– New City Councillor tells how she overcame an unspeakable tragedy

Monica Ulanda Thomas slumped into what she calls “a dark place” after her son and daughter, both not yet teens, were killed in a horrific accident 24 years ago. She quit teaching, the profession she loved, sinking into depression. Now, she is back on her feet, and ready to serve the citizens of Georgetown. She shared her incredible story with Telesha Ramnarine

AT 4:02 on the afternoon of April 29, 1992, Monica Ulanda Thomas lost her only two children in a horrific accident on Mandela Avenue, Georgetown. She couldn’t bear the loss and so resigned from teaching after 15 years, as she would see only her beloved Alexis and Wayne in the children she taught.

The tragedy caused her to crawl into a dark place. She slipped in and out of depression, thinking she’d lose her mind.

“I want to help the society as a whole to once again feel the need to work in their communities and to feel proud of it. I want to put on my long booths and go out with residents, even if it’s once a month, to give them that encouragement to work.”

But thanks to the “tough love” she received from her mother, and the support from others, she was able to pull through it successfully.

Today, she is once again a happy person, and has not only returned to the teaching profession, but has reached out to serving others on an even grander scale by means of her work as a City Councillor. She was elected recently.

The 57-year-old, who was born at Ann’s Grove, on the East Coast Demerara, and who grew up in the Lodge Community, also manages the Georgetown District People’s National Congress/Reform (PNC/R) office.

She can never forget her nursery school years at Miss Payne’s Nursery, which was located at Gordon and Lamaha Streets, Kitty.

“Teacher Payne made me the person I am today. I never forgot her. She is deceased now.

“Although I was only about four, she made me understand how important education is and probably it’s one of the reasons I became a teacher and served for 15 years at the nursery level.

“I so believe in children; I love children,” Ms. Thomas said in an interview with the Chronicle a few days ago.

She also attended Campbellville Government School, King’s Commercial College, Critchlow Labour College and finally, the University of Guyana where she studied Sociology and Communications.

A Dark Time

Ms. Thomas was just in her early 30’s when the tragedy of her children struck the family. She recalled that her daughter, 11, and son, 7, were on their way home from school when they were hit by a car and died on the spot.

“It was very trying. Can you imagine losing your only two children at the same time? I have a whole country to thank for me still being here and not going crazy or committing suicide.

“I went through a very dark time for many years and it is one of the reasons that I eventually resigned from teaching because I would have been doing myself an injustice. I saw my children in every child. It was affecting me mentally.”

But Ms. Thomas decided that she would not give up and thought to herself that maybe having a next child would help to heal her wounds. And so, she bore another daughter, Nikita.

She remembers, too, that her mom, who is now deceased, Ms. Linda Thomas, was her strength and the one person who was “brutally honest” with her.

“I crawled into a dark place and stayed there for a number of years. It was almost self-destructive. Prayer is a very powerful thing. Oh, and my mom; she was brutally honest. She told me ‘I will not allow you to die.’ That broke my heart all over again when she died. If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t have been alive today.

“She said the most hurtful things to you like, ‘Your children are not coming back. Don’t you understand? They are dead. You either accept that or you don’t.’ It was after my mother died that I understood that she had saved me.”

To her knowledge, Ms. Thomas said nothing ever came out of the accident. “I would never know if they (the children) were in the wrong or if the driver was. He came to our house and gave some vague excuse; I really don’t recall. But nothing came out of the case. It was thrown out for one reason or another.”

Cherish what you have

“I am a very happy person today. Life is a wonderful thing. And I’ve learned that we truly have to cherish what we have while we have it, no matter how bad or how good it is, even if it lasts for a second. Cherish it because it’s not going to come back again.”

Ms. Thomas believes that being engrossed in many activities, while serving others, also contributes to her positive spirit. “I’ve stood the pain and the battering, but I came out shine. I have realized how important it is to serve each other while we have time; how important every minute is.”

As for her intentions when it comes to working with the City Council, she said she plans to take a collective approach to solving issues. “I want to help the society as a whole to once again feel the need to work in their communities and to feel proud of it. I want to put on my long booths and go out with residents, even if it’s once a month, to give them that encouragement to work.”