By Jeune Bailey Van Keric
LIFE has never been easy for Doysha Gittens but she never gave up. Gittens became a mother while in school and five years ago her world was turned upside down. The life of her nine-year-old son, Shaquan Gittens, was brutally snuffed out by Brian Bob Semple, who was reportedly of unsound mind.
Semple is currently serving a 23-year sentence for the heinous crime.

Gittens, who describes herself as a charismatic, fun-loving and candid young woman, like all the challenges she has faced and overcome one by one, she followed suite with her most recent, graduating from the University of Guyana (UG) with her Bachelor Degree of Education in Literacy Studies.
Her story is filled with moments that could have caused her to quit but she always stood strong and found a way out of her troubles.
After becoming a mother at age 15, she was almost forced to leave secondary school, but, with the support of relatives, she wrote five subjects at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examination and did reasonably well.

She was not so successful at Mathematics but knowing how essential that subject was when pursuing employment, she rewrote it and secured a passing grade.
And it was around that time an aunt encouraged her to become a teacher. The relative had rationalised that the profession would provide her an income, so the life of the young mother and her baby could be sustained, while, at the same time, allowing her to spend quality time with her son.
She applied for a teaching position and was appointed as a Temporary Qualified Mistress at South Ruimveldt Park Primary School on October 02, 2002. After teaching for three years, she became pregnant with her second child, Shaquan.

Two years after his birth, the young and ambitious mother, applied and gained entry to the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE), where she majored in Mathematics and minored in Science. That academic chapter in her life was also filled with challenges, which included finding a sitter to watch her children while she attended the teachers’ training college in the evenings.

She had to make a difficult choice of either missing classes or leaving her sons unattended. Her motherly instincts chose her children’s safety. This resulted in her failing her major, Mathematics. However, she was determined not to give up and after many late nights studying, she managed to secure a passing grade in her major. In 2011, she was able to graduate from CPCE with credit.

All was going well until in 2015 when her world was turned upside down. She had returned home from work and her younger son was not at home, and despite searching for him that night, he was nowhere to be found. The event which led to the discovery of his remains will be forever etched in her memory.

WORST FEARS

The following day, family members and friends organised a search party to look for the boy but their efforts to locate him proved futile. Three days later, the police called to say that they found a body. The body turned out to be that of young Shaquan. He was murdered by a man who, it was alleged, was of unsound mind.
“People often ask me how I was able to cope with losing my younger son the way I did. Well, I cried many days and nights. I found comfort in talking about something he would have said or done; which sometimes brought a smile to my face or tears from my eyes. I also placed a huge photo of him in my living room so every day I can still see his smiling face, and when I’m not at home, I can still see his face because he is on my display picture on my phone. I know he is not physically here with me but spiritually, he lives on in me, so I keep his memories close because he will always be a part of me,” she said as her eyes welled up with tears.
“People always say with time, the pain will ease, but that is not entirely true. To me, ‘with time’ you learn to cope with the pain but it is always there. I also realised that Shaquan was loaned to me by God for almost 10 years and I had some wonderful memories of him and I wished for more of him but God had other plans for us.”
A few months after his death, Gittens relocated to the East Bank Demerara and took a transfer to another school to escape the unwelcoming feeling of incompleteness.

CHALLENGED
“It was at Craig Primary School that a colleague challenged me to do more… want more out of life than just following the same daily route. So, in 2017, we applied to the University of Guyana. We both applied for the Primary General Programme but that was filled.
“I was later informed of the Literacy Studies Programme and wrote a letter seeking permission to add it as my second option on my application and was given a place to read for my Bachelor degree in Literacy Studies.

“Over the next three years, my intellectual sisters and I had some great moments, along with a few challenging ones. Each of us gave the other words of encouragement and a helping hand when we felt like giving up.

“It was not until after graduating, that I have realised that I was merely surviving. The memories of Shaquan coupled with my perseverance have made me stronger and no longer afraid of change. Better is yet to come. I’m here because God is not done with me and I’m faithfully and optimistically planning for the future. I am a strong believer that with God, all things are possible,” the young mother told the Guyana Chronicle.

For Gittens, the month of April takes her on a journey of sadness, which affects her emotionally and mentally.
“I try my best not to think about how Shaquan died. It’s so much better to remember how he lived. Shaquan and I both shared the same birth month and my father died the year before Shaquan’s death, which was five days after my birthday.”

Gittens is urging teenage moms who may be feeling overwhelmed, to never give up.
“We are not perfect but with time, practice, patience and determination, we can become better at anything we set our minds to. Surround yourselves with people who also want the best for you. Life may be challenging but persevering through these difficult times makes success taste so much sweeter,” she said.