“When you wake up, you can do two things. You either go back to sleep and keep dreaming or you wake up and follow your dreams. I prefer to wake up and follow my dreams.”

“When you wake up, you can do two things. You either go back to sleep and keep dreaming or you wake up and follow your dreams. I prefer to wake up and follow my dreams.”

Meet handsome 22-year-old Ameer Amit Henry who said he lives by the above mentioned quote which gives him the strength he needs to continue fighting for a better life.
Growing up without a father figure and not having the best circumstances financially by no means made him less ambitious in life. He is constantly trying to improve himself; putting in whatever effort and hard work is required.
Ameer was born to Marilyn and Sunil Henry and grew up in Albouystown, Georgetown. His parents however split and he now has ‘Doodie’ as his step-father along with six siblings, including Siketa to whom he is very close.
Ameer grew up with his grandmother Jean, grandfather ‘Doogie’ and three aunts Shabana, Nafeeza and Feriza. He was the only boy in the family until his nephew Sohil came along and ‘cut his nose,’ he said.
“Growing up with grandparents and aunts is fun; they do everything for me. They wash my clothes, cook, etc. I just get up in the mornings, clean the yard and feed the puppies before getting ready for work.”
Ameer said his grandmother was like both a mother and father to him. “I didn’t have a father figure in my life. Jean is like both mother and father to me. She brought me up, sent me to school, clothed me, fed me.”

Taking studies seriously
Ameer attended Smyth Street Nursery School, St. Stephens’ Primary and Tutorial High. After school, he did a few courses at Computer World and subsequently enrolled at the Accountancy Training Centre (ATC). He still has about five more years to go at ATC, but doesn’t mind it at all since his aim is to become a qualified accountant.

Sometime this year, Ameer also hopes to take up studying Business Management and is confident he can study both subjects simultaneously. “I will find the time to do both. You know when ‘push come to shove.’ I had to stop gym to accommodate studying. Work doesn’t interfere because I get the necessary time off. But otherwise, I will make the time.”
For the past four years, Ameer has been employed at Pro Graphics. “I come off at 4:30 pm, reach to class for 5:15 pm and am home by 8:30 pm. I then have to study. I work half day on Saturdays, so the only day I get for myself is Sunday and it finishes so fast.”
Ameer’s current job, which includes printing fliers and business cards, does not pertain to his studies. “It is just a means to an end. It finances my studies. It’s hard to find a job because only people with experience are employed. And they don’t want to give you the chance to get the experience.”
Ameer wanted to become a pilot but he realised how costly it was to pursue this. He wisely decided to shift his interest to something that was more practical. “And today, I am enjoying the accounting field.”
After studying, Ameer wants to help his family enjoy a better quality of life by moving them out of the high crime Albouystown area. “Growing up in Albouystown is not the nicest thing. You just want to get out and find something better in life. And to do that, you have to have money. So that is my aim right now. Focus on my studies, make some money and move my family out of there.”
“It was tough growing up there. Some people are racist. Then there is often a shooting. I lost my uncle (Anil) in one of those shootings just at the corner of my home. And just recently, we were at home when a couple of gun shots went off. Jean started to cry right away because she remembered the night her son was killed. You don’t want to keep in a community like that for the rest of your life and you certainly don’t want to raise a family in there.
One possibility, Ameer said, is migrating to a country with a better standard of living and helping his family get there as well. Otherwise, he plans to build his house, having already applied for his house lot.
Ameer is fun, very quiet and described himself as “not too wicked.” “I like going out and meeting people. But most of the time I study though. You have to be ambitious in life to achieve great things.”
Written By Telesha Ramnarine