University of the West Indies Masters student Deanall Barnes believes education is the way forward. That's why he started a math clinic for inner-city students. - Carlington Wilmot
By Carlene Carby-Dixon,
Freelance Writer
Figure this.
Deanall Barnes is 25.
He's pursuing a Masters Degree in accounting at the University of the West Indies (UWI).
He's the mastermind behind the Chancellor Hall Mathematics Clinic which works with teenagers in the inner city of August Town to figure their way through to CXC and A 'level mathematics.
Barnes, who takes every chance he gets to help other young people realize the value of an education, is clearly not one of today's frequently portrayed lost and angry young men.
Barnes, the President of Chancellor Hall, Dwayne Daley, Public Relations Officer of the Hall and other members of the team help students who come to their clinic through the math maze, free of charge. Classes are held at the August Town Primary School.
The term 'clinic', says Barnes, is used to show that they are remedying a situation. The clinic was born out of a need for a constructive programme to develop the minds of youngsters in this inner-city community, adds Barnes who takes to heart the saying "silver and gold will vanish away, but a good education will never decay."
"I've now realised the true meaning of that saying," he says. "Forget about the short-term rewards. Try to put something behind your name, because no matter where you go in life your education will go with you," he advises the young people.
He says the best investment a government can ever make is in youth, specifically education - at all levels from primary to tertiary - because, he reckons that "a more educated population is needed for better decisions, not only at the international level, but also the domestic level."
Barnes has already received his fair share of rewards. Among these are the F. Chambers Scholarship for most outstanding business student at Calabar High School, Kingston; UWI's award for excellence in leadership; and the West Indies Group of Teachers bursary award for excellence in academic and co-curricular activity.
He has served on committees such as the UWI's 50th anniversary planning sub-committee, the Sports Advisory Committee and as Chairman of Spectrum Planning Committee. While attending Calabar, he taught classes in accounts on Saturdays at Kingston College under a remedial programme, and has taught accounts to first year students at UWI. On completing his Masters Degree, he intends to pursue a Ph.D. in Accounts as the next step in his ultimate goal of becoming a business professor.
Barnes says he gets inspiration from his mother, Marjorie Ellis-Chambers, a devout Christian, who taught him that he should always be God-fearing, live within his means, and go for education all the way. She taught him, he says, that "once you believe in God and do what is necessary to educate yourself, then the world is yours."
That's another lesson he has taken to heart. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me," he says.
