Octogenarian chronicles her adventures

By Frederick Halley

AT the ripe old age of 86, Thelma Tappin has spent 60 of those years in Canada, having migrated there in 1958 from her homeland then-British Guiana.
Still bustling with energy and looking fit as a fiddle, Thelma has ventured into the world of writing, producing her first book – “Reflections of A Wonderful Journey.”

According to Thelma, “This book is dedicated to my mother, who was taken from us much too early, and my siblings who shared the burden of that loss. It is my solemn hope that the title of this book, at a glance, would create enough interest that persons would want to read the life’s journey of a humble person.”

In “Reflections of A Wonderful Journey”, Thelma tells of her early life in British Guiana, what prompted her to migrate, her many travels abroad to several countries in Europe, Africa and the Dominican Republic among others, while paying tribute to her only son who died tragically in August 2017.

Recalling her mother died in child’s birth with one of her siblings when Thelma was just seven, the octogenarian, who was middle of eight children, described the passing thus: “Our world stopped and when it started again, it went into many different directions as we were children. I don’t think there is anything more devastating for a child than the separation of their siblings. It had a profound effect on me.”

Forced to live with her godmother, Thelma pointed out that although she was comfortable, “the continuous longing for my siblings made it difficult for me to be happy. I never felt [like] I belonged. I went to St Philip’s Anglican School and although there was no secondary schooling for me, I had a good foundation that paved the way for many future opportunities.”

MOVING ON
Thelma left her godmother’s home to live with a cousin and later with her elder sister. Doreen, and according to her, “life progressed with its many twists and turns of new responsibilities of caring for oneself, thinking of boyfriends and parties and paying attention to politics, world affairs, or just plain economics of everyday life.”

Thelma recalled that “in the midst of all of this came the most opportune moment in time for young and not so young women in the country. This started in the early 1950s with Jamaica and Barbados. Later Trinidad and British Guiana were added and through some arrangement with the government of Ottawa, the region and Guyana, an arrangement was made to send women as domestic help to Canada.”

After missing the first and second batches, Thelma, who was then employed at Atkinson Field Guest House, was selected for the third and departed British Guiana on November 9, 1958. “The reality of where I was going was beginning to set in. At least most of us had never left home to travel anywhere in the country by ourselves. This was Autumn, the beautiful fall season.”

A NEW WORLD
After a few days in Montreal, Thelma arrived in Toronto on November 12, having been already assigned to her employers. She disclosed that “our time in the service was one year after which we were free to move in any direction that suited us.” During that time also, Thelma took advantage of going to night school while awaiting the sponsorship of her husband.

Thelma went back to British Guiana for Christmas in 1961 and married Cecil who migrated to Canada two years later. The union bore two kids, Beverly in 1964 and Gordon the following year.

Following the completion of a data entry course which saw her receiving a Diploma, Thelma gained employment at the Federal Income Tax Office.
Now fully settled, or so it seemed, Thelma was ready to start her travels. Urged on and accompanied by a friend from Montreal, she set out on a three-city show tour of Amsterdam, Paris and London.

“We visited the Van Gogh Museum with its famous paintings and naturally had to have a canal boat ride. We were totally blown away in the great Paris. In 1973, Paris was still like an impossible dream to us but then we were now Canadians in Canada much closer,” she said.

Thelma’s next sojourn, which was at the behest of a co-worker, took her to the Holy Land (Jerusalem) and Greece. “This was even more unimaginable than the first trip. Everything about this trip was awesome, to think you are walking in the footsteps of where Jesus might have trod.

“The little we saw of Greece was tantalising, as we had to leave all too soon for our trip home. I could only pray that much of what I had seen and learned would be indelibly etched on my heart. This was the trip of a lifetime.”

PAYING IT FORWARD
With most of her family members now in Canada, Thelma felt the urge to give back to the land of her birth. She managed to attract some others and soon they were shipping a container of items, which included medical supplies, beds and kitchen utensils to the Georgetown Hospital.

With the momentum revved up, the Guyanese Pioneer Fund-raising Group was born in May 1988 and among its ventures were worthwhile contributions to Guyanese who had suffered from the floods in 2005, and the tsunami in Indonesia the same year. “Through the years, nothing has given me more joy and satisfaction than [serving in] the presidency of the Guyanese Pioneer Fund-raising Group.”

MORE TRAVELS
In the interim, Thelma turned her attention to Africa with visits to Sudan, Nairobi, Khartoum and Kenya, the latter to see a little boy her family had sponsored for several years.

The summer of 2007 saw Thelma going on an international build with Habitat in the Dominican Republic for two weeks. The team consisted of nine females and three males.
Touching on the experiences encountered during her travels, Thelma wrote: “You would think [that] coming from a poor country you have seen it all, but I tell you in travelling I have seen poverty such as I have never seen before…”

“Now [after] almost 60 years in my adopted country, it affords me the luxury of numerous memorable and treasured events – the good, the bad and the indifferent. All can account for my growth, understanding and appreciation of the vicissitudes of life,” was how Thelma summed up her journey.

Thelma’s world was shattered one week after celebrating her 85th birthday on August 18, 2017, as while preparing to attend the Guyanese Pioneer Fund-raising Group barbecue, she received the horrific news that her son, Gordon, had a fatal accident. “As I let go and let God’s will be done in my life, I give thanks for the 50 wonderful years we have had Gordon and the many memories our family and his close friends have shared with us.”