Seventeen-year-old Jarese Jeffrey definitely did not write the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations in a conventional manner. With only 17 per cent of vision in his right eye and none at all in his left, someone read the questions for him while another person wrote down his answers.
With his limited vision, the teenager is able to see words on a paper but he cannot decipher what is actually written. This has been the case ever since he was three years old when the vision disability developed.
Writing the exams may have been relatively simple for Jarese under the circumstances, but attending school and preparing for them was quite another.
At times the lessons ran after 20:00 hours, and passing had everything to do with how good his memory was. Of course, his wasn’t a case where he can make notes and simply glance at them while studying.
Many times, he felt frustrated and like he couldn’t continue.
“For example, Caribbean History. When it comes to remembering all those dates and a lot of reading. I told myself I had to remember everything. I fixed my mindset to research everything on a topic and understand it and remember it and that’s how I passed Caribbean History,” he told the News Room.
Added to Caribbean History, Jarese, of Great Diamond Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara, who attended St. Gabriel’s Primary and North Georgetown Secondary, passed English A, English B, Social Studies and Office Administration with Grades Twos and Threes.
Jarese remembers the difficulties he encountered climbing the school stairs with pupils pushing and running down the stairs. Other than this, though, he appreciates that his school friends, both in primary and secondary school, made an effort to include him in their activities.
His biggest support, though, came from his mom Stacy Reece who decided to put her life on hold to be able to be there for Jarese on a full-time basis. She chose to remain single so that she could have dedicated the last 16 years to looking after him and her other son.
Jarese would use the JAWS software which proved very helpful in assisting him to read. He used YouTube to help him study and his mom often broke down difficult topics in his textbooks for him. His teachers, too, over the years played a pivotal role in assisting him, ensuring his mom got the notes on the days he was absent.
“Growing up, this really affected me, knowing others can do everything and play sports and here is me being there just to be there. But nothing can’t stop me now; I know I can do it. That was the mindset I trained myself to have,” Jarese expressed, adding, “It doesn’t matter what is your disability. You can do it. Everyone has a dream and that dream can come true.”
Planning to start Communication Studies at the University of Guyana next year, Jarese wants to own a business and pursue blind cricket.
“I have made up my mind to do this. I purposed that even though this situation happened, I wasn’t going to rob him of having a normal life so I put myself aside for the last 16 years and dedicated the time to ensuring that he has his education,” his mom shared.
She is looking forward to enjoying some extra time on her hands now with Jarese’s routine no longer what it was when she dropped him off at school and stayed close by all day just in the event there was an emergency.
“That child is mine…my responsibility. I don’t bear on the difficulties.”
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