowledge and understanding about my late Prime Minister David Thompson.
Each day as I opened the newspaper, or read messages posted on the Internet, or turned on the television, or listened to radio programmes, I was intrigued by what was being said about him.
I knew he was the parliamentary representative of St John and supported and defended his constituents. What I didn’t know was the depth of love and appreciation the people of St John, as well as the people of Barbados, had for him.
Even though I have never met Mr Thompson, I was overwhelmed by the appreciation of and admiration for him as evidenced in the many articles published in the media.
I knew Mr Thompson as a lawyer and a politician, but scores of Barbadians knew him as a friend, an advisor, a counsellor and, most importantly, a family man.
I was deeply touched when I saw the video of the man who was a former convict. On being released from prison, he approached Mr Thompson for help and was successful in receiving help through a job. It is evident that Mr Thompson saw a person and not a convict; he saw an opportunity to mentor and encourage; he saw a need to be met and he met it.
These are character traits we should all seek to possess.
There are three things that I have noticed about Mr Thompson that I would specifically like to share with our nation’s young people.
Firstly, Mr Thompson was very persistent, focused and committed to the goals he set out to achieve. Being in Opposition must have been a challenging task. However, Mr Thompson had a goal, and it took him 14 years to see that goal move from idea to possibility to definite reality.
My question to you is: How long and far are you willing to run to reach your goals?
Secondly, Mr Thompson always found time for “his people”. I am sure that he was an extremely busy man as he served in numerous positions simultaneously, yet he was able to allocate time to something he valued – developing relationships and investing in others.
My question to you is: When was the last time you dedicated time to strengthening past relationships and developing new ones?
Thirdly, Mr Thompson accepted responsibility for mistakes he made and sought to learn from them.
Oftentimes, we as young people are slow to take responsibility, but quick to cast blame. Let us take a leaf out of our late Prime Minister’s book and seek to accept responsibility for our mistakes and also seek to learn from them.
I would like to publicly thank all those who have shared the wonderful experiences they had with Mr Thompson. My only regret is that he wasn’t alive to read or hear them for himself. I am sure he would have felt more appreciated.
I encourage us not to wait until those we love have passed to let the world know what wonderful people they were. Let us share those words of gratitude and appreciation with them while they are still with us.
• Corey Worrell is a former Commonwealth Youth Ambassador.